 PC49
John Weller
|
The museum at the Thames Valley
Police Training College at Sulhamstead
contains an exceptional collection,
including uniforms and equipment, and
accounts of notorious crimes committed in
Berkshire in Victorian times. The
Metropolitan Police Force was created by
Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel in 1829,
but it took another 27 years before
counties and boroughs established their
own police forces. Reading was more
progressive than most towns, establishing
its own force in 1836.
|
Among the many documents in the Sulhamstead
collection I concentrated on just one volume that
simply stated on the leather bound cover 'Police
Register'. This turned out to be a record of
recruits joining the Reading Borough Police force
between the years 1865 and 1890 (Reference No. RB7).
It was only possible to discover that this
related to Reading from the street names which
are mentioned in the individual reports and which
would be familiar to us today. It begins with a
helpful index and includes the records of 260
young men, mostly between the ages of 20 and 30
who joined the Reading force during these years.
The entries contain details of age, height,
complexion, hair and eye colour and trade. The
'parish and county' is also given although it is
not clear if this indicates place of birth or
residence.
Previous service in the police and armed
forces is often given and may contain details of
the number of years and days of service and
sometimes regimental name or number. Many
recruits did have previous service, although
others have trades like labourers, grooms,
gamekeepers and gardeners.
Whether these backgrounds fitted men for
service in the police is doubtful. Some did not
pass the medical examination, others were never
'sworn in', indicating that they did not pass the
induction process and by the time they resigned
or were dismissed, sometimes after as little as
three months, they had collected an unfavourable
disciplinary record.
These are contained in a volume under the
heading of 'reports' and they give a significant
insight into the way in which the police service
was run in Victorian times. The constable was
essentially a beat officer in that he was
expected to patrol a given beat around the
streets of Reading, mostly during the hours of
darkness. He was expected to report to his
sergeant or other superior officers at certain
times and in certain places during the evening
and night. If he was late in reporting he was put
'on report' and these details are included in
this volume. This procedure would not seem to
leave much room for initiative, although late
reporting could mean that the constable concerned
was asleep somewhere, as the entry 'found asleep
in Abbey Square' indicates.
Many of the problems concerned with the
policing of Reading would have been associated
with the supervision of the many public houses in
the town. Social historians of the time would
gain a valuable insight into the running of
alehouses and public houses in Reading from this
volume.
Constables were required to regulate the
running of public houses without succumbing to
the obvious temptations. Many constables
manifestly failed to do so. How one officer
managed to leave his staff in the lavatory of a
public house is difficult to imagine. Another
lost his cape, belt, staff and lantern in a
fight; his punishment was to be dismissed from
the force whilst being asked to pay 5s. for the
missing lantern.
Not every recruit fell foul of the system.
Many had exemplary records and gained promotion
through the second class, first class and merit
class of police constable. Once they attained the
rank of sergeant they disappear from this record,
although their names may reappear in the report
section previously mentioned when reporting their
underlings for misdemeanors.
Many of the officers who went on to make a
career in the police seem to have had their
records transferred to a second volume (Reference
No. RB27), which covers the period 1866 to 1913
and which in some cases gives details of pensions
and even date of death. There is a hundred year
rule and not all the details are freely available.
In all I found cataloging these records a most
rewarding experience and would commend them to
anyone who suspects that an ancestor may have
served in the Reading Police. Many of the
recruits came from all over the country. I found
one from Dornock in Scotland. What was he doing
in Berkshire?
The early records are being indexed and will
eventually be incorporated into the Berkshire
Name Index held at the BFHS Research Centre,
Yeomanry House, Reading, for the benefit of all
members.
The Police Museum at Sulhamstead is run on a
voluntary basis by Ken Wells who is not in
attendance every day. Because of this, and for
security reasons, researchers are asked to make
an appointment by telephoning the Training
College at Sulhamstead on 0118 953 6000.
Alternatively you may leave a message on Ken
Wells' answer phone on 0118 932 5748. The museum
is selffinancing and a small fee for searching
the records is requested.
