Genealogy Chat

Last week i e-mailed our local Archives to ask if they might have any info on the death of my grandfather in 1940. He was a sergent in the Green Howards Richmond Yorkshire regiment. His death certificate stated that he had taken BARBITURATE POISON to induce sleep. They asked for more info which i pasted on to them. I have recieved an e-mail from them today saying that they are sorry but the info they have can not be disclosed till 2015 because of the new Freedom of infomation act!!!! Flabbergasted is the only word i can think of at this moment. Vanessa

Vanessa Well, I wouldn't be a bit flabbergasted, its exactly what I would expect them to say! The information is 'personal and sensitive' and I think (PROBABLY) it is correct for them to close it for 100 years.(Depends exactly what kind of records they are holding, of course - it may just be a knee-jerk, job's-worth reaction) Of course, there are other ways you can find out this information - does the Death Cert talk of an inquest? There may be something in the local paper about the Inquest. Is suicide implied? OC

Vanessa, Just had to look to see who was gasting your flabber and it's your granddad!!! Hmm, wonder if you went through Glasgow to request his details if you'd receive them? Just a thought! Snowdrops

Hi OC. Yes there was a PM and an inquest. This is what i was asking the Archives about. I was hopeing there may have been some form of press release or even a record of it all but they came back with the replay that it is 75 years block on that info. They surggest i telephone our local coroner for more info. My OH is laughing and saying my grandfather must have been in the SAS of the day or a spy for king and country. I am going to give him a smack in a minute!! Vanessa

Gosh, looks like you're in for a long wait then! I could understand why they wouldn't be giving out information on someone who was still alive, but for someone deceased, I don't see why they make such a hoo-ha about it - unless they want to be sure that any possible spouse/siblings are also out of the picture before disclosing info? Yes, I would try the other route of looking for any newspaper articles that may have covered the story/inquest. They can't stop you looking those up - although anything you find may not disclose the full story of what happened.

Hi SnowDrop. My thoughts exactly!! I will phone Glasgow before i send for anything and see what they can say. What a carry-on!! Vanessa

Vanessa This is becoing such a long journey for you but you will get such satisfaction once you find all you are looking for!! Keep your nose to the gridstone girl - lol Snowdrops

Hi Athena. I intend to still be around in 9 more years ( if my maths are right?). All i could say when i saw the e-mail is not allowed to be transcribed on here!! Vanessa

Which area did this happen in? If there is a local family history library or local archives to that area, they often hold most of the archived newspapers on fiche, which you could spend some time searching through. Begin with the date he died and look for the nearest issue after that date and then work your way through each subsequent issue. Sometimes you'll find that if it's just a brief note of Coroner's Inquest they usually coincide with the issue after the Inquest date.

SnowDrop! That bloody grindstone will be worn down before i am! I will contact everyone i can find and see how i stand( so to speak). I am his eldest grandchild. Hell that makes me feel really old!! Vanessa

hiya, just reading yor thread i too had a grandparent who had a pm, i found the local paper to be of much help as it provided a background as to what actually happened, are any of his children still alive, they MAY be more amiable to give details to a child rather than a grandchild, but i would definately go down route of local paper, dont the regiment where he was hold records???? Julie

Hi Athena. He was in the military hospital at Richmond, North Yorkshire. I will phone our local coroner and see what he thinks i can do. The chap at our local Archives was very sorry about it all and made the surggestion of phoning the coroner. The coroner who did the PM and inquest was from here where i live (YORK ) so i am going to do some detective work. Vanessa

Hi Dark secretz. My great great grandfather had an inquest on his death in 1880 and our local Archives found me the newspapers of the day with it in. It seems the the Archives do have some form of infomation on their files but are stuck with red tape. Vanessa

Sorry. Should have added that all his children are deceased including my mother so i am his next of kin. Vanessa

Inquests are closed to public access for 75 years. If the one you are after was in 1940, then they are quite right to say you will be denied access until 2015. I have had no luck at all with inquests yet. Those that do pre-date the 75 year rule weren't kept, and I would be surprised if yours were kept too - not that they would tell you anyway! Local newspapers are your friend.

Thank you for that info Micheal. I will have to be patient then? Sorry, red flag to the bull with me!! So angry!!! I will have a chat with Glasgow and see if they can release his records of service and then maybe there will be some form of info there. Vanessa

You should think yourself lucky. I went after school records relating to my mum, thinking that a 30 year rule applied, only to find out that it is a 75 year rule, but a 75 year rule from the last entry in the registers, which means that if I fancy booking an appointment, I can turn up on January 1st 2061 and they might let me have a look!! I fared no better looking for my grandmas school records from the 1930s, but at least I might still be alive in 2021 to still care!! It can be very frustrating this hobby!!

Hell Micheal what else is covered in RED TAPE? Just got off the phone with the coroners office and they are in the same RED TAPE area as the Archives!!! BUM! BUM! BUM! Sorry that is the only polite way of sounding off i can think of on here. The next step is Glasgow. Vanessa

Here are a few website that might come in handy...(remove brackets) www[.]leeds[.]gov.uk (click on 'L' - click on 'Local History' for a list of services that include archived newspapers 'Local Newspapers and Periodicals The library holds microfilm copies of all the major Leeds newspapers including the Yorkshire Post and its fore-runner the Leeds Intelligencer,the Leeds Mercurywhich merged with the Yorkshire Post in 1939, the Yorkshire Evening Post, and Yorkshire Evening News.') www[.]leedslocalindex.net/ (oh my gosh - they've pinched my nickname!!)

Thanks for those web sites Athena. I will go through them this weekend.( work commitments first). Vanessa