X William PATE.Dear Chris,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. I have to give you a verysincere apology for not replying to your enquiryearlier, all I can say is that you initially sentthe enquiry to the main police Head Quarters andof course it took some time before it finallyreached the Museum and then the person who wouldnormally open the mail was off sick. And to makematters worse we only hold the minimal amount ofinformation on your father and to explain why.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 they are verydetailed; post this date when an officer retiredto pension his file was sifted and only theminimal amount of information retained. I hastento add here that this was not the doing of thepolice administration but successive civilian'semployed within the police system who just failedto consider that some future generation may beinterested in what their relative did within thepolice. The information regarding his marriages isretained in CJP24/2, 1847-1966. And with regard tohis pension CJP20/2/1, 1857-1965.If you 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.There are a full set of what we in the force termas General Orders these run from 1857 forward theyare all in book form from 1857 to 1967, these arebasically the everyday running of the force. Ihave no doubt that these books will containdetails of where your father served also anycommendations he may have been awarded. However Iam sure you will appreciate to even search theperiod your father served would take someconsiderable time. We are currently looking athaving these books scanned in order that theycould be quickly searched, but it may be someconsiderable time before this takes place moneypermitting.Can I ask you when you get a moment would you senda quick mail so I can mark of your enquiry ascomplete? If you have any further questions pleasedon't hesitate to contact me. If you would like tosend any additional information regarding yourfather and if you have a photograph I will gladlyupdate his computer record and who knows may be inanother 50 years some future generation may wishto know a little more. Again my sincere apologies.Jim Talbot. Trustee and Researcher, CheshireMuseum of Policing.Collar Number/Rank. PC 145 William PateBorn. 17th July 1912Date of Entry. 21st February 1934Date of Leaving. 20th February 1959.Final Date of Leaving. 29th February 1959How Discharged. To Pension.Initial Posting. HQ Chester.Other Postings and Dates. Altrincham Division.Miscellaneous Information. Age on retirement 46years 7 months, Total service 25 years.Promotion/Misconduct. None recorded.Pay. Annual pay on retirement £633. 17s 7d. Annualpension £331. 18s. 9d. Awards/Good Conduct/Other information. Police LongService and Good Conduct Medal awarded 1956.Marriage RecordOfficer. William PateOccupation. Police Constable.Age. 27 yearsCondition. Bachelor.Place of residence at Marriage. 20 Lacey Avenue,Wilmslow, Cheshire.Date of Marriage. 29th June 1940Place Married. Parish Church, Wilmslow. Cheshire.Fathers Name. Edward Pate.Fathers Occupation. Retired Railway Examiner.Spouse. Eilleen BroughtonOccupation. Nil.Age. 25 years.Condition. SpinsterPlace of residence. Magfield Grove Avenue,Wilmslow.Fathers Name. Norman E. BroughtonFathers Occupation. Painter and Decorator.