In England and Wales at the time of Peter’s death, attempted suicide, was
seen as an immoral, criminal offence against God and the Crown. It was
stigmatized and punishable for those who survived and any report of suicide
attracted the attention of the Press. On the morning the family buried Peter,
the popular national newspaper the Daily Mirror carried an account of the
inquest. It was reported alongside several pictures of the Daily Mirror’s Golf
Tournament and the antics of Miss Jean Batten, the New Zealand ‘Air
Heroine’ on her record-breaking flight to Australia; a harbinger of today’s
insensitive press (Plate 16.5).
Plate 16.5 The report of Peter’s death in the Daily Mirror, 29 May 1934
16 The GEC Laboratories 1930–1939
389