Railway Death - Salford 1920 Inquest

[hbradshaw1985]

Hi,

I recieved some bmd certificates today regarding my great great grandad Thomas Edward Birch, born in Nottingham in 1866. I know his family moved to manchester when he was around 4 years old and that is where they all settled.

His Birth cert seems to match what I already knew so thats good but it is the death certificate that shocked me.....if it does relate to my Thomas Edward. It says he died on 18th Dec 1920 by being knocked down by a railway train - accidental death. His occupation is given as a platelayer on the railway so was obviously a work related inncident and an inquest was held at Salford.

Can anyone help me to learn more about this - if for example the inquest mentions a wife's name it may help me to confirm whether this death certificate relates/or not to my great great grandad? Its all very interesting even if it isn't a relative!

Thanks,
Helen

[Geoffers]

You might try local newspapers (often easier to track down and more informative than inquests).

See if there is a will or admon (Letters of Administration) following this chap's death. This can be searched using the Probate Calendar available in many Record Offices (try phoning beforehand to confirm availability and whether you nee to reserve a film reader), The calendar (index) includes quite a lot of informaiton, including to whom admon was granted, or the name of the executor.

There are annual reports on railway accidents, these are held at The National Archives (TNA) at Kew.

Have a browse of TNA's resarch guides on railways (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/researchguidesindex.asp?j=1#r) for ideas on further lines of research.

Did he have any children who married after 1920? If so, how is their dad recorded...........possibly as 'railwayman (deceased)'??

Cheshire Record Office (http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/Recordoffice/Railways/Home.htm)has an online catalogue of railway personnel for some (but not all) companies - searching is free so it might be worth a go?