Genealogy Chat

Great thread, nudging so I can find it again tomorrow.

Hi Keith and Chris - Thank you both so much for your efforts and for being so informative. It is really appreciated. I thought that I would never be able to get the cert. Regards Rita

Keith got there before me :-) Can I just make a tiny correction to the volume number though - it's I.34 (the letter 'I'), not 1.34. I think you also have to put the name of the index along with the volume and page, which in this case is 'War Deaths 1914-1921 Army (Other Ranks)'. You order it online as an Overseas death certificate, and the GRO ref field is free-format, so you can fit in the index name, vol and page number without problems. Chris

He would have died during the First Battle of Ypres. Google YPRES MEMORIAL for much detail of the battles. Regards Keith

The GRO reference for Edward Prendiville is Year 1914 Vol 1.34 Page 12. Order as normal by eMail. Cost £7. Good hunting. Keith

Hi Denis, Snowdrops/Kim and Christine, My apologies for the delay in getting back to you all but I had to hare off to a suddenly remembered appointment. Denis - I take you point about the basic details but I wasn't sure whether the GRO would pertain to the year he died or some time like a year or two down the line. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snowdrops - I will follow your suggestion and contact the TNA re regiment etc. He would have been a squaddie I would say, family poorer than the proverbial church mouse. I would love to find out just what did occur militarily speaking for the period in question. I will also visit the web site that you mentioned --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris - For completeness sake I would like a copy of the certificate. The casualty was my grandmother's brother. I have all other certificates relevant certificates for his 9 siblings bar this one. Of the 10 children - 6 died before the age of 12. Edward and his brother both died in 1914 and the two remaining, sisters, each lived to a ripe old age. If you could find him on findmypast I would be more than grateful. Details: Edward Prendiville - born 1887 Private 10174 Yorkshire Regiment Age 27 Date of death - 26 Oct. 1911 - 06.11.1914 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks again for all your suggestions. Warm regards RIta

I'm nodding my head here in agreement with what's been said about the likely relative lack of information on the death certificate. However, if you're keen to see if there's one available, for the sake of completeness perhaps, would you like to post the details of the person in question, and I'll see if I can find his death index entry for you on the findmypast website. :-) Chris

Denis is right, the document will be very basic and will not give you any details as to how he died. The best way to find this out would be to go on-line at TNA and see if they have the relevent war diaries for your particular soldier's regiment. Although if he's a regular soldier (ie: not an officer) there will probably be no mention of him by name, but there will be a narrative of what was happening that day - say if there was a battle on or a sniper was active and it will say (for instance) 10 men wounded and 3 killed. This at least would give you some idea of how your man died. If it was an accident (which I doubt as he's on the memorial at Ypres) then it's more likely he will be mentioned by name. A very good site to go to for help and advice (and even for a look ups in the SWDGW - Soldiers Who Died in the Great War) is http://www.1914-1918.net/ - go to the right hand side where it says 'Join In' and sign up (no cost) once you've joined you will be able to ask the experts - and believe me, they are real experts (but NOT real soldiers I hasten to add LOL). Good luck with your search. Kim

It is usually possible to obtain a death certificate from GRO or GROS. If the person died in the UK the certificate will often be of the conventional style but in the circumstances you describe it is likely to be a very basic document.

Advice needed please: Is it possible to obtain a death certificate for a soldier who died somewhere between 26.10.1914 and 6.11.1914. The dates were obtained from the cwgc web site and the casualty in question is mentioned on the Ypres Memorial. If death certificates were ultimately issued for individual casualties I assume that it would have taken considerable time for the details to be recorded. If this is the case then it may be difficult to ascertain in which year a specific death certificate was issued. All suggestions welcomed. Many thanks

See below Rita