X The Life of Samuel WilliamsonCheshire Police Officer1838 to 1884Researched by his great grandson Derek HughesCheshire Police Officer 1956 to 1986In order to understand the interest I had inresearching the life of Samuel Williamson I firstneed to tell you a little about myself. I was bornin Holywell in the County of Flintshire in the midnineteen thirties, the son of a Policeman in theFlintshire Constabulary. My father was born inBuckley and my mother whose maiden name wasWilliamson lived in the neighbouring village ofPenymynydd before her marriage but was born inSalford, Lancashire. I never knew my maternalgrandparents a they had both died before I wasborn in 1935. I had no family connections with thecounty of Cheshire and when I joined the CheshirePolice Force in 1956 I merely picked it because itwas the nearest large Police Force to where Ilived in Flintshire. I had little knowledge ofCheshire beyond the City of Chester.When I joined the Cheshire Police in April 1956 Iwas posted to the Crewe Division which includedNantwich. I married my wife Beryl who lived inCrewe at the time of our marriage in 1959 and wasworking in Tailoring and dressmaking with CountyClothes Ltd. During my 30 years in the PoliceForce I was posted to various places in the countyreturning to the Crewe area in 1972 before Iretired from the Police Force in 1986 at Nantwich.In 1991 I met a cousin of mine who I had not seensince I was a child. She lived in East Anglia andwas aware that I had been a Policeman in Cheshire.To my amazement she told me that my maternal GreatGrandfather, a man called Samuel Williamson hadalso been a Policeman in Cheshire in the 19thcentury. She asked me if I could perhaps findsomething out about him and let her know. I mustadmit I promptly forgot about it until 12 monthslater when my cousin contacted me again, at whichstage I thought I had better do something aboutit.As a result of research I undertook at PoliceHeadquarters, Chester, Cheshire County Archivesand delving into Church records and newspapers inseveral parts of the County I unearthed what Ifound to be a fascinating story of a Policemen inCheshire in the second half of the nineteenthcentury, which in many ways mirrored my own careerin some respects but I hasten to add, by no meansall. However there are several odd things whichmade me think very deeply.This is the story that I eventually uncovered. MyGreat Grandfather, Samuel Williamson was born in1838 in Bowden, Cheshire where his father Jamesand his mother Sarah had a farm. At the time ofthe 1841 census Samuel had two sisters, Ann aged 5and Mary aged 2. Although Bowden is now adormitory suburb of Altrincham in GreaterManchester, at the time of Samuel's birth it was asmall Cheshire country village.When Samuel was 21 in 1859 for reasons best knownto him, he decided not to carry on with the familyfarm in Bowden and that he would like to become aPoliceman in the newly formed CheshireConstabulary which had come into existence 2 yearspreviously in 1857. With this in mind he left homeon the 18th March 1859 and travelled to Chester.He made his way to the Police Headquarters then a4, Sellar Street where he was interviewed by theChief Constable,, Captain T.J. Smith, late of theBedford Militia. At this time Samuel was describedas being 5 feet 8 inches in height, blue eyes,brown hair, fresh complexion with a proportionatebuild. He must have impressed the Chief Constableas he was appointed Constable and given the collarnumber 224. (When I joined the CheshireConstabulary 97 years later I was given the collarnumber 422 ! )After a month's training in Chester he was postedto the Nantwich Division which included thegrowing young town of Crewe. The DivisonalHeadquarters were in the newly built PoliceStation in Welsh Row, Nantwich. The buildingincluded in addition to the Police Office andcells, 2 Police houses, a Magistrates Court Roomon the first floor with all the necessaryaccommodation for the Bench. The Superintendent incharge was Charles Laxton who had previously beenthe High Constable for Nantwich prior to theestablishment of the Police Force. He hadpreviously served in the Metropolitan Police whichhad been established in 1829.There were two sub Police Stations in Crewe, onein Edleston Road at the corner of Chapel Streetand one in Ford Lane in the West end of the town.Nantwich was however still the more important townand in fact it was not until 1923 that theDivisional Headquarters was transferred to Crewewhen it became known as the Crewe Division.Superintendent Laxton as befitted his position hadthe use of free transport in the form of a ponyand trap. Rumour has it that if the goodSuperintendent had imbibed too much alcoholicrefreshment the horse could find its own way hometo Welsh Row !Let us now get back to P.C. 224 Williamson. Hissalary was 20/- per week However good that mayhave been in 1859 the conditions of work wereharsh. He was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days aweek. The Policemen in those days never had anofficial day off. They were not allowed to leavethe area in which they were serving without thepermission of a