Missing Presumed Dead - then not

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Member for

20 years

Posts: 5,575

What happens in the cases where a member of the military goes missing on operations and is not heard from again, and the authorities have declared them legally dead, if at a later stage they re-emerge from a POW camp or other prison and it wasn't known they were there? I understand this has happened in the past, with some Vietnam War POW's, etc.

If they are declared legally dead, and their insurance and benefits plus a widows pension etc is paid out to the family; and then they turn up back home again; would that all have to be paid back?

Another example, a friend of mine told me her father went missing in France/Belgium in 1940. They were told he was presumed dead as he never turned up in the Red Cross prisoner lists etc. Then months later after they thought he'd died, they were told he was alive. He had recaived a bad blow to the head at Dunkirk, had been dragged into a boat and taken home to England, but had no idea who he was. He was in a hospital for many months with amnesia till one day it all came back to him!

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Member for

17 years 6 months

Posts: 9,739

Well, here in Britain, I’m sure there’d be an awful lot of forms to fill out; but you wouldn’t have any trouble convincing the Inland Revenue that they were alive...

...not if the Inland Revenue thought that they’d missed out on collecting some tax! :diablo:

Member for

13 years 9 months

Posts: 8,306

C.D. Warren, I think your answer to the question will be hard to better re Back Taxes.;)
Jim.
Lincoln .7

CD

Not many months ago our joint bank account was frozen, all our cards stopped working and all direct debits were cancelled.

On going to the bank to find out why we were told that, according to the bank's computer system, we were deceased. The subsequent conversation with the cashier was priceless and worthy of any comedy sketch. I explained that although I was feeling a little under the weather I was'nt yet dead.

Apologetic, the bank manager asked what they could do to put things right. "Write to the Inland Revenue and tell them we are dead" was my request.

Judging by the reminders to complete last years tax return it seems that he didn't write that letter after all....

Member for

13 years 11 months

Posts: 1,335

although the MRS would probably want a better story than that !!

Member for

20 years

Posts: 5,575

Great story Andy!

Member for

15 years 10 months

Posts: 1,311

On similar lines to Andys story....

When my Dad died a few years back I had to do all the usual admin, one of which was telling all the utilities, Electric & Gas- no problem, all done over the phone, Water however was a different matter, they kept asking to talk to the account holder, even though I had made it perfectly clear he'd left this mortal coil, ending up with me suggesting we held a séance!

Fortunately a supervisor was found to sort things out :rolleyes:

Member for

14 years 11 months

Posts: 894

I found a book in the National Archives, at Kew, today, which might answer your query; it's "Missing Believed Killed," by Stuart Hadaway, published by Pen & Sword, ISBN 184884659-2

Member for

15 years

Posts: 265

Wasn't there a story of a lady with a farm who remarried after being told her husband had been killed in action, WW 1 I think. A few years later her first husband turned up alive and well. I think she continued to live with both men.

Member for

16 years

Posts: 1,059

That would have been a very difficult situation to have dealt with, I would think.:confused: