Genealogy Chat

On the online London gazette I have found one of mine bankrupt, some 6 years after the event I found another notice stating that his discharge was refused. There was no other notices after that. Does anyone know if all discharges were announced in this paper or is it possible that some bankrupts were not discharged at all? Thanks Ellen X

What period are you talking about? Until 1976, personal insolvency legislation was based on the Bankruptcy Acts of 1914 & 1926. Discharge was not automatic, and an applications for discharge were heard in open court before a judge under s26 BA14. Frequently they were refused, and the result of the application was gazetted (ie published in the London Gazette). The Insolvency Act of 1976 provided for automatic discharges for bankrupts who had already been so for 10 years, and for those at 5-10 years, on the 10th anniversary. As far as I remember, such automatic discharges were not gazetted. Anyone else had their bankruptcy reviewed in the 12 months following the fifth anniversary of their bankruptcy by a court registrar (effectively, the Official Receiver made a discharge application on the bankrupt's behalf, but would often report unfavourably, and many discharges were refused. I don't think they were gazetted either, but an 'old fashioned' s26 discharge application could still be made at any time, and that would be. The old laws of 1914 & 1926 were swept away with the coming into force of the 1986 Insolvency Act, which removed many of the stigma of bankrupty, and discharge applications have become a rarity. I'm not old enough to know what the legal process had been prior to 1914, but it was not fundamentally different. If you can be bothered, you will find several notices in the Gazette: the original receiving order, the subsequent adjudication, as well as the ultimate discharge. One of the biggest changes introduced by the IA 1976 was to largely do away with a bankrupt's public examination by the Official Receiver in open court. They were always made with a shorthand writer, and the court file may have a typed transcript. A wonderful opportunity to get some really detailed information about a person's history and financial standing. Good luck.