Subject: Re: FOI / Records Request – Deaths of William (Billy) Buckler (1990) and Mary Doreen Williams (1983)
From: Sion Buckler
Direction: sent
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:46 UTC
Institution: Coroner's Service (RCT Council)
Refs: none
Archive id: gm-1a03ec02083c07d9
------------------------------------------------------------

Bev,

Thank you for the clarification. The distinction is important to my enquiry.

I am conducting a forensic reconstruction of the historical circumstances
surrounding the *BP Properties Ltd v Buckler* dispute, including the events
surrounding Mary Doreen Williams, and her death in March 1983.

Mary died during the very short period in which she would have had an
opportunity to challenge the registration of her land in BP’s name. Her
ownership claim was never adjudicated or exstinguished. BP's award of
possession of her land (not ownership) resulted in a brutal dispossession
of her children and grandchildren resulting in a ECHR case in 1989, which
also prioritised BP's rights over the families.

I am therefore examining the documentary evidence concerning both the
land-registration dispute and the circumstances surrounding her death. I am
not suggesting from the timing alone that the two matters were connected;
rather, I am seeking to establish the underlying facts and ensure that the
surviving official record has been properly accounted for.

For that reason, I need to distinguish between *a historical absence of a
coronial record* and *the absence of a record from a modern computer system
which does not contain that historical material*.

I understand from your latest email that your computer system does not
store information concerning referrals received in 1983 or before. On that
basis, I understand that the search of your present system cannot establish
whether Mary Doreen Williams was or was not referred to the coroner.

Could I therefore clarify two points separately?

*1. Mary Doreen Williams — March 1983*

Does your office have any information concerning where the historical
records of the coroner responsible for Llandough Hospital in March 1983 are
now held, even if those records are no longer searchable by your office?

I am trying to establish the documentary chain:

*responsible coroner/jurisdiction → historical registers or case files →
transfer to archive or successor authority → present custodian, or
documented destruction/retention history.*

If you do not know the name of the coroner, could you identify the former
coroner’s jurisdiction or office responsible for Llandough Hospital at that
time? That would enable me to make a properly targeted request to the
relevant archive or records custodian.

You previously indicated that Glamorgan Archives may hold paper copies of
reports and post-mortem examination details. Could you clarify whether you
know that the historical Cardiff and Vale coronial records were actually
transferred to Glamorgan Archives, or whether Glamorgan Archives is being
suggested simply as the most likely repository?

If there is a known archive series, accession, register, transfer record or
other indication of where the former coroner’s records were deposited, that
information would be particularly helpful.

*2. William (Billy) Buckler — May 1990*

There is a separate point concerning William (Billy) Buckler, who died in
1990.

Your latest clarification refers specifically to information for referrals
received in *1983 or before*. As Billy died in 1990, could you please
clarify whether his case was capable of being searched in the computer
system you checked?

If it was searchable, I would be grateful if you could explain what the
negative result means — for example, whether no electronic record exists,
or whether the relevant Cardiff and Vale coronial records for that period
are held elsewhere.

Your earlier email stated:

“Cardiff and Vale cases prior to 2002 should be with the Glamorgan
Archivist.”

Could you please confirm whether that applies to Billy’s 1990 case as well?

More generally, I am trying to establish whether either death generated,
and whether there may now survive:

   - a referral to the coroner;
   - a coroner’s register entry or index;
   - a preliminary investigation or enquiry;
   - a post-mortem examination;
   - an inquest;
   - police, hospital or other official correspondence;
   - cause-of-death documentation;
   - coroner’s case papers; or
   - an archival transfer, retention or destruction record.

I appreciate that some underlying records may be subject to access
restrictions, and I am not asking your office to disclose confidential
medical information at this stage. My immediate objective is more
fundamental: *to establish whether a coronial record was created, whether
it survives, and what happened to it.*

That distinction is important to the historical investigation. A
present-day search producing no result is evidentially quite different from
a historical record establishing that no referral, investigation,
post-mortem or inquest ever took place.

I will now approach Glamorgan Archives, but any information you can provide
regarding the former coroner’s jurisdiction, the historical records held by
that jurisdiction, and their subsequent transfer or disposal would allow me
to make that request considerably more precise.

