X Dear Vincent,So that's where you ended up, but very nice tohear from you. The only record I have of you isyour number, rank and name, joined 25 June 1959and resigned 30 April 1966, I will try to explainas you know the Cheshire Constabulary was formedin April 1857; there are many thousands ofrecords, these are held by the Cheshire RecordOffice, Chester. I as a retired officer (6 yearsuniform 22 years Special Branch) and now avoluntary Police Museum Researcher am slowlyextracting these records. Cheshire Police OfficerEnrolment Records are held under Reference CJP7Volumes 1-5. These five volumes are very large andin poor condition, run from 1857- 22 March 1913;after this and up until 1923 they are missing,after this they are a somewhat hit and miss affairand what we do have like your record only containsthe minimum amount of information. This is alldown to Civvies, yes they run the Police Servicenow, and who have no understanding of PoliceHistory destroyed the officer's personal recordonce he or she retired. The early records arefascinating, just what the Bobbies' got away with,perjury, assaulting prisoners and drunkenness. Soyes I would like some personal information as toyour police service, both here and WA. It is up toyou what you wish to let me have, but I would likeyour year and place of birth. Whatever you givewill be stored on the Museum database only andwill hopefully be there for eternity. Anyphotographs of yourself and Cheadle station if youhave one would be very much appreciated, or otherbobbies that you are able to put names to.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.You have made me smile with regard to the handheld radio's, I only retired in 2002, and myeldest son, joined 7 years ago, he is a DetectiveSgt and tells me I would not last 10 minutes inthe force of today, with the new computer systemsthat are suppose to aid your work load, insteadthey bog you down, mind you he is probably right Ihad enough trouble trying to get me head aroundthem when I was in. There are all so manyrestrictions on who and what you can contact otheragencies about, now you have to have aSuperintendent's authority to request the smallestamount of information from them. Again my son isright 10 minutes and would have broken every rulein the book. Anyway enough of my prattle I lookforward to hearing from you. With sincere bestwishes and a continual happy retirement. JimTalbot.PC 363 VINCENT SMITHHi Jim,Nice to get an informative reply from you.Background as a beginning. Born 18.2.36., 8,Gambrel Bank Road, Smallshaw, Ashton-under-Lyne,Lanc's. Family of 10, Six sisters and onebrother. Brother and two sisters with familiescame out here to Oz. Dad WW1, brother WW2.St Mary"s Catholic School, Ashton. Altarboy andchoirboy. Attending the dying (to give ExtremeUnction) often in poverty stricken conditions andthe dead at services at 10yrs old with the priestgave me a good grounding for the Army and Police.Left school at 15yrs, formative years frightenedof bombs, all teachers called up, older retiredteachers recalled, so education somewhatrestricted. Did all right though, apprenticecarpenter, (1950)learned heaps at Ashton Tech.(Originally at the Ashton Library until the newone was built) thanks to the now returned(from theWar) younger teachers National Service at19.5.yrs in 1955. Carpenters advised get overseasposting(all had been in WW1), and get used to it!!Went to Germany, then Suez Crisis in 1956 toMalta, then Cyprus with Eeoka terrorists causingprobs. Lost a good mate. I served Mass all theway through my Army days, but lost my faith in anyChurch after seeing what went on in the middleeast in the name of religion as a sole authority,par for the course according to the padre. Thatwas, and still is, a sad thing.Got married during service...bit of mistake andfell apart out here...but got two lovely andultimately very succesful kids, Julie and Nigel.Julie, Australian National University, (ANU)still a Smith.. and Nigel, still a Smith ofcourse, in W.A. for a big international Company.After six years on my own with the kids, a goodmate of mine from Manchester died of heart probs,before he went off he asked me to look after hismissus and two kids. We married 30 yrs ago...weare doing alright!!Now I have to start digging!!! When I joined,The Superintendent at Cheale Hulme was...Ithink..Barney Sullivan, a kindly and very pleasantman. Bear in mind that most of the poeple whojoined the Police were ex-service and in that hada common bond. Police cadets were not consideredas men, and were given a hard time. We had atCheadle at the time and Inspector called Beesley,who I beleive had been a cadet, never been in theservices, and certainly gave the impression ofbeing a mummy's boy, not married and theatmosphere at Cheadle at the time between himsergeants and staff was not good. As acarpenter, didn't know a typewriter too well, hewould score my reports through with a red penciIrequiring total retyping, so the sergeants wouldretype my early reports for me (which they hadpreviously approved), and when he again rejectedthen, the sgts were into him!! I have photo\s ofcommendation parades in which I was involved, justgot to find them!! Associates at Cheadle wereFrank Morgan, he went into Cid and went to superor something and retired to Ellesmere Port....onthe wirral Great bloke. Sgt Horace Stone, JackSinclair, Emrys Jones, Gordon Higginbottom.My first Christmas, being the junior bloke, I wasput in the office, (lovely being with the fire andall for a change from the freezing cold) while thesenior blokes went out to check the scenery.Jack Sinclair was out on the Gatley Beat on hispush bike. In the early evening I got a callfrom a concerned elderly resident who said she hadjust been to put out the milk bottle and she hadseen the local constable riding down the StyalRoad and he had suddenly veered to the left andhad gone through the hedge at the side of theroad, and she was worried because he had notreappeared. He was recovered very close to avery smelly pond having been very close to a goodparty. I rang the lady back later and thankedher for her co-operation and said that the officerhad had a bit of turn, but he was recovering verywell!! Unfortunately, another call had been adouble fatality on Kingsway. That is the PoliceService, and bit of fun, a lot of grief.I will send some photo's soon, not of cheadleStation I am afraid, don't have any, I went therein 1978 and it had been shut down and wasdesolate...lots o memories though!!Cheers.Vince.The Curator, Museum of Policing in Cheshire,Warrington Police Station, Arpley Street,Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1LQ