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My grandmother was Doris Alice Warner (nee Thompson). She was born in 1910 and she died on 12.4.1949. At the time of her death she was living at Greenhithe, Kent but she died at Rowley Bristow Hospital, Pyrford, Woking. I know that she died in a car accident and I believe that my grandfather (George Frederick Bruce Warner) was driving the car. I have been unable to locate any newspaper reports of the accident and I feel certain that this accident would have been reported. Also I have not been able to establish where she was buried. Can anyone locate any further information. Thank you

if you have her death cert you could try the Parks & Cemetery dept of both local councils to see if they can locate her burial

its likely she was brought home to Greenhithe though for burial

Greenhithe comes under Dartford Borough Council

Civic Centre
Home Gardens
Dartford
Kent DA1 1DR

tel nos 01322 343434

Maybe of interest


England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
about Doris Alice Warner

Name:Doris Alice Warner
Probate Date:3 Aug 1949
Death Date:12 Apr 1949
Death Place:Kent, England
Registry:London, England

Andy

Contact the Local Archives Study Centre at both the place where she was living and where she died, and ask them to check old copies of any newspapers that they have in their holdings

ask them to look for anything during the month of April ............ the accident may have happened a day or so before she died.



You could also check with the local library in each place



Google to find address, emails or phone numbers

Many thanks for your suggestions

Do you have a copy of her death cert to check if it was the coroner as informant? If it was then there would have been an inquest - although it must have been over quickly as her death was registered within the same quarter as date of death. (A death subject to an inquest is only registered when the inquest is concluded).

Local newspapers are your only real hope, not many inquests reports are available.

I haven't got her death certificate but I will send for it this week. I feel sure the accident would have been reported in either a Dartford or Surrey newspaper but my online searches have not produced any results

My grandparents died in a car accident although some years after your grandmothers death.

I know it was in our local papers as I remember seeing it , thats where they died....not sure whether it was in their own local paper though, but may have been

not all newspapers are online .......... in fact I think that few from the middle of last century have been digitised.


That's why we are suggesting that you contact either the Local Archives Centre or the local library, who will have (or should have!) paper or microfiche copies of the local papers.



What I have said comes from experience ...........

........... my gt grandfather died in April 1877, and his death certificate said he had fallen out of a railway carriage. There was an inquest ............ but no coroner's reports

Nothing online

I contacted the local newspaper, which has been publishing for around 150 years ............... they could not find anything


Then I found an address for the Local Archives Study Centre, sent an email to them ............ and I had a reply next morning.

They had found a very long report in a small newspaper that was only published for a very short time around 1877 ................... and proceeded to copy it and airmail it to me, all at no charge!


The "big" paper had seemingly not covered the incident at all

I have sent a few emails this evening to Local Archives study centres - so fingers crossed they will be able to find something. Will let you know how I get on

I have now established that my grandmother was not buried in the Greenhithe/Dartford area but am waiting for a reply to my email to Dartford Local Archives study centre to see if there is anything reported in the local papers. I have had a reply from Surrey Local Archives study centre and they charge £36 an hour for any research plus £36 to see if there is a coroner's report and if there is and it can be released that will be forwarded but if there isn't a coroner's report or it can't be released I will not get a refund. Does anyone have any idea of how long a search of the newspapers might take. Although I am happy to pay I do not have unlimited funds! I will wait to hear from Dartford Local Archive study centre before seeing if it is necessary for a search to be made in Surrey but just would like any of your thoughts on possible costs. Thank you

Have you not tried the main Library for the area? they should have copies of local papers.....certainly would not pay that sort of money

Linda ................


that certainly seems an excessive amount to pay!!

Oldham Local Studies Archive charged me nothing at all.

I sent the email on a Sunday evening from Canada.

I had a response from one of their volunteers to say she had found the entry, sent from the UK before 10 am Monday morning.

She asked for my mailing address, photocopied 2 pages of the newspaper (long paper), and mailed it airmail to me ...................... no charge!!


I had expected to pay at least for the photocopying and the postal cost.



I had been able to give a 2 week period in which to search, so that did cut down the time. But she had also had to look in 3 newspapers published at that time before she found it.

I was somewhat surprised by the charge and am obviously concerned about how long the search might take. I intially emailed Dartford library but my email has been forwarded to the Dartford Local Studies archive and I am still waiting to hear from them so don't know if they will charge or not. Dartford Borough Council were very helpful and have searched their cemetary records but did not make a charge. I have been able to check the possible churchyard records online at cityark - again no charge. However it is obviously a different situation in Surrey. I have now emailed Woking library but I suspect they will pass it on to the Local Studies archive. If the library don't help I will try the Surrey cemetaries or may consider going to Surrey to look for myself in the library - I live in Kent so that will be considerably cheaper!

that certainly would be much cheaper! :-)

The email I sent yesterday evening to Woking library has been forwarded to Surrey Local Studies archive as they say they don't have the resources to deal with my enquiry so I have not made any progress on that front. I am still hopeful that Dartford library might be able to help but I am still waiting for a reply. I have also emailed the Parks and Cemeteries dept in Surrey but haven't heard from them yet. I have definitely not been as fortunate as Sylvia in my search!

Dartford Local Studies have now provided me with a copy of the newspaper article detailing the accident. It is so sad - my grandmother died at the age of 39 following a car accident. She had a broken neck, broken thigh bones and a broken leg. As I thought - my grandfather was driving the car. They did operate on her but she died the following day. They did not charge me to provide this information so it definitely varies from each Local Studies group. I am just waiting to hear now from the Surrey Parks and Cemeteries to see if she was buried in their location.

Linda


thank you for letting us know.

It is good to hear that you got the information ............... and for free! :-)

I have now heard from Surrey Parks and Cemeteries. They say that they don't have a central record so I will have to contact every church and cemetery individually. I then had a thought that as my grandfather's family lived in Aldershot and that is where they had been travelling to when the accident happened she might have been taken there for burial but I have had a prompt reply from Aldershot cemetery to say that they don't have any record of her. Does anyone know what would have been normal practice in 1949 - would it be more likely that she was buried near to the hospital where she died or is she more likely to be buried elsewhere? Also had cremations started in 1949 or is it more likely that she was buried? Thanks

I would have thought she would have been buried near to home myself.... Not everyone had access to transport back then as we do now. My grandparents were cremated although not that close to their home it was the main crematorium for the area