Thank you again for taking the time to clarify the position. Your latest
explanation has been genuinely helpful in establishing the limitations of
the present electronic search, and I appreciate your assistance in
identifying the surviving historical record.

Regards,

Sion Buckler (Ret’d Sergeant)
Royal Signals Cyber and Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member

On Tue, 25 Aug 2026, 06:43 Morgan, Beverley, <[email redacted]>
wrote:

> Good morning, Mr Buckler,
>
> Sorry for the delay in my reply.
>
> Confirming my statement  “Unable to locate any details”- My computer
> system does not store any information for referrals received in 1983 or
> before, I am unable to confirm if any referrals were ever received for the
> late Mary Doreen Williams or the late Mr William (Billy) Buckler. I am
> unable to give details of the coroner at that time for Llandough Hospital.
>
> Glamorgan Archives will hopefully have the information you requested, and
> they may hold paper copies of reports and postmortem examinations details
> that you require.
>
> Wishing you well in your search
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Bev Morgan
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Sion Buckler <[email redacted]>
> *Sent:* 21 August 2026 17:43
> *To:* Coroner Admin <[email redacted]>
> *Subject:* Re: FOI / Records Request – Deaths of William (Billy) Buckler
> (1990) and Mary Doreen Williams (1983)
>
>
>
> Dear Bev,
>
> Thank you for checking the system and for your prompt and helpful reply.
>
> I am grateful for the clarification regarding the historical position of
> Cardiff and Vale cases prior to 2002, and I will now pursue enquiries with
> Glamorgan Archives.
>
> Before I do so, I would be grateful if I could clarify one point
> concerning the result of your search, particularly in relation to my
> grandmother, Mary Doreen Williams.
>
> My purpose is not simply genealogical. I am attempting to reconstruct and
> forensically assess the historical circumstances surrounding her death in
> 1983, and there is information concerning the circumstances before and
> around her death which I am seeking to reconcile against the surviving
> official documentary record.
>
> Could you therefore please confirm whether your statement that you are
> "unable to locate any details" means only that neither individual appears
> in the records or computerised/indexed system currently available to your
> office, or whether your office is able positively to state that neither
> death was ever referred to the coroner?
>
> In particular, if you are able to clarify, I would be grateful to know
> whether the absence of a record in your system excludes, or does not
> exclude, the historical existence of:
>
>    - a report of the death to a coroner;
>    - a preliminary coroner's enquiry;
>    - a post-mortem examination;
>    - an inquest;
>    - correspondence with the police, hospital or other authority;
>    - a case file or register subsequently transferred to an archive or
>    destroyed in accordance with an applicable retention policy.
>
> I appreciate that you may not hold the historical records themselves. I am
> not asking you to speculate about the circumstances of either death. I am
> simply seeking to ensure that I correctly understand the evidential
> significance of the negative search result before proceeding to the archive.
>
> If possible, I would also be grateful if you could confirm the name of the
> coroner jurisdiction or office responsible for Llandough/Llandough Hospital
> in March 1983, when Mary Doreen Williams died, and whether you know which
> body would have inherited or transferred that jurisdiction's surviving
> records.
>
> For completeness, if there are any records held off-system, legacy
> indexes, paper registers, accession records or transfer information which
> are not searchable through the system you checked, I would be grateful if
> you could let me know whether those exist and who now holds them.
>
> I appreciate your assistance. I am trying to establish the documentary
> facts carefully and avoid drawing conclusions before the relevant records
> have been located or ruled out.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
>
>
>
> On Fri, 21 Aug 2026, 05:14 Coroner Admin, <[email redacted]>
> wrote:
>
> Good morning, Mr Buckler
>
> Thank you for your prompt reply.
>
> I have checked our system for any records relating to the two cases you
> have asked information for.
>
> Unfortunately, I am unable to locate any details on the Late Mr William
> Buckler or the late Mary Doreen Williams.
>
> Cardiff and Vale cases prior to 2002 should be with the Glamorgan
> Archivist, you can contact them on Tel; [phone redacted] or
> [email redacted]
>