senior officer. In fact it was notuntil the The Police (Weekly Rest Day) Act waspassed in 1910 that conditions improved slightly.Conditions of service did not become acceptableuntil the Liverpool City Police Force went onstrike at the end of the First World Warculminating in the passing of the Police Act 1919which gave the Police, for the first time, arepresentative body in the form of the PoliceFederation.When he arrived in Nantwich Samuel found lodgingsin Brindley at the village schoolhouse with AnnBracegirdle, the Schoolmistress aged 60 and herhusband Frederick aged 48 who was a cordwainer ( aworker in leather). In the 1861 census he isentered as being a lodger at that address. Samuel,the son of a farmer, appeared to have fitted inwell with the farming community in the area andattended St Mary's Church at Acton. He must havecultivated his informants as in August 1859 withonly 5 months service he was commended by theChief Constable for arresting a man called CharlesRogerson who was a deserter from the Army. Forthis he was awarded 10/- from the War Office.Whilst attending Acton Church he became friendlywith a family called Dodd who lived in BroadLane, Stapeley who lived near to The Globe Publichouse about 1/4 mile from where I now live. Thehead of the household Thomas Dodd who had beenborn in Acton was a Farm Labourer. He had 3 sonsand a daughter, Elizabeth. Samuel was evidentlyattracted to Elizabeth and started going out withher. She was no doubt impressed by his smartuniform and the fact that he had been commended bythe Chief Constable. At this stage of his careerSamuel was believed to be working the countryvillages in the Acton area.Samuel's attraction for Elizabeth grew. He was thehandsome successful Policeman and she was employedas a Tailoress and Dressmaker in Nantwich.(anothercoincidence as my wife Beryl was employed inTailoring and Dressmaking in Crewe when I firstmet her.)On the 4th June 1862 the happy couple were marriedat St Mary's Church, Acton by the Vicar, the Rev.W. Francis Shaw. The wedding was attended by bothsets of parents. The best man was a William Boffeywho signed the Marriage Register with an X, beingunable to write his name. The other witness whowas probably a bridesmaid was called CharlotteBasnett. She was able to sign her name. The couplethen settled in Burland, probably in a Policehouse in Wrexham Road and on 7th March, 1863 just9 months after the wedding, my maternalGrandfather was born. He was baptised at St Mary'sChurch, Acton on 12th July that year by the RevShaw who had married the couple the previoussummer. The baby was given the names Albert afterthe Prince Consort and James after hisGrandfather. At the time of their weddingElizabeth was 28 years old. Life was now good for the couple. In May 1863Samuel received a Pay Rise to a Guinea (21/-) perweek. In March 1864 he received anothercommendation for arresting a man called WilliamRichards for Horse stealing. This time he wasrewarded with the sum of 10/- by the owner of thehorse. Things in life do not however always run sosmoothly. In June 1864 Samuel was taken before theChief Constable on a disciplinary charge of makinga false entry in his journal. Samuel resigned.Whether this resignation was voluntary or he wasrequired to resign is not recorded. One canimagine the scene when he returned home to Burlandand told Elizabeth. They had a baby of 15monthsand would be turned out of their Police house andSamuel had no job. There was no Social Security in1864. I tend to believe that the resignation wasvoluntary as he later withdrew it and this wasaccepted by the Chief Constable. Possibly this wasbecause of his previous good conduct andcommendations.He was left to carry on in Acton area but thingswere evidently on a downward slope as 2 yearslater he was again taken before the Chief|Constable, this time for drinking in a publichouse on duty. He was fined 5/-. This was a commondisciplinary offence amongst the Police in thosedays. This is maybe not surprising when oneconsiders their hours of work and the number oflicensed premises at that time was enormous. InChester City alone with a population then of only31,000, there were 258 licensed premises i.e. oneto every 120 inhabitants. He may have beeninformed upon by one of the people who he had comeinto contact with or it may be this was the firsttime he had been caught! Who knows? The factremains that he continued to police the ruralareas and in December 1868 he recovered his goodreputation once again when he was commended forarresting some men who were stealing geese. Thistime it was the Chief Constable, Captain Smith whorewarded him with the sum of 5/- This was verywelcome when you consider it as a proportion ofhis then weekly wage of 23/- per week.After nearly 10 years in the area SuperintendentLaxton decided that it was time Samuel was movedon and he transferred him to Crewe where he wouldbe working from the Police Station in EdlestonRoad, still as uniform Constable No.224.In 1868 Crewe was a rough tough town with manyimmigrant families from Scotland, Ireland, Walesand all parts of the country who had come there towork