Find Ancestors

Help please.

I have all the information on my great Grandpa but have not been able to locate a newspaper report re his death.

The death cert states:

Cardiac failure due to fracture of skull. Central contusion and haemorrhage.
Knocked down by a motor van on highway when crossing on foot.

He died in Whipps Cross hospital (E.17) so I assume this happened in London where he was living.

There was an inquest - certificate received from P. Bernard Skeels?? coroner for Metropolitan district of Essex. Inquest held 19th Jan 1940.

Can anyone find a newspaper report please?

Thanks
Sue

Edit: Please bear with me with regard to responses. I will be back online late tomorrow morning.

FMP appears to only have access to British newspapers for February, March and May of 1940.

Sue .........

I had great success about 8-9 years ago by contacting the Local Archives and Studies Centre when I wanted to find an obituary for one of my ancestors.

I knew the date of death and the Coroner's name, and I asked if they could search newspapers for 2 - 3 weeks after that date.

A volunteer searched, copied it and sent me the copy airmail, all for free


It might worth seeing if there is such a centre in the area where he died

Newham Archive and Local Studies Library
Stratford Library
3 The Grove
London
England
E15 1EL
Telephone: 020 3373 6881
Email: [email protected]


Waltham Forest Archives
Waltham Forest Archives and Local Studies Library
Vestry House Museum
Vestry Road
Walthamstow
E17 9NH
Telephone: 020 8496 4381
Email: [email protected]


I don't know London, but the places above are mentioned on this page re Whipps Cross Hospital, so presumably are local to the area.
Google them for details of services and opening hours:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F230944

Most newspapers have their own archive section - you could try contacting the local paper for your relative's place of residence.

I did precisely that when looking for a report of my great uncle's death in an RTA

Thanks for the replies.

I have trawled the online newspapers to no avail but I am prone to missing things :-(

Looking at your suggestions I'll contact the Vestry House Museum as I know just how small that is (I attended a wedding there 2 years ago). The staff should know what they hold.

National Archives don't hold coroners records apparently.

If I get no joy from the Vestry Museum I'll ask one of the members of a Walthamstow residents group I belong to for help in paying a visit to other offices.

Thanks again for your help.

Sue

Sorry, I haven't been able to find the info for you but what I did find interesting while looking for it was the vast number of mentions in the newspapers of people being knocked down by a motor vehicle 'during the blackout' !!!

I hadn't thought about how people were driving around in cars with no street lights and no headlights, no lights from windows etc. and people trying to get to and from work or elsewhere in the total darkness without even being able to shine a torch............

It's no wonder there were many extra deaths during the war times because of this.

Dea x

Hi Dea,

That's a good point. I know when researching the Welsh village where I now live there are many instances of police officers fining vehicle owners for showing a light. Even bicycles were targeted.

Truthfully I hadn't made the connection so thank you.

Sue xx

I would like to add to my comment above that I got nowhere by contacting the local newspaper for the information I wanted ...... they told me they were too busy to check their files or microfiches!

Erika suggested this as a possibility, and it was the first place I tried.

In fact, I would have got nowhere if they had been willing to do it ........ the coroner's report was found in a small newspaper that had existed for only about 2 years before fading into complete obscurity. I'd never heard mention of it (it was my home town!) and it does not come up in searches online or in other references!

Some records just don’t want to be found.

The inquest records for my 2nd gt grandpa who hanged himself in 1853 in one case in point. The coroner report cannot be located anywhere and I’ve made many phone calls. Very frustrating.