> I hope this information helps and I wish you the best in your search.
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Bev
>
>
>
> *From:* Sion Buckler <[email redacted]>
> *Sent:* 21 August 2026 08:47
> *To:* Coroner Admin <[email redacted]>
> *Subject:* Re: FOI / Records Request – Deaths of William (Billy) Buckler
> (1990) and Mary Doreen Williams (1983)
>
>
>
> Bev,
>
> Thank you for clarifying the position regarding the Freedom of Information
> Act.
>
> I understand that coroners and their records are not subject to the FOI
> access regime. I am therefore not seeking to pursue the matter as an FOI
> request if that is not the appropriate route.
>
> My primary purpose is to establish whether either of these deaths was ever
> referred to the coroner and, if so, whether any surviving record exists and
> what lawful route is available for an interested family member to obtain
> information from it.
>
> I would therefore be grateful if you could clarify the following, insofar
> as you are able:
>
>    1. Whether your office has any record or index indicating that either
>    William (Billy) Buckler, who died at Llandough Hospital on or about 29 May
>    1990, or Mary Doreen Williams, whose death was registered in March 1983 in
>    South Glamorgan (Vol. 28, p. 3029), was reported to or dealt with by the
>    coroner;
>    2. If either death was the subject of a coroner's investigation,
>    whether an inquest, post-mortem examination or other coroner's
>    investigation took place;
>    3. Whether any historical record relating to either death remains in
>    the custody of the coroner's service, or whether such records have been
>    transferred to another archive, authority or successor body;
>    4. If records exist but cannot be disclosed directly, what procedure
>    is available for a descendant or other interested person to establish the
>    basic factual information concerning the case;
>    5. If your office has no record whatsoever of either death, whether
>    that means that no coroner's record exists, or simply that the surviving
>    records are no longer held by your office.
>
> I am particularly interested in establishing the documentary chain rather
> than necessarily seeking disclosure of confidential medical information. A
> confirmation that a death was, or was not, referred to the coroner would
> itself be useful.
>
> If you are not the appropriate office to answer these historical-record
> questions, I would be grateful if you could identify the relevant archive,
> successor body or other custodian to whom I should direct the enquiry.
>
> Thank you again for your assistance.
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
>
> Royal Signals Cyber and Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member
>
>
>
> On Fri, 21 Aug 2026, 04:33 Coroner Admin, <[email redacted]>
> wrote:
>
> Good morning, Mr Buckler
>
> Thank you for your e-mail dated 20/08/2026.
>
>
>
> Although appointed and paid for by local councils, the coroner is not a
> local government officer but holds office under the Crown.
>
>
>
> Coroners are not designated as public authorities under the Freedom of
> Information Act 2000 and therefore their records are not subject to the
> information access regime of this Act.
>
>
>
> Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Bev Morgan
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Sion Buckler <[email redacted]>
> *Sent:* 20 August 2026 20:34
> *To:* Coroner Admin <[email redacted]>
> *Subject:* FOI / Records Request – Deaths of William (Billy) Buckler
> (1990) and Mary Doreen Williams (1983)
>
>
>
> Dear Coroner’s Office,
>
> I am writing under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and as an
> interested person to request any records held by the South Wales Central
> Coroner’s Service relating to the following two deaths:
>
> 1. William (Billy) Buckler
>    - Late of Great House Farm, Llandough
>    - Died at Llandough Hospital on or about 29 May 1990, aged 41
>    - Reported cause: heart attack
>    - Funeral 5 June 1990, Bethesda Chapel, Dinas Powys; interment St
> Michael’s Church, Michaelston-le-Pit
>
> 2. Mary Doreen Williams
>    - Born 10 August 1913
>    - Death registered March 1983, South Glamorgan (Vol 28, Page 3029)
>
> Please advise whether either death was reported to the Coroner, whether a
> post-mortem or inquest was held, and what documentation (reports, police
> referrals, hospital communications, etc.) remains available. Please also
> confirm the procedure, identification required, any fees, and timescales
> for release to next-of-kin or interested persons.
>
> I can supply further identifying details, proof of interest, and
> contemporary newspaper cuttings / family notes upon request.
>
> Thank you for your assistance.
>
> Yours faithfully,
