WW1 military death certificates

[Guest Peter Barker]

could anybody tell me what a military death certificate for an infantryman will tell me? Do they give the mans exact attachment at death, ie could it resolve a discrepancy between the attachment shown in CWGC / SDITGW / the medal records? Thanks, Pete

[Sue Light]

Pete

I've got one in front of me now, and it gives:

Battalion

Regimental number

Rank

Surname and forename

Age

Country of Birth

Date of Death

Place of death - this will not give detail - just 'France', 'France and Flanders' etc.

Cause of Death - again this will not give an actual cause, just 'died of wounds' etc.

There is no separate column for Battalion, but hopefully it will be added - normally underneath the rank.

They may serve a purpose in some cases, but on the whole they always seem to be a disappointment. I've never had one for a man attached to a different battalion/unit so can't comment on whether you would be lucky with that.

Regards - Sue

[Sue Light]

Sorry Pete - the first line of that list should have read 'Regiment' not 'Battalion'

Sue

[Guest Hill 60]

Sue - Are the 'military' & 'civilian' death certificates different forms? The reason I ask is that I have seen the death certificate for one of my great uncles, and I'm pretty sure it is the same as a civvy certificate; he was killed in action in 1918.

The place of death was given as 'B. E. F.' and the date of death was over a period of about 11 days, although I managed to get that officially corrected to the 21st March 1918.

[Sue Light]

Lee

Yes, they looked very similar, although remember, that ordinary [i.e. civilian] death certificates have changed over the years, with some in 'horizontal' form, which is probably what you have in mind, and some in 'vertical' form. I've put a military one Here - needs resizing, so you'll have to creep around it

Regards - Sue

[Quinnes Post]

I am thick but where would you get a copy of a soldiers death certificate from. Same as for a civil one?

[Sue Light]

This full account of what is contained in the 'Miscellaneous' Indexes at the Family Records Centre, Myddleton Street, London, appeared in the Rootsweb Sussex mailing list recently, supplied by Marion Woolgar, and few people could supply it better than Marion! Having found your index reference, a form has to be filled in as normal, although that form will be different to a normal request for a death or birth certificate. Most County Record Offices and large libraries who hold Birth, Marriage and Death indexes on fiche, do not have those for Army deaths, so access to indexes, even in the UK is limited, although because of the [relatively] small numbers involved, searching is quite easy. I hope this clarifies a few points.

Regards - Sue

----------------------------------------------------

"I have replied to a couple of messages over the past 10 days concerning the

Death Registration of people serving in the British Armed Forces in the 19th

and 20th Centuries. In my replies, I have referred to a "run" of

Miscellaneous Indexes at the FRC and I have received a large number of

off-List enquiries requesting further information about these volumes. As

there appears to be a wide interest in them, I thought that I would post my

replies to the two Sussex Lists.

I last looked at the Miscellaneous Indexes at the FRC in 1998. At that

time, I made a list of what was available, categorised under type of event.

Here is my list and if anyone can bring it up-to-date, I would be grateful

if they would contact me with the information:

BIRTHS:

Army Returns Births 1796 to 1955

Births Abroad 1966 to 1995

Consular Births 1849 to 1965

Marine Births 1837 to 1965

Regimental Registers Army Births & Baptisms 1761 to 1924

Service Dept Births 1956 to 1965

UKHC Births Up to & including 1981

MARRIAGES:

Army Returns Marriages 1796 to 1955

Consular Marriages 1849 to 1965

Marriages Abroad 1966 to 1995

Service Depts Marriages 1956 to 1965

UKHC Marriages 1950 to 1965

DEATHS:

Air Births and Deaths 1947 to 1965

Army Returns Deaths 1881 to 1965

Army War Deaths - Officers 1939 to 1948

Army War Deaths - Officers 1914 to 1921

Army War Deaths - Other Ranks 1914 to 1921

Army War Deaths - Other Ranks 1939 to 1948

Chaplains Returns Deaths 1796 to 1880

Consular Deaths 1849 to 1965

Deaths Abroad 1966 to 1995

Deaths Natal & South Africa Forces (Boer War) 1899 to 1902

Indian Services War Deaths 1939 to 1948

Marine Deaths 1837 to 1965

Naval Deaths - Officers 1939 to 1948

Naval Deaths Ratings 1939 to 1948

Naval War Deaths - All Ranks 1914 to 1921

RAF War Deaths - All Ranks 1939 to 1948

UKHC Deaths 1950 to 1965

OTHER:

Adoption Registers 1927 to 1997

African & Asian Protectorates B, D & M 1941 to 1965

Air Births and Deaths 1947 to 1965

Foreign B, D & M 1961 to 1965

Ionian Islands B, D, & M 1818 to 1864

I have only seen the above Indexes at the FRC and I am unaware of any film

or fiche copies that may be available for either hire or purchase."

[Guest Hill 60]

Sue - Thank you very much for that. I couldn't remember what my gt Uncle William's certificate looked like but seeing your one I know recall that it is the same style!