He went to London briefly to return papers to Apsley House and to burn his own copies of letters from the Duke. On 27 December 1845 he cut this throat while Fanny and her daughters were out for a walk. Their friends immediately rallied round the stricken family. Lady Webster took them into her home, and Sir Henry and Lord Liverpool made themselves responsible for the removal of the body and for the funeral. An inquest was held on 29 December and a verdict of temporary insanity was returned which allowed Gurwood to be buried in consecrated ground. On 30 December Sir Henry wrote to the Duke on Fanny's behalf asking if her husband could be buried in the Tower of London. The Duke gave his consent but said that the funeral must be strictly private. It took place on 3 January, Gurwood is buried in the vaults of the Tower and there is a memorial to him on the wall of the chapel. Allegations immediately began to be made to the Duke that Gurwood had a large number of his papers and that they 'had better be got hold of...before the women are told the value of them.' Adele Gurwood assured the Duke early in January 1846 that his papers were secure, that only a person appointed by the Duke would have access to them, and that, a fortnight before his death, her father had sent to Apsley House a large box of the papers he regarded as of greater importance. The Duke appeared satisfied but he then became extremely agitated at suggestions that Gurwood had been taking notes on his conversations and that these might get into the public domain. He wrote a long letter to Fanny on 29 January about the evil consequences that might result to his and, even more, to her husband's reputation. Fanny replied that Gurwood had made notes on military questions only and she confirmed that Gurwood had burnt them all, but on 2 February the Duke wrote her another very long letter repeating his reproaches. It was a sad end to the long collaboration between the Duke and his loyal and indefatigable editor. Notes References Bibliography Wellington Papers, University of Southampton Archives and Special Collections ed/trans Christopher Bassford, Daniel Moran and Gregory W. Pedlow: On Waterloo: Clausewitz, Wellington and the Campaign of 1815. ClausewitzStudies.org 2010 John Gurwood and William Francis Napier: Additional