Another death cert query

[Kit]

My great grandma's death cert says certified by G W Huntbach Coroner for the city of Stoke on Trent Staffs(?) post mortem without inquest.

Would the post mortem be to discover cause of death and no inquest as there was nothing suspicious?

If this was in 1951 would there be any paperwork left?

[Gert in Oz]

You could be right there Kit, although over 100 years later my dad had a post mortem, but his was because he had been in hospital for less than 24 hours.

Suppose it depends of what and where she died

[Merry]

Yes, I would say you are right, Kit (about the reason for the pm).

Not really any chance of paperwark from this case though, I'm afraid.

Erm....Yes, Stoke on Trent is Staffordshire! (I think it's officially Stoke-upon-Trent)

[Joy Dean]

My great grandma's death cert says certified by G W Huntbach Coroner for the city of Stoke on Trent Staffs(?) post mortem without inquest.

Would the post mortem be to discover cause of death and no inquest as there was nothing suspicious?

Yes, absolutely. The same was on my Granny's death certificate, in 1969. She had collapsed indoors, was taken to hospital and died there.

[Margaret in Burton]

My great grandma's death cert says certified by G W Huntbach Coroner for the city of Stoke on Trent Staffs(?) post mortem without inquest.

Would the post mortem be to discover cause of death and no inquest as there was nothing suspicious?

If this was in 1951 would there be any paperwork left?


Good grief, that's a name I remember seeing in the local papers a lot in the past. :d Yes, Stoke upon Trent is Staffordshire (think Staffordshire potteries)

[Kit]

Erm....Yes, Stoke on Trent is Staffordshire! (I think it's officially Stoke-upon-Trent)

lol Merry I know Stoke on Trent is in Staffs, I'm just not sure if the word was Staffs or something else.

I don't know where she died but it wasn't at home. The cert very nicely said, under her occupation, her address and that she was the widow of her husband and his occupation.

The cause of death sounds awful - toxic myocarditis, peritonitis and carcinoma of the rectum.

The post mortem makes me wonder if she wasn't receiving any treatment.

[Olde Crone]

It does sound as if she wasn't receiving any medical treatment because normally, if she had been diagnosed with those things, it would say on the death cert something like "four months" "five days" and so on.

OC

[Langley Vale Sue]

My Mum died at home in 1997, but the doctor wouldn't sign the death certificate as, although he had been treating her for heart & blood pressure problems for 6 years, he hadn't seen her for 5 days prior to her death. He told me he wasn't allowed to declare a cause of death so there had to be a post mortem. There was no inquest though. Her cause of death (haven't got the certificate to hand so I can't say the official name) was hardening of the arteries and heart failure.

I presume an inquest wasn't necessary in Mum's case because the post mortem proved the cause of death was the same problem that the doctor was treating her for.

[Kit]

Thanks OC and Sue.

[Merry]

toxic myocarditis, peritonitis and carcinoma of the rectum.

The post mortem makes me wonder if she wasn't receiving any treatment.


My brother-in-law died of peritonitis and carcinoma of the rectum in 1997 and the drs hadn't managed to diagnose his illness at that date, never mind treat him for anything, so there's a fair chance she wasn't receiving treatment in the 50s. As OC says, they would normally give a length of time if it was known, but if you were undiagnosed then they wouldn't, even if you had been ill for ages.

[Kit]

I also got great grandma's son's death cert. He died of mitral stenosis. It didn't give a lenght of time but there was no post mortem for him according to the death cert. That sounds like he had been treated, to me, or they at least knew he had the heart problem. Am I correct?

[maggie_4_7]

I don't know what year you are talking about but today it would be diagnosed by echocardiogram or ultrasound. But I suspect they could tell by listening to the heart through their stethoscopes because it would have an irregular beat.

It is caused by a number of things though.

[Kit]

Sorry Maggie, it was in the 1930s.

When I googled it said the main cause was rheumatic fever. My grandma also had it so I think, in this case, it was also casued by rheumatic fever.

I'm going to ask 2 second cousins to see if they know how many in the family had it.

[Mandy in Wiltshire]

My MIL died very suddenly just over 3 years ago and OH and his sister thought there would be a post mortem. However, it turned out she'd seen her GP a couple of days before for something connected to the cause of death, so a PM wasn't necessary.

[JBee]

Even though my Father had cancer and was terminal - when we called the doctors a locum came out (on a sunday) to pronounce death but wouldn't sign death certificate - it was our own doctor who had to do that as he had seen him in the previous few days.

Was told there wasn't a need for a post mortem as his GP had seen him and his medical condition was known.