X James DaviesDear Sue,Thank you for your nicely worded request forinformation concerning James, 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, but we would appreciate a scanned copyof the Newspaper Article and Death Certificatefrom you for our records. Again sadly we have noin depth knowledge as to why James drowned, otherthan what is recorded in the Roll of Honour. Otherrecords of officers who also died as a result ofan incident and there are a few, show very littleinformation it seems perhaps "it happened andthat's that".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 and voluntary PoliceMuseum Researcher am slowly extracting theserecords. Cheshire Police Officer Enrolment Recordsare held under Reference CJP7 Volumes 1-5. Thesefive volumes are very large and in poor condition,run from 1857- 22 March 1913; the informationwhich you seek would therefore be recorded inVolume 2. The information regarding his marriageis retained in CJP24/2, 1847-1966. We also holdthe Pension Records (CJP20/2/1, 1857-1965). Theserecords show other one off payments, in otherwords small amounts not warranting a pension.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 whilstthis Museum works on a donation basis, (madepayable to the Museum of Policing in Cheshire).The Record Office however, will charge you aminimum of £27 per search per volume; thereforeyour total bill would be £ 81, so please be aware.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.I trust you will enjoy what follows, can I ask youwhen you get a moment would you send a quick mailso I can mark of your enquiry as completed. If youhave any further questions please don't hesitateto contact me. Jim Talbot. Trustee and Researcher,Cheshire Museum of Policing.Collar Number/Rank. PC 136 and 87 James Davies(It was not unusual for an officer to be issuedwith a number and later changed for a differentone)Born. Circa 1844 Aldford, Chester, Cheshire.Date of Entry. 16 August 1869Date of Leaving. 17 December 1887Final Date of Leaving. 17 December 1887How Discharged. Death in serviceInitial Posting. HQ Reserve.Other Postings and Dates. September 1869Altrincham; June 1878 Hyde; December 1880Altrincham.Miscellaneous Information. Religion Protestant,Height 5' 7", Age 25 on joining. Eyes Hazel, HairDark, Complexion Dark, Build Proportional. Died 17December 1887 in Altrincham, Cheshire. Nameappears on the Police Roll of Honour as James wasfound drowned in the Canal at Sale. Circumstancesunknown leading up to his drowning. April 1888Gratuity of £76 paid to his Widow.Promotion/Misconduct. 05 October 1878 permitting aprisoner to escape whilst conveying him toKnutsford Jail, Reduced to 26/10d pw. 31 August1879 preferring a frivolous and vexatiouscomplaint against 2nd Class Inspector J. Walker, ADivision at Hyde. Reduced to 23/11 per week andseverely reprimanded. Pay August 1869 20/-perweek. December 1870 21/-per week. December 187122/- per week. August 1872 23/4d per week.September 1873 24/6d per week. August 1874 25/8dper week. September 1875 26/10dper week. June 187628/- per week. November 1879 26/10d per week.August 1881 28/- per week. 25 March 1887 29/2d perweek.Awards/Good Conduct/Other information. June 1880Service 1 Good Conduct Badge. January 1881 Captureof a Burglar at Altrincham 5/- awarded by ChiefConstable. August 1881 Service 1 Good ConductBadge. 09 September 1882 1 Good Conduct Badge, 25March 1887 Service, Merit Badge and Pay. (MeritBadge and Pay would mean 2d per day in addition tohis normal pay although this is not recorded).Residence in 1881 taken from the Census was 13Rigby Street, Altrincham, Cheshire.Marriage Record.Officer. James Davies.Occupation. Labourer.Age. 20 years.Condition. BachelorPlace of residence at Marriage. Handbridge,Cheshire.Date of Marriage. 28 December 1861Place Married. St. Mary's Church, Chester.Fathers Name. Thomas DAVIESFathers Occupation. Labourer.Spouse. Mary Ann ASTBURY.Occupation. Servant.Age. 25 years.Condition. Spinster.Place of residence. Handbridge. Cheshire.Fathers Name. Thomas ASTBURY. Cheshire.Fathers Occupation. Gardener. Cheshire.The Curator, Museum of Policing in Cheshire,Warrington Police Station, Arpley Street,Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1LQ