Genealogy Chat

Dear All,

An old story within our family is that our Great Great Grandfather, Walter Clark was hit over the head with a bottle and died.

I have his death certificate and the cause of death is Cerebral Haemorage, which would support this story.

Can anyone advise me how/where to investigate this story further?

Kind Regards Zoe

Info: Walter Clark born 1859 in Deptford Kent. Died 19/02/1923 in 48 Vanburgh Hill, Greenwich. He was married to Eliza and worked as a Marine Boiler Maker/Riveter.

Have you treid google worth a try

If the informant on the death certificate was the Coroner, then there is a good chance it would have been reported in the local newspapers of the time. British Library Newspaper Library.

For info 48 Vanburgh Hill was the postal address of St Alfeges Hospital which became the local NHS hospital in 1948 from the old Greenwich Workhouse Infirmary.

Old stamping ground for our family Our daughter was born there in the 1950,s :-D

Hi, the informant on the death certificate is his daughter and not the coroner?

How would I go about looking at newspapers?

Hi Shirley - my husband and his family were all born in the area too x

Shirley, I was born in St Alfeges - just a little bit earlier than your daughter, in 1945. Did not realise it was the workhouse then!

Potty it was the old workhouse infirmary The Workhouse entrance was in the Main road Big gates If you Google it you can see a picture bet you will remember it .

St Alfeges wasn't the Workhouse infirmary still pre 1948 it had become the local hospital taken over by the LCC and was made the main NHS hospital in 1948

for info
Saint Alfege's hospital was established as the Greenwich Union Workhouse Infirmary. The Greenwich and Deptford Union Workhouse was built on a four-acre site on the south side of the Woolwich road. The complex was designed to house a total of 650 fit and 200 sick paupers but by 1851 the average weekly number of inmates had increased to over 1,000. As the numbers of poor in need of medical attention increased it became necessary to add an infirmary to the workhouse. The Board of Guardians added a new 400-bed infirmary block, the foundation stone was laid in 1874, and the Infirmary opened in 1876.
By 1885 two new buildings for the chronically sick had been started and in 1889 a further two new ward blocks with provision for 250 beds were approved. Conditions in the infirmary were spartan and there was no operating theatre or table. In 1898 the infirmary was approved as a Training School for Nurses, taking some 40 - 50 trainees. The plans of the Greenwich and Deptford Union Workhouse and Infirmary were presented at the Great Paris Exhibition of 1900 as a demonstration of what was being done in Britain for relief of the poor.
Between 1918 and 1929 gradual improvements were made to conditions in the infirmary - walls were plastered, electric lighting and central heating installed and x-ray and massage departments set up. In 1927 The Woodlands Nurses' Residence was opened by Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles in November and in 1928 a new operating theatre was opened; in 1929 when the Poor Law Authorities were disbanded the workhouse system was abandoned, leaving Greenwich with two hospitals, one for the acute and the other for the chronic sick, on the workhouse site.>>>>>>>>
In 1948 St. Alfege's Hospital became part of the National Health Service and was administered by the South East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. In 1960 the Regional Hospital Board issued a directive that the distinction between the two St. Alfege's Hospitals was to be abolished and that they should merge to become one comprehensive general hospital of 605 beds. In May 1963, the Minister of Health gave a Press Conference at which details of the new Greenwich District hospital were released. In 1972 St. Alfege's Hospital was replaced by Greenwich District Hospita

Try the library nearest to the address on the death certificate. They may have back copies of local newspapers on microfilm and since you have the exact date of death then it shouldn't take too long to look through the papers in the few days after the death.

Kath. x

Thanks Kath, on the offhand does anyone know if you can check old newspapers online? It's going to be a while until I can get to the library to have a look.

Thanks Kath, on the offhand does anyone know if you can check old newspapers online? It's going to be a while until I can get to the library to have a look.

This is the phone number and email address for the library in Greenwich:-

020 8317 4466
[email protected]

The library staff in my area in the north of England are often happy to do look-ups for you and I have never had to pay for the service. However I'm not sure that it will be the same case in London.

Kath. x