hello all,i have my great uncles death certificate,he was killed in friendly fire in 1943 whilst serving with the South Lancashire Regiment 1st Battalion he was 19yrs old,can anyone help clear up the following? Where/when died section states, August 19th 11,h,o,m P.M. i know he died August 19th but what does the rest meen? CAUSE OF DEATH:Transverse section of spinal cord,due to gunshot wound penetrating wound of the chest? Died at military hospital Invenary,Argyll. DEATH CERTIFIED BY:J.R.A.WHITE,LIEUT R.A.M ???????? Some of the writing i cannot read,if anyone can interprate any of the above i would be very greatful,also how can i find any history regarding thie stated military hospital? Regards Shelley.x
You may find the Death certified line finishes RAMC- Royal Army Medical Corp- the army's health service if you like, Transverse=cutting, of the spinal cord. This would be consistant with a GSW chest, itself an often lethal injury, particularly if there is a delay of getting to surgery due to being in a remote environment. Invenary, Argyll- isn't that one of the sites the commandos trained at? Sorry I don't have answers as such, but hope the above might help. Ali
Given the location, it is not likely to have been "friendly fire" in battle. Likely to have been a training accident. I don't know what sort of enquiry there would have been in wartime. Now, there would be a full investigation of any fatal training accident. It could be worth finding out from the Procurator Fiscal's office whether there was a fatal accident inquiry (a rough Scottish equivalent to an inquest).
(angie999 @ Sep 12 2005, 05:50 AM) [post=38910]Given the location, it is not likely to have been "friendly fire" in battle. Likely to have been a training accident. I don't know what sort of enquiry there would have been in wartime. Now, there would be a full investigation of any fatal training accident. It could be worth finding out from the Procurator Fiscal's office whether there was a fatal accident inquiry (a rough Scottish equivalent to an inquest). [/b] There should have been a full inquiry. In the Canadian MIlitary during WWII as now. There were inquiries into matters of this nature. I have on record at least four such inquires into deaths of Irish Regiment of Canada causualties. I found the Inquiry details in the Serviceman's Personnel File at the National Archives. I supose the same would hold true for all Commonwealth Nations.