>
>
> Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
> Royal Signals Cyber and Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member
>
>
>
> Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd gohebu yn y Gymraeg ddim yn arwain at
> oedi. Rhowch wybod inni beth yw'ch dewis iaith e.e. Cymraeg neu'n
> ddwyieithog
>
> Mae'r neges ar gyfer y person / pobl enwedig yn unig. Gall gynnwys
> gwybodaeth bersonol, sensitif neu gyfrinachol. Os nad chi yw'r person a
> enwyd (neu os nad oes gyda chi’r awdurdod i'w derbyn ar ran y person a
> enwyd) chewch chi ddim ei chopïo neu’i defnyddio, neu'i datgelu i berson
> arall. Os ydych chi wedi derbyn y neges ar gam, rhowch wybod i'r sawl sy
> wedi anfon y neges ar unwaith. Mae'n bosibl y bydd holl negeseuon yn cael
> eu cofnodi a/neu fonitro unol â’r ddeddfwriaeth berthnasol. I ddarllen yr
> ymwadiad llawn, ewch i http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/ymwadiad
>
> We welcome correspondence in Welsh and corresponding with us in Welsh will
> not lead to a delay. Let us know your language choice if Welsh or bilingual
>
> This transmission is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may
> contain personal, sensitive or confidential material and should be handled
> accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive
> it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone
> else. If you have received this transmission in error please notify the
> sender immediately. All traffic may be subject to recording and/or
> monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation For the full disclaimer
> please access http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/disclaimer
>
>
>
> Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd gohebu yn y Gymraeg ddim yn arwain at
> oedi. Rhowch wybod inni beth yw'ch dewis iaith e.e. Cymraeg neu'n
> ddwyieithog
>
> Mae'r neges ar gyfer y person / pobl enwedig yn unig. Gall gynnwys
> gwybodaeth bersonol, sensitif neu gyfrinachol. Os nad chi yw'r person a
> enwyd (neu os nad oes gyda chi’r awdurdod i'w derbyn ar ran y person a
> enwyd) chewch chi ddim ei chopïo neu’i defnyddio, neu'i datgelu i berson
> arall. Os ydych chi wedi derbyn y neges ar gam, rhowch wybod i'r sawl sy
> wedi anfon y neges ar unwaith. Mae'n bosibl y bydd holl negeseuon yn cael
> eu cofnodi a/neu fonitro unol â’r ddeddfwriaeth berthnasol. I ddarllen yr
> ymwadiad llawn, ewch i http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/ymwadiad
>
> We welcome correspondence in Welsh and corresponding with us in Welsh will
> not lead to a delay. Let us know your language choice if Welsh or bilingual
>
> This transmission is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may
> contain personal, sensitive or confidential material and should be handled
> accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive
> it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone
> else. If you have received this transmission in error please notify the
> sender immediately. All traffic may be subject to recording and/or
> monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation For the full disclaimer
> please access http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/disclaimer
>
>
>
> Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd gohebu yn y Gymraeg ddim yn arwain at
> oedi. Rhowch wybod inni beth yw'ch dewis iaith e.e. Cymraeg neu'n
> ddwyieithog
>
> Mae'r neges ar gyfer y person / pobl enwedig yn unig. Gall gynnwys
> gwybodaeth bersonol, sensitif neu gyfrinachol. Os nad chi yw'r person a
> enwyd (neu os nad oes gyda chi’r awdurdod i'w derbyn ar ran y person a
> enwyd) chewch chi ddim ei chopïo neu’i defnyddio, neu'i datgelu i berson
> arall. Os ydych chi wedi derbyn y neges ar gam, rhowch wybod i'r sawl sy
> wedi anfon y neges ar unwaith. Mae'n bosibl y bydd holl negeseuon yn cael
> eu cofnodi a/neu fonitro unol â’r ddeddfwriaeth berthnasol. I ddarllen yr
> ymwadiad llawn, ewch i http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/ymwadiad
>
> We welcome correspondence in Welsh and corresponding with us in Welsh will
> not lead to a delay. Let us know your language choice if Welsh or bilingual
>
> This transmission is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may
> contain personal, sensitive or confidential material and should be handled
> accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive
> it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone
> else. If you have received this transmission in error please notify the
> sender immediately. All traffic may be subject to recording and/or
> monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation For the full disclaimer
> please access http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/disclaimer
>