X Superintendent William BRITTONDear JaneThank you for your nicely worded request forinformation concerning Superintendent Britton 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, that is to say we may,there are literally hundreds of photographs ofofficers, but their names were never recorded onthe reverse. So if you locate his photograph wewould appreciate a scanned copy. I have also donea little research for information that is notcontained within the Museum, the likes of theCensus and Royal Irish Constabulary Records, butmore about this later. And if you didn't know Janeyou not only have Police running through yourveins but well and truly you are of Irish descent.With regard to visiting the Museum, there will beno issues with this, but it is by appointment onlyat the moment so if you contact Peter Wroe onsomething out with you, explain that you havereceived this report from me.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 (having served thelast 22 years within Special Branch) and voluntaryPolice Museum Researcher am slowly extractingthese records. Cheshire Police Officer EnrolmentRecords are held under Reference CJP7 Volumes 1-5.These five volumes are very large and in poorcondition, run from 1857- 22 March 1913; theinformation which you seek would therefore berecorded in Volume 2. The information regardinghis marriage is retained in CJP24/2, 1847-1966.And with regard to 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. And thank you for theoffer of a small donation and kindly forwardpayment by cheque made payable to the 'Museum ofPolicing in Cheshire' and send it to The Curator,Mr. Peter Wroe, Museum of Policing in Cheshire,Warrington Police Station, Arpley Street,Warrington, Cheshire. WA1. 1LQ.If you also read the history of the CheshireConstabulary by going to the web site, INDEX dropdown menu, HISTORY and look for "To the Best ofOur Skill and Knowledge" I feel certain that auseful picture can be obtained of life in theforce at the time, my own opinion is thatdiscipline was draconian and those who strayedoutside the rule's 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 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 (Trustee andResearcher, Cheshire Museum of Policing).Collar Number/Rank. Superintendent 311 WilliamBRITTONBorn. 1850 Claughanagh, Fermanagh, Ireland.Date of Entry. 28th May 1872.Date of Leaving. 13th March 1873. (No reasonrecorded as to why he resigned but I assume hereturned to Ireland see Miscellaneous Informationbelow)Re-appointed. 28th June 1873.Final Date of Leaving. 31st October 1897.How Discharged. To Pension.Initial Posting. HQ Reserve, Chester.Other Postings and Dates. June 1872 Wirral. July1873 Hyde. April 1876 Wirral. April 1877 Hyde. 12June 1885 Wirral. 16 January 1886 Reserve. 01 July1891 Hazel Grove. 15 May 1894 Altrincham.Miscellaneous Information. 2 years prior servicewith Royal Irish Constabulary. ReligionProtestant, Irish, Height 6' 1", Age 22, EyesGrey, Hair Brown, Complexion Fresh, BuildProportional. 27th March 1873 Testimonials sent toSub Inspector, Enniskillen. 15th November 1897Cheshire Constabulary Certificate of Service givenwith character marked as "Exemplary".Age on retirement 47 years 5 months. Total service25 years 51 days. Died 18 October 1924 aged 74years 5 months.Resident in 1881 at 20 Beeley Street PoliceStation, Hyde, Cheshire. In 1891 10 Philip Street,Hoole Chester. (See Census attachments). I havenot been able to find him on the 1901 Census,which is the last Census available.I have checked the Royal Irish Constabularydatabase on ancestry.co.uk and it shows thatWilliam Britton, aged 19 years, joined atFermanagh in 1868, you will note from the abovethat he served 2 years with the RIC, so this wouldtake him up to the year 1870. I have been unableto trace him on the 1871 English Census, I havetherefore no idea where he was between 1870 andwhen he joined the Cheshire Constabulary in May1872, perhaps he was still in Ireland in adifferent employment.The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was created in1816, and initially staffed mainly by Irish-bornmen. However, toward the 1900s, and especiallyafterwards, the RIC recruited men from countriessuch as England, Scotland, Wales, and the UnitedStates. The records of the RIC were only indexedannually by the date of enlistment. Until thedatabase was created, the only way to identifywhether an ancestor joined the forces was anextremely time-consuming search. Some peoplejoined for a few