Genealogy Chat

Hi Bee

Yes - Death Cert on Order!

I think the mistake I made was to google on Epidemic and not Pandemic! You certainly get better results :)

It looks like it killed 10,000 in Wales alone!

Strange that at the local record office there is no real record of it.

Thanks to all who have helped ... Paul

Paul, there most certainly was a flu epidemic at that time - I expect most of us had ancestors who were affected - I lost two G'mothers and an uncle (though of course I never knew them. The flu wasn't confined to the Welsh valleys, though - it was world-wide (pandemic), and killed more people than died in the war. In fact it killed more soldiers than actually got to fight in the war.

There is a strong theory, which may have been proved by now, that it started in France in an Army transit camp, and was caused by cross-infection between the poultry, the pigs and the humans who were all living in close proximity - much like the 'bird flu' we've heard so much about!

If you google something along the lines of 'Flu pandemic - 1918' I imagine you'll get lots of info. But if you want to find out about your g'g'father, have you got his Death Cert yet? That will tell you for sure - though it won't say 'flu epidemic', more likely broncho-pneumonia' or something similar.

Good luck.

Bee.

Looks like I've typed too slowly again!

Malcolm

Thanks, I will look that up.

Cheers...Paul

Cheers Pete / Shirley

Pete: Those sites are of use, thank you - I was hoping that there was going to be something a bit more"Localised" however it looks like this was a fairly significant outbreak and doesnt appear to be covered at a local level.

Thanks again ...Paul

Here's the Library of Congress record of a relevant book:
LC Control No.: 97117983
Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.)
Personal Name: Collier, Richard, 1924-
Main Title: The plague of the Spanish lady : the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 / Richard Collier.
Edition Information: 1st American ed.
Published/Created: London : Allison & Busby, 1996, c1974.
Description: 376 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 20 cm.
ISBN: 0749002468 (pbk.)
----------------------
CALL NUMBER: RC150.4 .C64 1996

http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/
or for a UK site the Health protection Agency site has:

http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/influenza/pandemic/history.htm

yes there was a BIG Flu epidemic around the 1918-1920,s i know one of my tree survived the WW1 only to succumb to Flu in about 1920
it certainly was one of the epidemics that claimed loads of lives then

Hi

My Gt Grandfather died at the young age of 35 in 1918. Family legend has it that he died as part of a Flu Epidemic, which was brought back by troops returning from WW1.

He died in the South Wales Valleys, and no matter where I look (Internet, Local Record Office, Library etc) I can find no detailed record of this epidemic.

Does anyone have any ideas where I can go next ?

Many Thanks ... Paul