in the Railway works of the London and NorthWestern Railway. There were many problems withdrunks, fights, domestics in addition to theftsand assaults This was a different kind of Policingwhich Samuel had to adapt to after the comparativecalm of the villages of South Cheshire.Samuel however was not put off and settled downwell in Crewe and got to know the people well. Heseems to have had the knack of forming goodrelationships with people with whom he came intocontact. This of course was an important asset fora Police Officer. Within 3 months of being in thetown he gained another commendation when hearrested a prisoner who had escaped from CrewePolice Station. Samuel was once more rewarded withthe sum of 5/- . This seems to have been the'going' rate for commendations in those days. WhatElizabeth, my Great Grandmother thought of Creweis not recorded but to her credit she evidentlygave her husband her support.Samuel, despite being a countryman at heart likedthe Crewe people and evidently did a lot for themand gained their respect during the years he wasthere. He must have had excellent reports from hissuperior officer which led on the 25th April, 1873to what I consider one of the high points of hiscareer. The Chief Constable promoted him fromuniformed Constable to Detective Inspector,missing out the intermediate rank of Sergeant. Hewas to become one of the first detectives in thenewly formed Criminal Investigation Department,the C.I.D. The people of Crewe showed theirrespect and kindness for Samuel and a collectionwas arranged, contributed to by 300 of theresidents. This raised the sum of £20, aconsiderable amount in 1873, and with they boughthim a handsome gold stop watch and serviceablegold chain. This was presented to him by the ChiefConstable, Captain Smith at the now PoliceHeadquarters at 142, Foregate Street, Chester.This event was reported in full in the CreweGuardian dated 3rd May, 1873. (See attached).Samuel, now Detective Inspector Williamson wastransferred to Chester on a salary of 30/- perweek. This was increased to £90 per annum fromAugust 1873. He was now involved in theinvestigation of many of the serious crimescommitted in the County including the murder ofP.C. Green of Sandbach, the first Cheshire PoliceOfficer to be murdered. Sadly this crime was neversatisfactorily solved. Samuel's career went fromstrength to strength and during his five years onC.I.D. his pay rose from £90 per annum to £110 perannum. In August 1878 he was again promoted toChief Inspector although this rank did not attractany further pay.The population of the County was now increasingrapidly with the industry growth in town likeCrewe and Runcorn. The town of Runcorn in 1878formed part of the Altrincham Division. The ChiefConstable decided that the Division was gettingtoo big and split it to form a new RuncornDivision. The person he chose to be the firstSuperintendent in charge was Samuel who in October1878 was promoted Superintendent at a salary of£130 per annum. Samuel and his family moved toRuncorn and were housed at Runcorn Police Stationwhich was then part of the Town Hall. With hisusual flair of creating good public relations heendeared himself to the people of Runcorn andbecame well know as prosecutor in the localMagistrates Court. He joined the Bridgewater Lodgeof Freemasons where he became Almoner of the Lodgebeing responsible for the welfare of its members.By 1879 he was on a salary of £165 per year. Henow had two growing sons and life was good.Unfortunately this was to last for only acomparatively short period as by the year 1883when my Great Grandfather was only 46 years of agehe began to suffer increasingly from Asthma andHeart disease. Whether this was made worse by thethen noxious chemical fumes in the vicinity of thetown from local industry, one can only conjecture.He spent the early part of 1884 suffering from hisillnesses and despite a Consultant being broughtover from Liverpool he died shortly before noon atthe Police Station at the young age of 47 years.During his time in the town he had become wellknown and respected by the Magistrates, Solicitorsand businessmen in the town. After his death, hisobituary and funeral were reported at length inthe Runcorn Guardian. Tributes were paid to him bythe Magistrates and Solicitors in open court. Hisfuneral was attended by a large number of people.Shops in the town were closed for the occasion andover 50 Police Officers from all over the Countyincluding the Superintendents from every Divisionattended the service and subsequent burial atRuncorn cemetery. The Bridgewater Lodge ofFreemasons held a special meeting on the day ofthe funeral and marched in full regalia from theLodge Room to Runcorn Police Station where theywalked with the funeral procession. So ended thelife and career of my Great Grandfather,Superintendent Samuel Williamson. On reading thefuneral report it was interesting to note that nowomen attended the funeral, not even my GreatGrandmother. This however I believe was normal inVictorian times.I found researching the circumstances of the deathof Samuel very moving. I never of course knew