Next of kin have been notified

[Barman]

What does that phrase 'Next of kin have been notified' have to be included multiple times in the announcement of the death of a British soldier...? 

I would have thought it to be pretty bloody obvious that they would let the poor sod's family know that a terrible tragedy has just struck them... 

It isn't as if it is some 'lottery' and some soldier's families get told and others don't...

I wonder if it is perhaps that they have nothing else to report, no real reason for him to have been there in Afghanistan fighting 'the war on terrorism', no explanation for his death, no excuse for the lack of equipment or planning which put his life in danger...

It is all pretty bloody piss poor really...
 

[Darwins Selection]

It's just one of those bloody obvious phrases they use in the news.

The same as plane crashes where they say "They are searching for survivors and accident investigators are trying to find the cause of the crash".


The alternative is "If anybody is still alive they will probably turn up eventually" and "The CAA said 'Oh, they do that sometimes' "

[Snoopy]

The reason they say it is because anyone with a son/father/daughter or even mother out there will be dreading the knock on the door by two Officers who will have come to "notify them" of the death of their dearest ~ By saying "Next of Kin have been notified" they are sending a code to everyone else who has a family member out there ~ "If you haven't been notified this one isn't yours" You will notice they stop saying it as soon as they are allowed to name the person but the MOD does notify the next of kin and then gives a period of time for them to inform all other family members before the name of the deceased is released to the press. ALL service families know and understand this system.

Yes I can understand why you feel annoyed but now that you know the reason I hope you wont mind this one last kindness to the families involved.

[Barman]

The reason they say it is because anyone with a son/father/daughter or even mother out there will be dreading the knock on the door by two Officers who will have come to "notify them" of the death of their dearest ~ By saying "Next of Kin have been notified" they are sending a code to everyone else who has a family member out there ~ "If you haven't been notified this one isn't yours" You will notice they stop saying it as soon as they are allowed to name the person but the MOD does notify the next of kin and then gives a period of time for them to inform all other family members before the name of the deceased is released to the press. ALL service families know and understand this system.

Yes I can understand why you feel annoyed but now that you know the reason I hope you wont mind this one last kindness to the families involved.

Sounds quite reasonable when you put it like that...

[Snoopy]

Thank you kind sir ~ it is all the better for being true.

All service personnel have to complete a form stating who they wish the MOD to "Notify" in the event of their death but you can only put one person on the form ("Nominated Next of Kin" can in fact be anyone ~ normally if single you put your Mum OR Dad. Once married you normally put your wife but you can elect to name anyone) so the time lag to allow the rest of the family to be told is a bit better than letting them all learn it from the media.
I notice that the marine recently killed has now been named by the News broadcasts and the phrase "Next of kin have been notified" has been dropped from the report of his death.