Inquests

[cpdavis35]

Hi all,

I have a certified copy of my great grandfathers death certificate from 1936 in Islington, London and box 7 mentions about an inquest that was held. 3 years ago i posted the question on another forum and someone mentioned to e-mail the Islington library service and see if they could do a search (at cost).

Since then i've heard somewhere that the London Gazette printed some inquests? I have gone to their website and did a search but always get hundreds of matching pages. Maybe doing something wrong in the search.

I probably won't find anything but just wondered if there is anything else i could check online or contact.

Thanks.

[Darksecretz]

some inquests were published in the newspaper of the day, I have two that relate to my gt grandmother & my adopted gt grandmother, interesting, but sad reading them.

have you tried googling his name? area etc.. that might help.

[cpdavis35]

have you tried googling his name? area etc.. that might help.

Yes i have in the past and drawn a blank...only his medal card came up and i have that

[AntonyM]

I don't think the London Gazette publishes details of individual inquests - not that I have ever seen anyway.

Coroners inquest records are normally closed for 75yrs, so these (if they survive, and most don't) should just about be open and would probably now be at the London Metropolitan Archives. But even where they do survive, inquest records can be variable and sometimes very sketchy. They are often just a record of where/when an inquest took place, sometimes a list of witnesses and a note of the verdict. You usually get much more information from a local newspaper report. Start with a search of the Islington Gazette, which Islington Library should be able to help with.

[SmallTownGirl]

Want to give us his name etc to see if we have any better luck?

STG

[cpdavis35]

Thanks STG.

My great grandfather was Alfred Thomas Cunnington. He died 7th March 1936. Inquest was 3 days later on the 10th March 1936.

[Anne in Carlisle]

Nothing showing up in the Newspapers on FMP.
Anne

[cpdavis35]

Thanks Anne for trying....

[SmallTownGirl]

And sorry Craig, but I can't find anything either.

STG

[Olde Crone Holden]

What was the cause of death?

OC

[Joy Dean]

Nothing in The Times that I can find; a coincidence that someone else of the surname Cunnington died on the same date: death notice for an Elisabeth Cunnington of Sunnydene, Lyme Regis, wife of Colonel Cunnington.

[cpdavis35]

Thanks STG for trying.. i had a feeling that i'd probably never find anything even if anything did survive.

[cpdavis35]

What was the cause of death?

OC

Hi OC

To answer your question i've just checked the death cert and it says the cause of death was
Infective endocarditis then underneath that was the word natural then under that in the bottom corner has the initials p.m.

[cpdavis35]

Nothing in The Times that I can find; a coincidence that someone else of the surname Cunnington died on the same date: death notice for an Elisabeth Cunnington of Sunnydene, Lyme Regis, wife of Colonel Cunnington.

Hi Joy, thanks for looking, i guess the last resort is to maybe try the local library by e-mail and see if they can help... whether the inquest still exists or not.

[Olde Crone Holden]

As the cause of death was determined by a pm, I'm not sure why an inquest would be held, as there was nothing mysterious about the cause of death. Perhaps the inquest was a formaility - opened, adjourned, closed when cause of death was determined - and therefore of absolutely no interest to the newspapers.

OC

[AntonyM]

p.m. will be the abbreviation indicating a Post Mortem took place.

The cause of death you mention (Infective Endocarditis), isn't something that would normally require an inquest - I would guess that the death occurred shortly after or during surgery, which may have resulted in the coroners involvement. If that was the case it may not have been something which generated any newspaper interest or other record. As OC points out , an inquest can be a quick, paper exercise which takes just a couple of minutes.

[cpdavis35]

Sounds about right . Thanks OC for the information. I think i'll save my money on this one.

[cpdavis35]

p.m. will be the abbreviation indicating a Post Mortem took place.

The cause of death you mention (Infective Endocarditis), isn't something that would normally require an inquest - I would guess that the death occurred shortly after or during surgery, which may have resulted in the coroners involvement. If that was the case it may not have been something which generated any newspaper interest or other record. As OC points out , an inquest can be a quick, paper exercise which takes just a couple of minutes.

Hi AntonyM,

Thanks for the information...as i had no clue about anything like that, i had to ask .

So on the whole, i doubt it would be worth contacting the local library and see if a) there was anything in the archives and b) even if there was something recorded it's probably doesn't even exist now... so probably leave it at that....

[Olde Crone Holden]

Craig

Well, it's your money, lol but personally I probably wouldn't bother if this was my relative as there doesn't seem to be anything ODD about the death.

Both my parents died suddenly (years apart) and because neither had been seen by a medic within the previous 24 hours, there had to be a pm. Both deaths were deemed natural and unsuspicious so no inquest was required.

OC

[Janet in Yorkshire]

My mother died in hospital very suddenly and unexpectedly, only 12 hours after her admission. I had to take a sealed letter to the coroner's office and surrender that and a cause of death document. (Apparently this was to inform the coroner's office of the precise circumstances leading up to the death, so that there didn't have to be an inquest and a post mortem.) I was issued with a further document saying that the coroner's office was "satisfied" as to the cause of death; this enabled me to go to the registrar and register the death.
Perhaps in your case the Coroner's office issued that a pm should be carried out.

Jay

ETA - there was nothing unusual about the primary or secondary causes of death recorded on the cert - basically heart failure caused by heart disease and also a diabetes related problem.