him.He died over 50 years before I was born and Inever knew my Grandfather, Albert James Williamsonwho also died before I was born. However throughmy research I felt somehow very close to Samuel.The fact that I carried the same number on myshoulder for my service in the Police, albeit inreverse. The fact that he was initially posted tothe Nantwich Division and I was initially postedto its successor, the Crewe Division some 97 yearslater. There is also the fact that both our wivesworked in Tailoring and Dressmaking before ourmarriages. The fact that by sheer coincidence Inow live within a 1/4 of a mile from where myancestors the Dodd family lived in the 19thcentury. It has given me great food for thought.Although I am proud to have been born a Welshmanand brought up in North Wales, it gives me morethan a degree of satisfaction to know that I haveCheshire family connections which were totallyunknown to me until the 1990's.Finally I would just like to record that during myresearch, the most poignant item I came across inthe Cheshire County Archives was a handwrittenbook dating from the mid nineteenth century inwhich are recorded all the marriages of CheshirePolice Officer from 1857 to 1960. On page 12 Ifound the record of Samuel and Elizabeth'smarriage at St Mary's church, Acton in 1862 and onthe last but one page a record of my own marriageto my wife Beryl at North Street Methodist church,Crewe in 1959.Derek Hughes. amended January, 2008.FootnoteIn 1997 the old Runcorn Police Station whereSamuel Williamson lived and worked became the newHalton Community centre. One of the originalprisoner's cells was retained and in it aredisplayed details of Samuel's life and newspapercuttings of his obituary and funeral.Extract from the Crewe Guardian dated 3rd May,1873.Presentation to Inspector S. Williamson of ChesterSeldom has there been a more deservingacknowledgement of general worth than in theoccurrence we are about to chronicle. Policemen asa rule are not too well paid for their labour andvery often receive more kicks than ha'pence, butnot withstanding the amount of unpleasantness anofficer receives in the course of his officialcalling, if he be a trustworthy, upright andintelligent servant of the public, he is sure tomeet with sympathy from the respectable classes ofsociety. For more than 14 years P.C. SamuelWilliamson has served the Crewe public faithfullyin the capacity of ordinary Constable and a moreuseful member of the Force could not be desired.Captain Smith, respected Chief Constable of thecounty, having shown his appreciation ofWilliamson's smartness by appointing him to aDetective Inspectorship, Mr Hill, by hischaracteristic activity and generosity waited uponthe arrival of no less than 300 people, fromClergymen to Costermongers who had subscribedupwards of £20 with which a handsome gold stopwatch and serviceable gold chain were purchasedfrom Messrs Carlyle and Backhurst. Captain Smithwas communicated with and at the request of thesubscribers, he intimated his willingness topresent the testimonial to the new Inspector.Friday was selected as the day and Mr Hill and MrCooke waited upon the Captain at his office inForegate Street, Chester and were very courteouslyreceived. Several of the officers had been marchedinto the Chief's office; he said that it was verygratifying to him as Chief Constable of the Countyto be asked to perform one of the pleasantestduties that had ever fallen his lot during hisofficial life. The inhabitants of Crewe through MrHill and Mr Cooke had placed in his hands ahandsome gold watch and chain to present toInspector Williamson as a mark of appreciation ofhis services to the town during the many years hehad been stationed in Crewe. The watch wasbeautifully inscribed as follows:- 'Presented toDetective Inspector Williamson by Mr Hill,Auctioneer and 300 friends for energetic servicesrendered to the town of Crewe' That inscriptionconveyed to him a fact exceedingly gratifyingshowing that it had been subscribed for in smallamounts, from a shilling to half a crown from agreat number of people, which was preferable thanif it had been got up by a few rich men of ahigher class and who had given sovereigns.Nothing could be more gratifying to him as Chiefof the County Constabulary than to know that theservices of his men were appreciated and he hopedit would be an incentive to Williamson to continuehis exemplary conduct and to other officers tocopy it.Inspector Williamson in receiving the present fromhis Chief said he deeply appreciated the kindnessof the Crewe people and wished Mr Hill and MrCooke to convey to them his earnest thanks fortheir handsome present.Captain Smith said it showed that although theduties of a Policeman were not always of thepleasantest kind, the public could appreciate hisservices and hoped that the gentlemen from Crewewould not fail to tell the subscribers that he wasas much grateful as Williamson was and that heregarded it as a compliment to the County Forcegenerally. After thanking Mr Hill and Mr Cooke fortheir kindness in coming to Chester, the men weredismissed and the interesting proceedingsterminated.