X William HILTONDear Sally Ann,Thank you for your nicely worded request forinformation concerning William you would besurprised how many enquires we get from people whonever say please or thank you, but first I have topoint out a few things. Sadly we do not have aphotograph, but if you do we would appreciate ascanned copy for our records.The Cheshire Constabulary was formed in April1857; there are many thousands of records, theseare held by the Cheshire Record Office, Chester. Ias a retired Police officer and voluntary PoliceMuseum Researcher am slowly extracting theserecords. Cheshire Police Officer Enrolment Recordsare held under Reference CJP7 Volumes 1-5. Thesefive volumes are very large and in poor condition,run from 1857- 22 March 1913; the informationwhich you seek would therefore be recorded inVolumes 1 and 2 and with regard to his pensionCJP20/2/1, 1857-1965. Information regarding anofficer's marriage is retained in CJP24/2,1847-1966, I have also checked this and sadly hismarriage is not recorded.I say all this because I want to try and reassureyou that what I give you is as it appears in therespective volumes. However if you so wish, youcan of course have the records confirmed by theChester Records Office Archivist. But it would beremiss of me if I did not point out that whilstthis Museum works on a donation basis, (madepayable to the Museum of Policing in Cheshire).The Record Office however, will charge you aminimum of £27 per search per volume; thereforeyour total bill would be £81, so please be aware.If you also read the history of the CheshireConstabulary "To the Best of Our Skill andKnowledge" which is on the Museum Web Site, I feelcertain that a useful picture can be obtained oflife in the force at the time, my own opinion isthat discipline was severe and those who strayedoutside the rules were fined way above what theyearned or dismissed. Also the restrictions ontheir private life, an officer was not allowed todrink on or off duty even in his own home. It allcomes down to the fact that up until the 1960'severy Chief Constable of Cheshire was an exmilitary officer and they of course brought withthem the military codes of practice.I trust you will enjoy what follows and can I askyou when you get a moment would you send a quickmail so I can mark of your enquiry as completed.If you have any further questions please don'thesitate to contact me. Jim Talbot. Trustee andResearcher, Cheshire Museum of Policing.Collar Number/Rank. Inspector 84 William HILTON.Born. Circa 1826, Oldham, Lancashire.Date of Entry. 20 April 1852.Date of Leaving. 11 April 1879.Final Date of Leaving. 11 April 1879.How Discharged. To Pension.Initial Posting. Eddisbury Division (which wouldinclude Frodsham).Other Postings and Dates. June 1867 WirralDivision.Miscellaneous Information. Prior service of 5years with Manchester Borough Police. It may bethat Greater Manchester Police hold information onhis service with them. 5 years Cheshire Police.This shows William was one of the last servingmembers of the Old Cheshire Police for which thereare no records, and one of the first Officers ofthe New Cheshire Constabulary which was formed inApril 1857. I have also attached below aphotograph of Frodsham Police Station, althoughthis was taken circa 1900, the photograph showsexactly how the Police Station looked when Williamserved. You will note the upstairs floor hascurtains this is where William as the Sgt wouldhave lived. The 1st Officer on your left showshow a Police Inspector appeared in uniform theOfficers to his right show how William would havebeen dressed for duty as a Sgt and to the Sgtright as a Constable. Incidentally the PoliceStation is still standing but no longer a stationbut a shop, I have attached a photograph of howthe station looks today, very little havingchanged, in fact very little has changed on themain High Street.Religion Protestant, Height 5' 10", Age 31 (onjoining), Eyes Hazel, Hair Brown, Complexion Dark,Build Proportional. 05 May 1879 Testimonials onparchment with Character marked "Very Good" sentto him. Age on retirement 53 years. Total service27 years. Died 17 March 1907 Aged 80 years 11months.Promotion/Misconduct. No misconduct reportsrecorded.27 August 1857 Promoted Acting Sgt. 01 November1858 Promoted full Sgt 3rd class.Promoted Detective Inspector June 1867 27/-.Weekly Pay 01 July 1857 19/- to 20/-pw. 22February 1858 20/- to 21/-. 01 November 1858 21/-to 22/-. 01 November 1859 23/-. 11 November 186225/-. May 1866 26/-. June 1867 27/-. September1867 28/- . September 1868 29/-. October 1871 30/-. September 1872 32/-. June 1873 35/- .Annual Pay as Inspector. August 1873 £100. 0s. 0d.August 1874 £105. 0s. 0d. December 1874 £110. 0s.0d.Discharged on annual pension of £70. 0s. 0d.Total time on pension 27 years 341 days, Totalpension received £1955. 7s. 11d.Awards/Good Conduct/Other information. May 1858Apprehension of Robert Abrahams for Burglary,Reward of 5/- from Chief Constable. July 1859Apprehension of William Goulbon a Deserter, 20/-Reward from War Office. April 1860 Apprehension ofa Felon, Begging Letter Imposter, 5/- Reward fromChief Constable. April 1860 Apprehension of JohnParker a Deserter, 20/- Reward from War Office.December 1860 Apprehension of Deserter GeorgeSpruce, 5/- from Chief Constable. December 1868Detection of parties who committed Willful Damage,20/- Reward from Mr. Lightbound.PHOTOGRAPH OF FRODSHAM POLICE STATION CIRCA 1900(Next page)The Curator, Museum of Policing in Cheshire,Warrington Police Station, Arpley Street,Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1LQ