X John LATHAMDear Rita,Thank you for your request for informationconcerning John, but first I have to point out afew things. Sadly we do not have a photograph,that is to say we may, there are literallyhundreds of photographs of officers, but theirnames were never recorded on the reverse of thephotograph.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 inVolume 2. The information regarding his marriagesis retained in CJP24/2, 1847-1966. And with regardto his pension CJP20/2/1, 1857-1965.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 TheRecord Office will charge you a minimum of £27 persearch per volume; therefore your total bill wouldbe £81, so please be aware. The Museum charges,for searching the three volumes are on a reducingscale i.e. dependant on the information recorded,the maximum amount payable is £10, whichrepresents good value. Your remittance is £10 andas we are working on a trust basis please forwardpayment via cheque made payable to the 'Museum ofPolicing in Cheshire' and forward it to TheCurator, Mr. Peter Wroe, Museum of Policing inCheshire, Warrington Police Station, ArpleyStreet, Warrington, Cheshire. WA1. 1LQ.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 draconian and those whostrayed outside the rule's were fined way abovewhat they earned or dismissed. Also therestrictions on their private life, an officer wasnot allowed to drink on or off duty even in hisown home. It all comes down to the fact that upuntil the 1960's every Chief Constable of Cheshirewas an ex military officer and they of coursebrought with them 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. Police Constable 255 JohnLathamBorn. 1843 Wybunbury, Cheshire.Date of Entry. 31st July 1871Date of Leaving. 30th October 1874 resignedstating he was unfit for night duty!!Re-appointed. 19th November 1874Final Date of Leaving. 31st October 1896.How Discharged. To Pension.Initial Posting. HQ Chester, Reserve.Other Postings and Dates. August 1871 Hyde;November 1874 Wirral; December 1874 Nantwich; June1878 Eddisbury; October 1895 Middlewich(Smallwood).Miscellaneous Information. Prior service of 1 year1 month with Manchester Borough Police. CheshireResignation in 1874 Stated "Unfit for Night Duty".Religion Protestant, Height 5' 8", Age 28, EyesBlue, Hair Brown, Complexion Fresh, BuildProportional.Age on retirement 53 years 3 months. Total service25 years 75 days. Died 31 October 1901 aged 58years 1 month.Subject shown as a serving Constable on 1871Census in Chorlton, Lancs. 1881 and 1891 Census asa serving Constable in Bunbury and Kelsall. 1901Shows subject as Beer House Keeper (CheshireHounds) 122 Hospital St, Nantwich.Promotion/Misconduct. 1st May 1888 being under theinfluence of drink at Tarporley Fair, Deprived ofMerit Badge by Chief Constable.Weekly Pay. July 1871 20/-. December 1871 21/-.August 1872 23/4d. June 1873 34/6d. Jan 187425/8d. November 1874 23/4d. July 1875 23/11d.September 1875 24/6d. June 1876 25/8d. December1876 26/10d. February 1878 28/-. 2nd August 188429/3d. 1st July 1891 31/6d. 22nd November 189132/8d.Annual pay on retirement £85. 3s. 4d. Discharged with a Pension of £52.16s.0d perannum.Total time pension received 4 years 304 days.Total pension received £255. 4s. 11d.Awards/Good Conduct/Other information. March 1880Service, 2 Good Conduct Badges. 12th November 1881Service 1 Good Conduct Badge. 2nd August 1884 Longand Meritorious Service, Merit Badge and Pay. 22ndNovember 1891 for Long Service and Good Conduct,Merit Badge and Pay.Where the reference BSI appears on our databasethis applies to a website known as the Black SheepIndex (www.blacksheepindex.co.uk) this sitecarries newspaper articles concerning PoliceOfficers. John's name appears in 1896 and it shows"presentation to" and I assume that an article hasbeen written about his retirement. There arecharges involved to obtain these newspapercuttings direct from the owner of the website. Itis emphasized that the Museum does not known thecontents of these cuttings and takes noresponsibility for them. The Museum is onlyshowing this as an aid that there is furtherinformation from another source.Marriage RecordOfficer. John LATHAMOccupation. Labourer.Age. 25 years.Condition. Bachelor.Place of residence at Marriage. Manchester.Date of Marriage. 5th January 1867.Place Married. Blackley, Church, Manchester.Fathers Name. John Latham.Fathers Occupation. Joiner.Spouse. Susannah BARKEROccupation. Weaver.Age. 30 years.Condition. Spinster.Place of residence. Manchester.Fathers Name. John BarkerFathers Occupation. Carrier, Lancashire.PC 556 Waite