X Francis Sturgis PEARCE.Dear George,Thank you for your enquiry concerning Francis, youwould be surprised how many enquires we get frompeople who never say please or thank you, butfirst I have to point out a few things. Sadly wedo not have a photograph, but if you do we wouldappreciate a scanned 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 1857-1913; the information which you seekwould therefore be recorded in Volumes 1 and 2.The information regarding an officer's marriagewould be in CJP24/2, 1847-1966 and it is strangethat Francis's marriage is not recorded, as it wasan offence to marry without first seekingpermission from the Chief Constable, any officerwho did marry without permission was normallydismissed. I have also checked the Pension'sRegister CJP20/2/1, 1857-1965, in the hope thatfurther information would be recorded as to why hebecame "unfit for further service" and hereceiving a gratuity of £50, sadly it does not. Ican only assume that this was awarded by the'Joint Standing Committee' of the day, equivalentto today's 'Cheshire Police Authority'.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, or indeed yourgood self dependant on where you reside. But itwould be remiss of me if I did not point out thatwhilst this Museum works on a donation basis,(made payable to the Museum of Policing inCheshire). The Record Office however, will chargeyou a minimum of £27 per search per volume;therefore your total bill would be £81, so pleasebe 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 youwill enjoy what follows and can I ask you, whenyou get a moment would you send a quick mail so Ican mark of your enquiry as completed.With sincere best wishes Jim Talbot,(Trustee and Researcher for the Museum of Policingin Cheshire).Collar Number/Rank. PC 159 Francis SturgisPEARCE.Born. 1835 Walkshaw, Wiltshire.Date of Entry. 17 August 1860.Date of Leaving. 15 July 1872Re-appointed. N/AFinal Date of Leaving. 15 July 1872.How Discharged. Unfit for further service.Initial Posting. HQ Reserve.Other Postings and Dates. Posted 14 Sep 1860Northwich; 23 Jan 1863 Wirral..Miscellaneous Information. Prior service of 2years 24 days with Royal Artillery and 1 year withLiverpool Borough Police. Religion Protestant,Height 5' 8", Age 25, Eyes Grey, Hair Brown,Complexion Fresh, Build Proportional. Character"Good" and Testimonials sent to him 26 November1872.Promotion/Misconduct/Pension. 05 May 1864 allowinga Prisoner to escape but apprehending him thefollowing day, Cautioned. Pay 01 August 1861 19/-to 20/- per week. December 1866 21/- pw. June 186822/- pw. December 1870 23/4d pw Discharged asunfit for further service and a gratuity of £50paid.Awards/Good Conduct/Other information. May 1864Apprehension of a Straggler (Deserter) from HMSDonegal, 20/- paid to him by Admiralty. August1864 Apprehension of a deserter from HMS Donegal,20/- paid to him by Admiralty. December 1865 3 xApprehension of Deserters from HMS Donegal, 60/-paid to him by Admiralty.The Curator, Museum of Policing in Cheshire,Warrington Police Station, Arpley Street,Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1LQ