X PatronGerald Cavendish GrosvenorDuke of Westminster, KG, CB, OBE, TD, DLOur ref: JT47/2012John TURNERDear Ken,Thank you for your nicely worded request forinformation concerning John you may be surprisedhow many enquires we get from people who never sayplease or thank you, but first I have to point outa few things. Sadly we do not have a photograph,that is to say we may, there are literallyhundreds of photographs of officers, but theirnames were never recorded on the reverse of thephotograph so from the Museums perspective theyremain unidentifiable. If you have a photographand you would like to share it a scanned copywould be wonderful or for that matter any otherinformation you may have that could be added tohis John's file.Warrington at the time of Johns service was partof Lancashire, but was policed by its own policeforce i.e. Warrington Borough Police, it wasformed in the mid 1830's and remained independentuntil 1974, when the local Government Boundarychanges took place and Warrington became part ofCheshire together with its police force.The main difference between a Borough police forceand a County force is that a Borough force is onlyresponsible for policing the Borough in itsentirety. There was very little difference in theway they were policed and the same applies to howthe officers were paid and treated. Discipline washarsh and many officers were fined for the mostpetty of offences or dismissed for anything thatmay have been considered more serious.The Museum is within the confines of WarringtonPolice Station which is an operational stationtherefore visits to the Museum are by appointmentonly, normally on Mondays and Fridays. If youwould like to visit please forward a quick mail acouple of weeks before and I feel certain theCurator Mr. Peter Wroe and Staff will doeverything possible to accommodate you.I have attached two photographs showing the policestations that John would have been stationed at asyou can see the one marked Warrington PoliceStation is where the Museum is situated it haschanged very little since John's day.Warrington Borough Police records are held by theChester Record office and I wish to assure thatwhat I give is as it appears within those records,however if you so wish, you can of course have therecords confirmed by the Chester Records OfficeArchivist. But it would be remiss of me if I didnot point out that The Record Office will chargeyou a minimum of £27 per search so please beaware. The cost of yourreport is £10, and I feel certain that you willagree that this represents value for money.Payment can be made by going to the Museum websitewww.museumofpolicingincheshire.org.uk within thedrop down 'Index' is the section marked 'FamilyResearch' there it will be seen 'Pay-Pal orDebit/Credit Card' click on this and follow theinstructions, when payment is received by theMuseum Pay-Pal will automatically let the Museumknow. If you prefer to pay by cheque please makeit payable to the 'Museum of Policing in Cheshire'and send it to the Curator, Mr. Peter Wroe, Museumof Policing, County Police Office, Arpley Street,Warrington, Cheshire CW1 1LQ, if you pay in thismanner will you kindly let me know.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, as I said there was very littlebetween a Borough and a County officer. Also therestrictions on their private life, an officer wasnot allowed to drink on or off duty even in hisown home.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 complete,this is important as whilst we are not funded bythe Cheshire Constabulary, they are still our'masters' so to speak and I have to account forthe information I send out. If you have anycomments good or bad and you wish to make themplease do so?If you have any further questions please don'thesitate to contact me.Jim TalbotTrustee and Researcher, Cheshire Museum ofPolicing.Collar Number/Rank. Police Constable 18 JohnTURNER.Born. 1859, Cudworth, Somersetshire. (none of theearly records show a full date of birth)Date of Entry. 3rd July 1884Date of Leaving. 18th July 1909Re-appointed. Not applicable.Final Date of Leaving. 18th July 1909How Discharged. To pension.Initial Posting. Warrington Borough onlyMiscellaneous Information. Trade or Calling.Labourer, Last employer Henry Roberts Flour Mills,Mold. Height 5' 8", Age on joining 24 years, HairBrown, Eyes Grey, Complexion Fresh, DistinguishingMarks, Nil. Marital Status, Not stated, ChildrenNot stated. Member of any Party or Society, NilCensus Information. 1881 2 Bennock Terrace, Mold,Flintshire with parents and siblings. 1884 Onjoining the police he gave his home address as 57High Street, Mold, Flintshire. 1891 11 NapierStreet, Warrington, Lancashire. 1901 FairfieldHouse, Manchester Road, Warrington, appears as awidow and resident with his parents. 1911 52Algernon Street, Warrington.Additional information requiring further research.Margaret Ann Gernon appears to have been born inWarrington in 1867 and married John Turner in theJanuary to March quarter of 1887 at Warrington.Margaret appears to have died during the Januaryto March quarter of 1898.Total service. 25 years 3 days.Died. Not recorded.The Generations NetworkPromotion. Not promoted.Misconduct. 10th March 1894 reported by the ChiefConstable on the complaint of William Donohue ofWainwrights Yard that he had at 10.20pm theprevious day been struck with a stick across hisnose by PC Turner whilst in Winwick Street withoutany provocation or reasons the blow resulting inDonohue's nose being broken and his eyes beingblackened. PC Turner was summoned by Donohue thecase being heard on the 13th before John Burgessand James Harrison Esq.'s JP's when it wasdismissed, the JP's not agreeing. He was suspendedfrom duty from 10pm Saturday 10th until Thursday15th and ordered to attend before the WatchCommittee that day for a thorough investigation ofall the circumstances but the case was adjourneduntil the 22nd for further investigation. 22ndMarch 1894 Case heard before the Watch Committeewhen he was cautioned and warned that a similarcase would result in his dismissal.24th April 1908 for gross neglect of duty infailing to visit 272 Manchester Road an unoccupiedhouse whilst on No12 beat from 6pm to 10pm, whichhouse was entered by thieves and ransacked.Severely reprimanded by the Chief Constable andwarned if again reported for neglect of duty hewould be brought before the Watch Committee andrecommended for dismissal.26th March 1908 for improperly working No4 beatbetween 2pm and 6pm and found gossiping somedistance from his beat, Severely reprimanded bythe Chief Constable and deprived of monthly leavefor April. (Officers were only allowed one day offper month)Weekly Pay. 5th July 1884 25/-, 15th January 188526/-, 10th September 1885 27/-22nd September 188728/-. 12th February 1891 29/-, 21st April 189130/- and Merit Badge. 7th April 1898 32/-, 21stMarch 1901 33/-,Retired on annual pension of £53.3s.11dAwards/Good Conduct/Other information. 12thFebruary 1891 Promoted to 1st class Constable forMeritorious Conduct in saving a boy from drowningin the river at Bank Quay on Good Friday.Where the reference BSI appears in the Museumdatabase this applies to a website known as theBlack Sheep Index www.blacksheepindex.co.uk thisis a site that carries articles concerning PoliceOfficers. On occasions the officer's full name isnot given, but we have tried to make a matchagainst what the Museum Records show. In 1896 itshows John as "Saves Fire" I am only assuming herethat he may have rescued someone from a fire. In1899 He appears to have assaulted and in 1899 heappears to have captured a criminal. There arecharges involved in obtaining thesecuttings direct from the owner of the website. Itis emphasized that the Museum does not know thecontents of these cuttings and takes noresponsibility for them. The Museum is onlyshowing this as an aid that there is furtherinformation from another source. Should you decideyou would like this article when requesting itplease make reference to this Museum, whilst youwon't get it any cheaper it may just speed up theprocess? I have attached a newspaper cutting fromthe Liverpool Mercury 14th February 1885 when Johnwas assaulted by two soldiers at Pinners Brow,Warrington.Museum of Policing in Cheshire,Warrington Police Station, Arpley Street,Warrington. WA1 1LQTel : 01606 36 3848/5803www.museumofpolicingincheshire.org.uk/