Finding a criminal conviction for theft in 1908?

[ln4266]

Hi,

i am trying to find out the details of a conviction for my great-Grandfather John (sometimes known as Jack) Easton in 1908, b 1897. From his Service records with the RAMC, I see that he was discharged on 12th June 1908 for " having been convicted of theft by the C.P". Other replies on previous posts suggest that this is a civil prosecution. He had previously got a good-conduct badge, and also had good service in the Navy, so finding this out is a bot of a surprise!

Does anyone know where to start looking for details of this case? So far, a newspaper search on another site yields nothing as far as I can see...

[Bookbox]

C. P. in this context stands for Civil Power.

The dates don't quite add up -- was he born in 1887, perhaps?

Where was he discharged?

[ln4266]

Oops, that was typo - yes you are correct, he was born in 1887! From what i can see, he was trained at Aldershot, and then his record says that he "Extended service to 8 years with the Colors (?) authority, OC RAMCorps Woolwich District" It doesn't say anything else about where he may have been discharged.

[ln4266]

Does anyone know where I would start to look for evidence of such a conviction? He lived and was based around Surrey / London area, but a newspaper search via another website hasn't turned up anything so far.

[ln4266]

Any ideas?

[Bookbox]

He lived and was based around Surrey / London area, but a newspaper search via another website hasn't turned up anything so far.

That's a fairly extensive area. Without knowing where he offended, or which court heard the case, there are probably no viable search strategies. Relatively few local newspapers are indexed for this area at this date, unfortunately.

[theirchild]

Hi,

I definitely agree with Bookbox that knowing where to look would be much easier if you knew where he offended/which court heard the case because “Surrey/London” is, indeed, an extensive area. However, I’m not so sure there are no viable search strategies – that really depends on how much effort you’re prepared to make. You do, at least, know the year and that narrows the field.

So, bearing in mind that not all newspapers are online (yet), perhaps you could try Surrey History Centre – which holds back issues of newspapers – or the British Library's newspapers collection? I've found several things in newspapers that aren't online by visiting the BL. It would mean spending possibly a considerable amount of time carefully trawling through papers without any guarantee of success but, hey, nothing ventured nothing gained!

As a starting point, if you google "surrey newspapers backissues", you'll find a Surrey County Council page which lists past and current local papers. You could then use the information gleaned from that to search the catalogues of Surrey History Centre and/or the British Library, to see if they hold the papers you want to look at.

I don't know where you're located but if visiting either of these two isn't possible due to distance, you could try posting a lookup request on Rootschat - some kind soul might take a peep at the papers for you. (Provided you've done the groundwork by searching the catalogue(s) and say exactly where to look.)

One last thing: If I were you, I’d search from, maybe, 1907 onwards because it’s unclear how much time elapsed between committing the theft and being convicted by a court – then being discharged by the RAMC. 

Good luck,

theirchild.

[ln4266]

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay in reply / logging back in - career change and returning to study have meant that things have got a little busy. I now have access (as part of university course) to collections of newspapers, so I will use your pointers and seeif I can find anything.

Thanks again.