Deaths in WW2 - Genealogists' Forum

Langley Vale Sue · #1 02-11-09, 08:38

I'm sure I should know the answer to this, but I don't

If someone was killed when their house was bombed in WW2, would their death be registered in the normal way? My mother-in-law had a school friend who was due to visit her in her new married home in late 1939/early 1940 and she never turned up, and was never heard from again. M-i-L says her friend's house was flattened by a bomb and no trace of the inhabitants was found. M-i-L is almost 93 and is a little confused in her memories now. M-i-L's parents lived in the next street in Camberwell, London to her friend and their house suffered some superficial damage, so I'm sure they would have known definitely if the entire family were killed in the bombing.

The family name was Adams, and there is nothing listed on CWGC website for civilian deaths. Is my only option to trawl through BMDs for late 1939/early 1940? Would there be any other records of which houses were bombed and the names of casualties? The problem is, M-i-L isn't sure of the exact date of the bombing and her wartime memories tend to all run together now and there is confusion as to the exact facts.

M-i-L keeps telling me she would love to find out what happened to her friend, her brother & their parents and I would love to be able to finally put her mind at rest.

Any suggestions welcome

kiterunner · #2 02-11-09, 08:50

As far as I know, if a body had been found then the death would be registered as normal, but if they found no trace of the occupants of the house then I think there would have needed to be an inquest or court hearing to declare them officially dead. I'm not sure whether that would have been done quickly during the war or if it would take years.

Georgette · #3 02-11-09, 11:05

There might be something about it in the local newspaper, Sue.

Shazza34 · #4 02-11-09, 12:19

Sue
I have found a distant cousins family who were killed in a bombing on Wallasey, Liverpool in 1941. Paul & wife Amy, their daughter Elizabeth, Paul's brother & sister Herbert & Brenda and a servant girl were all killed. Another daughter Pauline survived and i've been in contact with Pauline's daughter who filled me in with all the info.
They all have CWGC certs as civilian war dead. I have also found their deaths in the normal GRO registers for that date, but I had the date to help look.
Hope this helps
Sharon

Merry · #5 02-11-09, 13:39

If there were bodies found then the deaths would be registered in the normal way. I would think you will need to trawl, even if the rumour was that no bodies were found; that might have been supposition, looking at the state of the building.

Merry · #6 02-11-09, 13:42

I don't think there was much bombing in 1939 in London (try googling, I'm not sure). I do know The Blitz began in Sept 1940 and lasted well into 1941, but I suppose there may have been some activity before that.

Merry · #7 02-11-09, 13:47

Do you know all their names, Sue? I see there are well over 100 Adams listed as civilian war dead in WW2 and wondered if you had had the opportunity to search for each name individually?

Nell · #8 02-11-09, 13:47

I think the local newspaper would have reported this. I know things were played down to keep morale up but my bet is the local history centre/archive would have information about which sites were bombed. I vaguely recall that "bomb maps" were drawn up showing the devastation.

Langley Vale Sue · #9 02-11-09, 19:53

Thank you for all your help & suggestions.

Kite
I thought there would have to be documentation somewhere about their deaths. So many were killed in bombings in WW2, but they must be listed somewhere surely, even if there were inquests held. I'm trawling now!

Georgette
I'll have to look for the local papers and see if this bombing was reported.

Shazza
I have looked at the CWGC site for civilian war dead and, although there are lots of Adams, there are none listed in the Camberwell or surrounding areas. I'm trawling through the deaths on Ancestry now, but no luck so far. I think I'll have to expand my search!

Merry
quote: I don't think there was much bombing in 1939 in London (try googling, I'm not sure). I do know The Blitz began in Sept 1940 and lasted well into 1941, but I suppose there may have been some activity before that. :quote

According to M-i-L "it was a stray bomb dumped by a German on his way home". I know that Camberwell was badly hit during September 1940, so I suppose it could have been then & M-i-L got the dates wrong. This L*** Adams was one of M-i-L's bridesmaids and a best friend from schooldays so I find it strange that they didn't meet between June 1939 when M-i-L got married and September 1940 (if that is when she was possibly killed). The distance between Camberwell & Morden is not that great and I'm sure M-i-L went to Camberwell to visit her parents after she married and they certainly visited her in Morden.

Nell
I have seen "bomb maps" for the Epsom area so I think I'll have to get in touch with the local history centre for the Camberwell area and see if any exist for there. Also see if they have local newspapers from that time.

I'm getting a feeling this may turn into a wild goose chase