death certificate

[iverlady]

would someone that was killed in world war 2 have had a death certificate?
my grand father worked for charles richard fairey designer of the swordfish planes, in september 1940 while on firewatch my grandfather was ''blown up'' by land mine.

another mystery is why would there have been land mines in a little village called iver in buckinghamshire?

concidering the cause of death, if a death certificate was issued would there have been an inquest?
many thanks
sue

[keith9351]

You should be able to get the death certificate, I had a uncle who was killed while this section was laying mines in Great Yarmouth in July 1940, I have his death certificate although cause of death just states "Due to war operations"

The German air force dropped landmines by parachute, as he was on fire watch it could have been one of them.

The mines could also have been part of the defenses that were rapidly built as anti invasion measures, a series of 'stop lines' like the GHQ Line which ran from Somerset - Reading then south of London, Guildford and Aldershot to Canvey Island and Great Chesterford in Essex. You can still see many of the pillboxes from these lines traveling around the countryside today.

Keith

[Astoria]

This site lists civilian casualties, might be worth a try

http://www.cwgc.org/

[Peter Goodey]

As Keith has suggested, there's no point getting a death certificate if you're looking for a more detailed account of the death. There wouldn't have been an inquest.

Iver isn't as isolated as you make out - it's between Slough* and Uxbridge - both places would have been worth bombing.

*"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough" ;)

[iverlady]

many thanks to all for the very interesting replies.
i had not realised that land mines were dropped from planes.
many thanks
sue

[NickM]

They weren't exactly land mines - they were just mines - bombs dropped by parachute, which often got caught in trees or on buildings. They were about the size of a UK post box. They usually had timing mechanisms, and designed to catch the unwary when they emerged from their shelters after an air-raid.

The firemen and rescue workers didn't have time for much reverence - my father was a fireman during the London Blitz, and in many places where big bombs had gone off, they had to just put arms, legs, heads and torsos into coffins, not knowing who the people were. That was a side of the wartime fireman's job that few talked about. The names of the dead were usually found from neighbours and relatives.

[JessyB]

Taking up the original point, can anyone tell me if deaths during the World Wars were registered in the usual way? i.e. if someone was killed in action, would their death be listed along with everyone else who died that year, or would you have to look at specific sites like the CWGC?

Thank you.

[v.wells]

On FMP under military select "soldiers died in the great war" and it will bring up a GRO order ref if the name is there. If the body was identified by tags ect then it could have been registered by the officer in charge or chaplain.

[Procat]

On FMP under military select "soldiers died in the great war" and it will bring up a GRO order ref if the name is there. If the body was identified by tags ect then it could have been registered by the officer in charge or chaplain.

Soldiers Died In The Great War is not the index to the death certificates. It lists similar though not identical iinformation to the CWGC site.

I think what Vanessa intended to direct you to on FMP was the Armed forces deaths 1796-1994 section. This will give you the index details for the soldier which will allow you to purchase the certificate from the GRO - FMP has a link to the GRO.

[Peter Goodey]

The registration procedure was not the same as in peacetime but I don't think that's what you want to know. Death certificates can be obtained through GRO. Military and overseas events are handled by GRO's overseas section.

You do not need a GRO reference to order a certificate. It's simply a bit cheaper if you do have it.

[Jan1954]

another mystery is why would there have been land mines in a little village called iver in buckinghamshire?Hi Sue, was it actually Iver where he died, or was he fire-watching at the Fairey factory?

The factory was based in Hayes, just 5 miles from Iver and, as they were an aircraft manufacturer, would quite possibly be one of the targets for bombs.

Have a look at the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Aviation) entry for them. Scroll down for the history.

[JessyB]

Actually that's not a million miles from what I wanted to know! I'm wondering if a soldier who died in a war would have originally been listed in the GRO indexes along with everyone who died in other ways, or whether there would have been a seperate listing somewhere else. Does that make sense?

[Procat]

If he died in the U.K. he will be recorded in the same index as a civilian. If he died overseas he will be recorded in the overseas index.

You need to be aware though that a death certificate for someone killed in action usually does not contain anywhere near the same amount of information as a civilian certificate. Often all they state for cause of death is killed or something similar.

If you want the index checked just post the details such as year, name, service number, rank if you know it.

[JessyB]

Thanks - that's what I needed to know. Just a very general enquiry at this stage, but I'm very grateful for your help!

[iverlady]

hi jan 1954
my grand father was killed at a place called '' woodlands'' chandlers hill, iver, iverheath, richard fairey's home address, this is the reason i can not understand the'' land mine'' part of the story.

surely if anything was tageted it would have been the factories where these planes were made, not the man's home, i also know from research that there was a factory on the trading estate in slough.

chandlers hill was also an army lookout post with a ''big gun'' stationed there during the war, further up the road from woodlands.
any info welcome

thank you for all replies
sue