A woman faced a "bureaucratic nightmare" after her husband died on their retirement holiday - and she had to bring his cremated remains home in a rucksack. Gill Dunn, 69, and her husband, Paul, 66, jetted off to Thailand for two weeks to celebrate him finishing more than 20 years of work in the NHS.
The pair saw elephants, toured temples and went on rickshaw rides - describing it as an "amazing" holiday. But two hours into their flight home, Paul had a stroke onboard - and the pilot had to perform an emergency landing in Delhi, India.Paul was rushed to hospital, but after two weeks in the ICU Paul passed away on March 5, 2025.
Gill described her husband's cremation as "brutal" and after three weeks in Delhi, she had to bring her husband of 31 years home in a backpack. But not before she had to contact multiple different agencies and government departments before being allowed to leave.
The volunteer advisor with Citizens Advice, from Leicester, said: "Our dream holiday ended in a bureaucratic nightmare. He had wonderful hospital care but the rest of it was not ideal.I had a lot of conflicting information, it was like being in a maze.
"I can't tell you the relief it was to leave India. Every day there was this knife in the back of bureaucracy. By the time we had his remains and knew we could fly home was a relief. It was this relief of coming home and knowing we could do things properly.
"I wanted to be home to lay my husband to rest the way he deserved."
Paul retired from his role as a director of transplant laboratory services at Leicester Hospital in November 2023. Gill, also retired and Paul flew out on February 3, 2025.Gill said: "My husband was invited to a talk in Bangkok with his old colleagues.
"After that, we spent two weeks in Thailand to celebrate his retirement. We saw elephants, we visited the most amazing temples and had a ride in a rickshaw going around an old city.We did a great variety of things, the people were lovely, they are really kind and gentle people."
After two weeks in Thailand, the couple went back to Bangkok before heading back to the UK. On February 21, 2025, Paul had his stroke on a Thai Airways flight.Gill said: "They called for everyone to help, and a GP and A&E nurse came to help."
When they got to the hospital, Gill realised she had nowhere to stay so a nurse let her stay in a room next to Paul. Son Matthew, and his partner Amy, flew out and found Gill a place to stay near the hospital. Paul died on March 5, 2025, after spending two weeks in ICU.
Gill said: "Firstly the doctors thought Paul was doing ok, my son and his fiancée arrived on the Monday. Luckily, they were able to say goodbye to him because he started to get worse before he passed away."
After Paul's death, Gill and her family were taken to a cremation ground."We had to go in this awful hearse ambulance with Paul's body in the back," Gill said."We ended up at a cremation site, he was shoved on some logs and put in an oven."
Gill said that the three weeks she spent in Delhi were plagued by red tape and bureaucracy. When she first arrived in Delhi, she got an emergency visa but was told she needed to immediately apply for anvexit visit instead.
She also had to get permission from the police, and the immigration office to bring her husband back to the UK because they said she needed a cremation certificate and a death certificate. Gill said: "I had to go to the police station to get permission to get home.
"I then went to the British Embassy, who didn't offer me any help. They sent me an email telling me how to repatriate someone, with a list of funeral directors."
By March 7, 2025, Gill was sent the exit visa and was permitted to leave the country. She headed home with Matthew, Amy and her husband, Paul the following day.Gill said: "By the Friday night we got the remains back and all these other certificates saying we could leave.
"We knew we could finally get home, I had to carry Paul's ashes home in a rucksack."
Gill and Paul were together for 42 years and married for 31 of them. She said Paul was a "gentleman" who loved the countryside.
Gill said: "Everyone keeps saying what a gentleman he was. He was a quiet man who was full of kindness and compassion.He wasn't someone who would be in charge of the party, but he was someone that everyone loved.Paul was known for his lovely, quiet sense of humour and a twinkle in his eye."
