Summons records

[tessie31082]

Hi everyone! I am trying to help someone with their reserch into a relative that committed suicide the day after receiving summons from the local police in 1926. There are newspaper reports but these do not mention what was in the summons, as you will guess for some people this is intriguing (especially as he had a wife, child and good job teaching woodwork at the local council school). his two sisters and mother also lived next door to him at the time. I found his WW1 records which mention being severely reprimanded for not taking dispatches when told to do so in 1917 (open arrest) - could it be something to do with that?
Does anyone know if there are summons records anywhere?
Thanks
Tessie

[Janet in Yorkshire]

I would think the 1917 episode was a military affair, conducted by and contained with in the military. A summons is a command to appear somewhere, often a court of law. I have never come across any on my genealogy forages, only references to one having been served. I think the police, legal firms etc probably kept a record of ones that they had served and copies may have been kept as a part of evidence case notes, but I don't think the actual contents would be have made public at the time - innocent until proven guilty and also the need to have care that any trial is "fair" etc.
Perhaps it was something to do with his professional life, which could have caused scandal and worse if there were to be any court proceedings. Or he feared financial ruin and disgrace for his family.

Jay.

[Olde Crone Holden]

I agree with Jay, military matters are dealt with by the military and besides that, the military "crime" was not worth committing suicide over five years later.

I would imagine that a summons that didn't go anywhere would be a case closed and such records will have either been destroyed by now or will be languishing undiscovered somewhere.

If the local papers don't hint at anything then I think it's a non starter. Was the inquest made public? Although, if the summons was for something sensitive shall we say, sometimes a sympathetic Coroner doesn't allow that to be reported, for the sake of the widow and family.

OC