Genealogy Chat

Hello All, Does anyone know if any records are held for postmortems conducted in 1938 and if so, where would they be held? Kim

A PM would take place as the result of a sudden death where no death certificate has been issued. Details of the PM would therefore be held in the notes of the inquest. Detailed notes probably wouldn't exist, all you are likely to find is the name of the pathologist and the cause of death, unless it is a murder case or one which the coroner has formed a jury. Your local records office may have copies of the inquest or coroners report. Failing that, your local coroners officer may be able to point you in the right direction as to where the old files are archived. Find him via your local police HQ website. Unless there were special circumstance, you will get very little information, For a coroners report, all you would get is the name of the person who carried out the identification, the name of the police officer who prepared the report, brief details of the circumstances and the verdict of the coroner. (Natural causes, etc). An inquest would be a little more and a full jury hearing would be quite detailed, but probably not containing all the details of the PM unless cause of death was an issue. Hope this helps Ian

Thanks for the detailed repsonse Ian (sorry I was a little tardy responding, just done the school run). I have just received my oh's g granddad's death certificate and it's stated on there a certificate was received from the coroner and an inquest was held. It attributes death to 'Diffuse suppuration of left lung following pneumonia consequent upon war service'. Now this was WW I and to me it suggests (with it being the lungs) he was in some sort of gas attack. We know he was bedridden for some considerable years and to me it wouldn't have been an unexpected death which is why we cannot understand there being an inquest. Anyhow, you've pointed us in the right direction - many thanks.

Inquest could be because they were trying to establish whether it was likely to be as a result of the gas attack? Otherwise PM would just state facts (the lung damage) & not mention the war? Ian will know more about inquests than me - I look at from the pathologists point of view. I thought all a PM could do was show the cause of death & not attribute the 'reason' if you like, as that is only an opinion. Attributing it to the war might affect whether a pension was payable.

Absolutely right - even now there are certain suspected causes of death, such as asbestosis and lung conditions contractd through mining occupations, which automatically go for PM. It is, as you say, to do with pensions and compensation. I would therefore suspect that this was the reason and the deceased was involved in a gas attack, or otherwise wounded somehow. Taking that into consideration, an enquiry with the army pensions office might be fruitful. Ian

Wow what a response - thank you both once again for such detailed and interesting answers. Kim

Hi Kim with inquests there is a 75 year period before public access but most of the record were destroyed when the NHS took overin 1948.I found this out looking for both of my grandads inquests.One was 1928 and the other in 1936.Try the local newspaper I was lucky and found a report from 1928

i have had a few of these and all though the inquest reports do not exsist, there was always a detailed report of the inquest in the local paper, explaining the details of the event

Hi all, It never ceases to amaze me the wealth of information we have between us - guess what this board is all about eh? Thank you all for taking the time to respond - I will certainly be exploring each and avenue. Kim

Nudge for Vanessa Snowdrops

I didn't realise this thread would be so useful! It does help clarify the difference between post mortems and inquests - not the same thing, but easily mixed up. I found this site the other day which might also help http://www.surreycoroner.info/workofcoroners.html#who

Thank you Snowdrop for nudging this up for me. The tread is very intresting! I wonder if the same rules apply for a death in the army? My grandfather died while in hospital in 1940. The hospital was:- Military Hospital, Scotton RD. Vanessa

My father died at 59 with pneumon...osis.. (brick dust in the lungs) and there was a PM and inquest Kim Jean

Snowdrop. Do you know if Ian is still on this website? Vanessa

Vanessa Have to admit I haen't seen him around for ages. He did post on the General board a while ago that he wasn't going to bother with the site (board?) anymore because of all the 'trouble'. Have you tried clicking on his name to see if it's still 'live' Back to second half of BB in a minute - Sam was evicted, there's a surprise!!! New one about to go in though, more fun and games? Snowdrops

AAHHHH!!!!! BIG BROTHER ADDICTION NOT EVICTION!!! No, i have not clicked on his name but will do now. Let you know the outcome. Vanessa

Thank you Vicky. At least i know that he is not ignoring me. According to GR i have recieved or sent a message to Ian but i can not find it! Never mind. I will be patient and wait. Vanessa

Puzzled - a post mortem was performed on my father but no inquest was held! We queried the cause of death (it was completely incomprehensible, in medical terms) and kicked up quite a fuss - but we never got to see the Post Mortem report. Are you saying that it is in fact possible? I would still like to know why my father was bouncing around on the Monday, yet dead from what was explained to us as 'a massive infection' the following day. OC

Hello Olie. Sorry do not know what else to call you. My grandfather`s death certificate stated that there had been a PM. And the dates on which it was held. Not knowing the reason for your rellies death i could not comment. Maybe when Ian returns he may be able to throw some light on it I hope so for your sake. Vanessa.

OC, its my understanding that the Coroner decides whether an inquest is necessary. (The Coroner can also request a PM, if not already done.) Again, only my ''take'' on things, but if the cause of death (as shown by the PM) doesn't reveal any unusual circumstances, there wouldn't be the need for an inquest. Although it sounds that the family were concerned about the circumstances: these days, this would result in at least a chat with the coroner's office about why he didn't feel an inquest was necessary. How long ago? Perhaps procedures have changed a bit since then.