I have just discovered, through a new service, the sad cause of death of my great uncle who died in May 1917 aged 38 whilst training in army camp in Tiverton, Hampshire.
In a stark statement, the cause of death was given as "Cutting his throat whilst temporary insane" - a tragic ending for a man who had already experienced sadness in his life, when his wife died of TB in 1906 aged just 21, leaving their baby daughter motherless. At 38 years old and as a family man, was the trauma of being catapulted from a small rural community into military life, too much to bear?
We are so used to thinking it was young men who were called up to fight in the First World War, but the Military Service Act of January 1916 specified that single men aged 18 to 40 years old were liable to be called up for military service. This was rapidly extended in July of that year to include married men.
In a stark statement, the cause of death was given as "Cutting his throat whilst temporary insane" - a tragic ending for a man who had already experienced sadness in his life, when his wife died of TB in 1906 aged just 21, leaving their baby daughter motherless. At 38 years old and as a family man, was the trauma of being catapulted from a small rural community into military life, too much to bear?
We are so used to thinking it was young men who were called up to fight in the First World War, but the Military Service Act of January 1916 specified that single men aged 18 to 40 years old were liable to be called up for military service. This was rapidly extended in July of that year to include married men.
There were various conflicting family stories about my great uncle's death - talk that "Granny had to fight to get his name on the local war memorial", and a puzzle that his name did not appear on the memorial in the local parish church, but I was not prompted to acquire his death certificate for this one piece of information.
However the General Register Office of England and Wales have just offered for a trial period a new service of supplying information from BMD certificates by PDF file - at the much more reasonable cost of £6. This has been reported on various family history blogs.
I must admit I did not immediately find the website user friendly, as there was nothing on the homepage highlighting this new service. I eventually contacted their call centre which was helpful and talked me through the process. Apparently you just follow the normal procedure for ordering certificates, identifying the volume no. and page no. from the relevant Index, and it is only as you scroll down the payment options (standard/express etc.) that you first get note of "by PDF File".
Thereafter the service was excellent. I quickly received a confirmation of my order and note that it would be dispatched 16th November. In fact the file landed in my e-mails today November 14th - and is a very clear image of the register entry,
Thereafter the service was excellent. I quickly received a confirmation of my order and note that it would be dispatched 16th November. In fact the file landed in my e-mails today November 14th - and is a very clear image of the register entry,
If you have ancestors in England and Wales, I would recommend using the service. But for this trial period, there is a limit on the number of request that will be undertaken, so you do need to move quickly.
For me it has answered a niggling gap in my family history knowledge - but one that is so sad.
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A sad occurence of your great uncle's death -- and many unanswered questions too. Also appreciated your discussion of the GRO.
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