Although the body was alive in this case. On some BR standard compartment stock a compartment facing the corridor external door had a window where the large lower half was hinged. I was told this was for stretched cases. Was this correct and if so was it ever used for that purpose?
Yes, this was detailed in the journal of the Friends of the Nat Railway Magazine in the last year or two, in a detailed article about carrying invalids by rail over time, that covered, IIRC, ambulance trains in wartime, and ways in which railways took people on pilgrimages to Lourdes, where of course some passengers might have had significant disabilities etc.
Note - just seen other informative post on this from
@Gloster
I've seen this in the past on the platform at Horsted Keynes, Bluebell Railway:
This coffin carrier with the initials SR for Southern Railway can be found on the Southbound platform at Horsted Keynes Station on the Bluebell Railway.
www.geograph.org.uk
wheeled coffin carrier