Lonely veteran lay dead for seven months
AS a career soldier and proud Scot, Thomas Yuill devoted himself unstintingly to the service of his country.
But the former corporal, who left the Army with an ‘exemplary’ record, lay dead in his flat for seven months without anyone bothering to check on him.
The pensioner died alone after falling out with his family.
Council officers twice visited his home to chase missing rent payments but despite noticing a ‘musty’ smell, they failed to notify emergency services about concerns for the reclusive man’s welfare.
It was only after a statutory 28day notice period issued by Oxford City Council expired that officers broke into the property and found his body just a few feet on the other side of his front door.
The case has provoked a backlash from pensioners’ groups and campaigners and prompted the
‘Reclusive and regimented’
launch of a ‘social isolation project’ to contact elderly people living alone in the city.
Yesterday, a month after the shocking discovery on Oxford’s tough Blackbird Leys estate, which is still being investigated by council chiefs, 82-year-old Mr Yuill’s funeral and a service of remembrance was held in his honour.
The council had to employ genealogists to track down surviving family members, who agreed to take charge of the funeral arrangements, although it was unclear if any relatives attended the service at Oxford Crematorium.
Mr Yuill was born the fifth of six children in February 1934 in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, and grew up in the nearby mining village of Kirkmuirhill.
Two older brothers are believed to be alive, along with nephews and nieces, but contact ended after a family row during the 1960s.
Valerie Hall, 67, of Stockt-on-on-Tees, County Durham, said she had not seen her uncle for decades, describing him as ‘a lonely man [who] didn’t want company’.
She said: ‘His first love was the Army. He was very reclusive and regimented – he had his meals at a set time every day.’
She added: ‘There was a big falling-out between him and the rest of his family in Scotland a long time ago and he never spoke to them again. It’s very sad.’
At the age of 18 Mr Yuill signed up in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and served for 22 years in Egypt and Cyprus. Military records reveal Corporal Yuill’s ‘exemplary conduct’ and show he received the Operational Service Medal for service in Cyprus.
But his private life was marred by tragedy.
His daughter, Karen, a theatre manager, died of cancer in 2009 aged 44 and his wife Mabel, who also served in the Army but from whom he later became estranged, died in 2011.
Council officers visited his flat at least twice when his rent payments stopped last October for the first time in 40 years, but simply left after receiving no reply without asking neighbours if they had seen him, trying to contact relatives or alerting the emergency services. They finally contacted police to help them break in on June 2.
Neighbour Gemma Woodthorpe, 32, said she had never known Mr Yuill to have visitors, adding: ‘He was friendly but didn’t have a lot to say.’
Age UK Oxfordshire chief executive Paul Cann said: ‘We need to explore how someone could live on their own without any social contact for that length of time.’
Council spokesman Geraldine McIlwane said the case ‘illustrates the balance between respect for the tenant’s privacy and the council’s role as a caring landlord.’