Death while on holiday?

[daj]

In chatting with some friends we were discussing the death of a family friend who was sadly killed in the Tsunami in Thailand a few years ago. She was on holiday at the time, and the body was returned to the the UK months later.

Out of curiosity I wondered where the death is registered? Who issued the death certificate (Uk/Thailand)?

In years to come could someone searching UK records find this persons death certificate in this country?

[Tracey]

Have you seen this on Scotlandspeople ? it may help answer your question

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/conte ... ?r=554&404

The Minor Records
The minor records comprise records of births, deaths and marriages of Scottish persons outside Scotland. The following indexes to deaths in the minor records are available on this site:

Air Register (from 1948) includes deaths on British-registered aircraft, where it appears that the deceased was usually resident in Scotland.
Consular Returns (from 1914) comprise registrations of death by British consuls relating to persons of Scottish descent or birth.
Foreign Returns (1860 - 1965) the Register of Deaths in Foreign Countries, which comprises deaths of Scottish subjects, entries being made on the basis of information supplied by parties concerned and after due consideration of the evidence.
High Commission Returns (from 1964) relate to the returns of death of persons of Scottish descent in certain Commonwealth countries.
Marine Register (from 1855) includes deaths on British-registered merchant vessels at sea, where it appears that the deceased was usually resident in Scotland and deaths at sea of Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel during wartime, including Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and RNLI. Cause of death for RN personnel was recorded in the register as a number (1, 2, 3 or 4). Find out more
Service Returns (from 1881) include Army returns of deaths of Scottish persons at military stations abroad (1881-1959), and Service Departments Registers of deaths outside the United Kingdom of persons ordinarily resident in Scotland who are serving in or employed by HM Forces, including families of members of the Forces (from 1959).
War Returns include registers of deaths of Scottish soldiers in the South African War (1899-1902); Scottish persons serving as Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned officers or Men in the Army (not officers) and Petty Officers or Men in the Royal Navy in World War I (1914-1918); Scottish members of the Armed Forces in World War II (1939-1945).

[Currie]

Hello David,

The death would no doubt be registered in the country of death if there is such a system there. The reporting of overseas deaths to British consular officials is, as I understand it, still a purely voluntary thing and if it was reported it would end up in the minor records. If the death did not occur in the UK then I don’t think it can be registered under the normal system only via the consul. A consular report of death, if provided in a standard format is unlikely to make provision for any of the extra detail provided on Scottish certificates that does not appear on English ones.

You would think that in the natural disaster situation there would be a greater chance of consular involvement compared to an isolated death and therefore a greater chance that the death would be reported to them. The chances of there being consular involvement would also differ greatly between someone on holiday and someone who has lived overseas for a long time.

If a body is returned to the UK then I assume there would have to be documentation of some sort to comply with transport regulations and maybe additional UK procedures to comply with regulations concerning cremation or burial. The return of someone’s ashes to the UK would I suppose be a simpler procedure.

This page has information about recommended and required procedures (and there’s heaps of interesting stuff on other pages). They seem to be saying that the consular procedure does not apply in some Commonwealth countries.
http://www.facingbereavement.co.uk/Repa ... Death.html

That’s as I understand it,
Alan

[daj]

thank you all for your very informative responses