days or weeks, others stayed foryears, and quite a few migrated. There arementions in the index on whether a personemigrated, died, or married. The original recordsgo into details, showing where each man wasstationed, where he had relatives, whether he gotmarried, and if so the date, illnesses, conduct,promotions, cause of death if died in the force;pensioned or retired; as well as a physicaldescription. The index shows the name of each man,a year or birth or an age on enlistment; a countyof birth or a country; whether single or married,comments such as died, emigrated, etc., and thereference film number and page for fuller details.This index is an important source for Irishresearch, even if your ancestor didn't appear tohave been in the RIC. He may have enlisted for afew days or weeks and signed out. His details arestill on record.The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints(Mormons) hold Microfilm of these records, Williamis on Film Number 856065, Page 168B. The Mormonshave what they call Family History ResearchLibraries, I don't know if they have one inManchester, but if you get in touch with yournearest one they will order the film for you andof course as I have said above it may give furtherinformation as to his family in Ireland, it iswell worth a try.This is an extraction of the Royal IrishConstabulary for the years 1816-1921 For more information about this database,click here.The Generations NetworkPromotion/Misconduct. NoMisconduct reports recorded. (William appears tobe an exception to the rule there are not manyofficers during this time who do not have sometype of discipline offence recorded against them.The likes of drunk on duty, assault on a prisoner,for which they were normally find anything from1/- to 10/-)Weekly Pay. May 1872 20/-. September 1872 21/-.June 1873 21/-. August 1873 23/4d. May 187525/8d. October 1876 26/10d. December 1877 MeritBadge 28/-. May 1878 Promoted Acting Sgt. June1878 29/2d. November 1878 Promoted Sgt. August1879 31/6d. November 1879 33/10d. 12 June 1885Promoted Inspector at £90 per annum. 25 July 1885£100. 25 June 1886 £105. 26 December 1886 £110. 01July 1891 Promoted Superintendent at £160. 01 July1893 £180. 01 July 1895 £200. 10 April 1897 £210.Annual pay on retirement £210.0s. 0d. Dischargedon pension of £130.4s.0d per annum. Total time onpension 26 years 352 days. Total pension received£3515. 8s.0dAwards/Good Conduct/Other information. December1877 Gallant Conduct in arresting a man for felonywho fired at him three times with a revolver, 5/-Extra Special Duty payment, Merit Badge and 2d perday additional pay.Marriage RecordOfficer. William BRITTONOccupation. Police Constable.Age. 25 years.Condition. Bachelor.Place of residence at Marriage. Hyde, Cheshire.Date of Marriage. 22nd February 1876.Place Married. St. Thomas Church, Hyde, Cheshire.Fathers Name. George BRITTON.Fathers Occupation. Farmer, Fermanagh, Ireland.Spouse. Selina WILDGOOSE.Occupation. Weaver.Age. 17 years.Condition. Spinster.Place of residence. Hyde, Cheshire.Fathers Name. John WILDGOOSE.Fathers Occupation. Labourer, Derbyshire.Jane you will appreciate that because of thevarious rules, data protection etc, that theMuseum is not allowed to hold personal informationin any great detail on officer's post 1950, buthere is what we hold on your remaining relatives.PC 3635 Graham Thomas Buckley Joined 12 December1965. Resigned 18 March 1969.PC 67 Alfred Crump, Joined 30 March 1924.Pensioned 30 October 1950, last posting Crewe.Sgt 475 Malcolm Kenneth Sattler, JoinedMetropolitan Police 27 May 1957. TransferredCheshire31 July 1958. 01 April 1974 Transferred GMP onlocal Government Reorganisation and posted toCheadle Hulme Sub Division.No.NAMEAge when AppointedHeightF. I.NATIVECOUNTYReligionIf Married,Date.NATIVECOUNTYOF WIFE34694WilliamBritton19 years5' 10"FermanaghProtestantRECOMMENDATIONSBy whom recommended.If by a Magistrate, add J.P.If by a Protestant Clergyman,add Clk. If by a R.C. Clergyman,add P.P. or C.C.Trade or CallingAppointment orRe-Appointment,Date ofALLOCATIONTo What CountyIn order ofservice of each.PROMOTIONS ORREDUCTIONSDate of-To what RanksSub InspectorArchibald KirklandLabourer10/8/1868Wicklow 2/12/1868ReserveREWARDSMARKS OF DISTINCTIONAND FAVOURABLE RECORDSPUNISHMENTSIf fined, state the amountIF DISCHARGED, DISMISSED,RESIGNED or DEADState the date thereof.INJURIESReceived on Duty,Date of ReportIf Dead. probable cause of Death.If resigned, why?Remarks.Resigned23/8/1870(2 years service)"To go home"