X James LEATHERDear SharonThank you for your nicely worded request forinformation concerning James 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 anindividual photograph, that is to say we may,there are literally hundreds of photographs ofofficers, but their names were never recorded onthe reverse. However, please see a little laterwithin the report and attachment.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 4. 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, underthe drop down menu on the left marked History. Ifeel certain that a useful picture can be obtainedof life in the force at the time, my own opinionis that 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.If you wish to visit the Museum it is open viaprior appointment on Mondays and Fridays, if youcontact the Curator via the website he will makethe necessary arrangements with you.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. Sergeant 18 James Leather.Born. 1851 Bowden. CheshireDate of Entry. 20th May1873Date of Leaving. 24th April 1875. Resigned,reasons not recorded.Re-appointed. 28th June 1875Final Date of Leaving. 24th February 1896How Discharged. Death in service.Initial Posting. HQ Reserve at Chester.Other Postings and Dates. July 1873 EddisburyOver. June 1875 Eddisbury. 28 February 1885Altrincham. There were in fact two police stationsin Over, one at either end of the town. Seeattachments.Miscellaneous Information. Subject appears on both1881 and 1891 census as a serving Sgt. 1881Winsford (West Dudley Street, Wharton) 1891Bowden. Religion Protestant, Height 5' 8", Age 22,Eyes Grey, Hair Brown, Complexion Fresh, BuildProportional. Died 24th February 1896 Altrincham,aged 44 years. Cheshire.Promotion/Misconduct. 9th September 1875 absentfrom his district without leave from 19th to the23rd September, Explanation accepted andcautioned. September 1888 Irregularity and neglectof duty in reference to not telling Constables thetimes of his visits to them, Severely reprimanded.15th April 1894 Neglect of duty in not enquiringinto a complaint made to him when on duty atBowden, Reduced for 6 months to 34/5d per week.Weekly Pay. July 1873 21/-. December 1873 22/-.December 1873 23/4d. August 1874 24/6d. June 187522/-. July 1875 23/11d. September 1875 24/6d. June1876 25/8d. August 1877 Promoted Acting Sergeant.November 1877 26/10d. February 1878 28/-. August1879 Promoted Sergeant at 30/4d. September 188131/6d. 11th August 1883 32/8d. 1st July 189136/2d. 15th April 1894 34/5d. 15th October 189436/2d.Gratuity of £172.17s.4d granted to his widow 20thMay 1896. If James had reached his pension itwould have been paid weekly, however as a resultof him dying in service it would be the norm forthe widow to receive a one of gratuity payment.Awards/Good Conduct/Other information. May 1880refusing to receive Gratuities, Commended by ChiefConstable. This basically means that someone orthe Chief Constable wanted to reward him for somespecial thing he had done, the normal amount wouldbe 5/- and this would be called a 'Special DutyAllowance'. James had obviously been offered thisbut declined, which in those days it was aconsiderable amount of money to turn down.Resident in 1881 at 455 High Street, Winsford.Cheshire. In 1891 Vicarage Lane, Bowdon. Cheshire.Additional Information. Where the reference BSIappears on the record of the officer, it appliesto a website known as the Black Sheep Index(www.blacksheepindex.co.uk) this is a site thatcarries newspaper articles concerning PoliceOfficers. On occasions the officer's full name isnot given, but we have tried to make a matchagainst what the Museum Records show. It showsthat James has one item listed in 1896 which ishis obituary notice. There are charges involved toobtain these newspaper cuttings direct from theowner of the website. It is emphasized that theMuseum does not known the contents of thesecuttings and takes no responsibility for them. TheMuseum is only showing this as an aid that thereis further information from another source.With regard to a photograph as I explained weperhaps do not have an individual photograph,however last year I restored a very large framecontaining a group photograph, the photograph isfairly fragile and cannot now be removed from theframe this now hangs in the Museum taken in 1878,some of the collar numbers are clearly visibly onthe officers tunic, and indeed the collar numberof James Leather is clearly visible. A photographafter it's restoration is attached.Marriage RecordOfficer. James LeatherOccupation. LabourerAge. 22 years.Condition. Bachelor.Place of residence at Marriage. Over, Winsford.Date of Marriage. 6th January 1874Place Married. St. John's Church, Manchester.Fathers Name. Richard Leather.Fathers Occupation. Gardener, Cheshire.Spouse. Hannah RenshawOccupation. 6th January 1874Age. 24 years.Condition. Spinster.Place of residence. ManchesterFathers Name. James RenshawFathers Occupation. Farmer, Staffordshire.