X PatronGerald Cavendish GrosvenorDuke of Westminster, KG, CB, OBE, TD, DLOur ref: JT55/2012William WHEATLEYDear Phil,Thank you for your enquiry concerning William,which is the only forename recorded for him in thepolice archives but from other information itappears to be William Henry. You would besurprised how many enquires we get from people whonever say please or thank you, but first I have topoint out a few things. Sadly we do not have aphotograph, that is to say we may, there areliterally hundreds of photographs of officers, buttheir names were never recorded on the reverse. Ifyou have a photograph and you would like to sharewith the Museum it would be very much appreciated.The Cheshire Constabulary was formed in April1857; there are many thousands of records, theseare held by the Cheshire Record Office, Chester.As a retired Police officer and voluntary PoliceMuseum Researcher I am slowly extracting theserecords. At the same time as Cheshire Constabularybeing formed there were a number of other PoliceForces within Cheshire these were known as BoroughPolice Forces, i.e. Hyde, Macclesfield,Stalybridge Warrington etc. Warrington BoroughPolice where William served was in fact within theCounty of Lancashire at the time. When the localGovernment boundaries changed in 1974, WarringtonBorough Police became part of the CheshireConstabulary and thankfully their records cameinto the possession of the Cheshire Constabulary.Warrington Borough Records are held underreference CJP20/12/3 and CJP20/12/5.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.If you also read the history of the CheshireConstabulary "To the Best of Our Skill andKnowledge" and the History of Warrington BoroughPolice which are both on the Museum Web Site underthe drop down Menu marked History. I feel certainthat a useful picture can be obtained of life inthe all the forces atthe time, my own opinion is that discipline wasdraconian and those who strayed outside the ruleswere fined way above what they earned ordismissed. Also the restrictions on their privatelife, an officer was not allowed to drink on oroff duty even in his own home. At the time ofWilliam's service he would have worked out of thepolice station in Irlam Street and I have attacheda photograph of this station it also shows twoofficers which of course is how William would havealso appeared. The present Warrington police whichyou called at was not built until 1899 and theMuseum is within this Police Station. It is opento the public via prior arrangement with theCurator on Mondays and Fridays, there are a greatnumber of artefacts relating to Warrington BoroughPolice and would probably be of interest to youand all we need from you is if you intend to visitis an email a couple of weeks before hand and I amcertain the Curator Mr. Peter Wroe and Staff willassist you in any way possible.As I said the cost of your report is £10 and Ihave included in this the copies of the 1881, 1891and 1901 Census returns. Payment can be made bygoing 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.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.--------o-------Collar Number/Rank. Police Constable 8 William(Henry) WHEATLEYBorn. Circa 1841. None of the early records showa complete date of birth however in this case Ihave checked the National Births Register and itshows that William was born in the April-Junequarter 1843 in Long Crendon, Near Aylesbury,Buckinghamshire. Whilst I am writing about this ifyou go to www.long-crendon.com/history.php thereyou will see a site about this village.Date of Entry. 15th February 1872Date of Leaving. 13th February 1896Re-appointed. Not applicable.Final Date of Leaving. 13th February 1896How Discharged. To pensionInitial Posting. Within the confines of theBorough of Warrington only.Other Postings and Dates. Nil.Miscellaneous Information. Trade or CallingLabourer or Greengrocer. Last employer ChiefConstable. I.C.T. Drake, BuckinghamshireConstabulary, service of 1 year 255 days servingat Ellesborough. Prior undated service of 7 yearswith Metropolitan Police (Metropolitan PoliceRecords are also available, I would estimate thisservice as probably between 1862 and 1870)Height 5' 8", Age on joining 31 years. Hair LightBrown, Eyes Hazel, Complexion Fresh.Distinguishing Marks, Nil. Marital Status,Married, Children Two although from the 1881/1891Census he appears to have had five children intotal. Member of any Party or Society Nil.On entering the force he gave his residence asAshton in Makerfield, but sadly not a fulladdress.1881/1891 Census returns 31 Howley Street,Warrington, Lancashire.1901 Census returns 14 Napier Street, Warrington,Lancashire.Age on retirement 52 years 8 months 11 daysapproximatelyTotal service. 23 years 11 months and 27 daysDied. October-December quarter 1907 aged 67 yearsat Warrington. LancashireThe Generations NetworkPromotion. No promotionrecorded.Misconduct. 15th March 1873 reported by InspectorSingleton for being drunk and unfit for duty at12.30am Sunday 13th whilst on Cockbridge Laneordered to go home but refused until he had seenthe Chief Constable who was called upend reportmade to him, Chief Constable ordered him home.Fined 2/6d plus one nights pay of 3/6d.24th January 1876 reported by Ins Singleton forbeing drunk upon duty on 10 beat at 12.15am inWinwick Street was asked if all was alright andwhat he was doing there drunk. He replied "I amgoing off duty at one o'clock, I am very sorry andhope you will look over it this time. InspectorSingleton told him he would be reported. Fined 5/-and cautioned by Chief Constable.18th September 1875 reported by Sgt Spinks forbeing late for duty at 5.45am coming on duty at6.15am, said he did not think he had been calledand was informed that PC Bowen had called him atthe usual time, Fined 2/6d.29th April 1876 reported by Sgt Spinks for beingdrunk on duty at 1.50am, having been foundcorrectly working his beat at Wash Lane End at11.25pm prior was then found drunk in Old Road atfirst named time, when questioned, he said "I musthave been drugged, I drank out of a bottle offeredme by some persons I did not know" was sent homeand reported, Fined 5/- by the Chief Constable.22st January 1879 for having appropriated a smallquantity of Whiskey found on a prisoner JohnHatton and for denying all knowledge of same whenchallenged with it until other evidence wasbrought to prove the truth of such report (inconnection with PC Heath. Fined 20/- by ChiefConstable.Comment. In all of the 15000+ records we havethere are numerous officers who were reported fortheft and the punishment was in fact a monthsimprisonment and dismissed from the force, so hisfine of 20/- was very light.23rd September 1879 for neglect of duty anddrinking on duty at 10.35pm further with havingfalsely declaring when challenged by the beerseller that he was off duty, Fined 10/- and payreduced by 1/- per week by Chief Constable.18th December 1882 allowing prisoner ThomasMiskell to escape. Reduced by 1/- per week duringpleasure of the Watch Committee (Equivalent totoday's police authority).22nd December 1882 Reported for allowing prisonerCharles Hanley to escape. Cautioned andreprimanded for his want of care and attention byChief Constable.Weekly Pay. 15th February 1871 20/-, 4th April1872 22/-, 30th August 1872 23/-, 20th February1873 24/-, 15th May 1873 26/-. 9th July 1874 27/-,26th July 1877 28/-, 25th September 1877 Reducedto 27/-. 24th November 1881 28/- without MeritBadge. 28th December 1882 Reduced to 17/-. 7thMarch 1889 28/-.Retired on weekly pension of. 15/8dAwards/Good Conduct/Other information. Nonerecorded.Museum of Policing in Cheshire,Warrington Police Station, Arpley Street,Warrington. WA1 1LQTel : 01606 36 3848/5803www.museumofpolicingincheshire.org.uk/