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Obituaries from the Fortnightly Returns of the Operative Society of Masons, Quarrymen and Allied Trades of England, Ireland and Wales

This index is to the obituaries or death notices contained in the fortnightly returns of the Friendly Society of Operative Stonemasons of England, Ireland and Wales between July 1836-April 1921. The index contains over 25,000 entries and includes some additional information relating to applications for superannuation, accident benefit, etc.

The obituaries usually covered members who had joined the union's funeral fund, and who would therefore have received a sum of money from the union towards their burial. The deaths of wives and (after July 1862) children registered with the fund are also included. Information given in the fortnightly returns may include the age, place of death or member's branch, and date and cause of death.

To get a better idea of the contents and layout of a fortnightly return, see this example from 10th-24th June 1869Link opens in a new window (this is a pdf - please contact us if you would prefer to see images of the document in a different format).