X Thomas GOSLINGDear Margaret,Thank you for your nicely worded request forinformation concerning Thomas 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 as I said we do nothave a photograph, that is to say we may, thereare literally hundreds of photographs of officers,but their names were never recorded on thereverse.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 inVolumes 1 and 2. The information regarding hismarriage is retained in CJP24/2, 1847-1966. Andwith 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. The Museum charges,for searching the three volumes are on a reducingscale i.e. dependant on the information recorded,the maximum amount payable is £10, whichrepresents good value. Your remittance is £10 andas we are working on a trust basis please forwardpayment by cheque made payable to the 'Museum ofPolicing in Cheshire' to The Curator, Mr. PeterWroe, Museum of Policing in Cheshire, WarringtonPolice Station, Arpley Street, Warrington,Cheshire. WA1. 1LQ.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 draconian and those whostrayed outside the rule's were fined way abovewhat they earned or dismissed. Also therestrictions on their private life, an officer wasnot allowed to drink on or off duty even in hisown home. It all comes down to the fact that upuntil the 1960's every Chief Constable of Cheshirewas an ex military officer and they of coursebrought with them 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 having beencompleted. If you have any further questionsplease don't hesitate to contact me. Best wishes,Jim Talbot. Trustee and Researcher, CheshireMuseum of Policing.Collar Number/Rank. PC 72 and then on promotionbecame Sgt 271 Thomas GOSLING.Born. 1835 Stayley, Mottram in Longdale,Cheshire. Incidentally there is a most wonderfulbook entitled 'Reminiscences of a Chief Constable'by Chief Constable William Chadwick, who actuallypoliced this area for many years and it does givean idea of the type of place it was when Thomaswas born. I managed to buy my copy in February viathe internet and during the search for it therewere several copies available, I paid £13.Date of Entry. 23td February 1857.Date of Leaving. 29th May 1859. (Resigned)Re appointed. 19th September 1859.Final Date of Leaving. 30th April 1891.How Discharged. To Pension.Initial Posting. Hyde.Other Postings and Dates. 20th April 1857 Hyde,19th September 1859 Reserve (HQ), 23rd September1859 Broxton; June 1870 Nantwich (Crewe); May 1871Northwich; January 1879 Hyde; 23rd November 1880Wirral; 13th October 1888 Eddisbury; 25th August1889 Hyde.Miscellaneous Information. Religion Protestant.Height 5' 9", Age 22 (on joining), Eyes Dark, HairBlack, Complexion Pale, Build Proportional. 1stMay 1891 Certificate of Service with charactermarked as "Very Good" sent to him. Age onretirement 56 years 1 month. Total service 34years 30 days. Died 5 July 1893 aged 58 years 3months. 1881 Census Address, 27 Stanley Street,Poulton Cum Seacombe, Cheshire.Misconduct. 8th December 1864 drinking when onduty in a Public House at Malpas, Reprimanded bythe Chief Constable. 27th January 1879 habituallyneglecting to visit the men of his Section,Deprived of Merit Badge with Pay and transferredto another Division by the Chief Constable. 10thNovember 1880 endeavouring to bring outsideinfluence to prevent the Chief Constable's ordersbeing carried out, Reduced to 30/4d per week bythe Chief Constable. (Unfortunately the recordsdon't state what the outside influence was). 27thJanuary 1881, Reinstated to 32/8d per week.Promotion and Weekly Pay. 15th July 1858 19/- to20/-. 26th March 1860 19/- to 20/-. 15th September1865 20/- to 21/-. June 1867 22/-. March 187023/4d. June 1870 Promoted Acting Sgt. January 1871Merit Badge 2d per day extra. May 1871 PromotedSgt at 25/2d. October 1871 26/2d. August 187227/5d.December 1872 29/2d. May 1874 30/4d. May1875 31/6d. January 1876 32/8d. April 1876 33/10d.27th January 1881 32/8d. 1st February 1886 33/10d.Annual pay on retirement £88. 4s. 2d. Dischargedon Pension of £58.16s.1d per annum. Total time onpension 2 years 66 days. Total pension received£128. 4s. 0d.Awards/Good Conduct/Other information. January1859 Apprehending a Burglar, Rewarded 10/- by theChief Constable. January 1863, apprehending aNaval Deserter, 20/- reward by the CommandingOfficer of the vessel 'Majestic'. October 1865Capture of Poachers, Cash under Poachers Act, 5/-reward by F. Aldersey Esq. January 1871 Long andMeritorious Service, Merit Badge and 2d per dayadditional pay. 1st February 1886 Long andMeritorious Service Merit Badge and 2d per dayadditional pay.Marriage Record.Officer. Thomas GOSLINGOccupation. Police Sgt.Age. 39 years.Condition. Widower.Place of residence at Marriage. Astbury, Cheshire.Date of Marriage. 23rd September 1875Place Married. St. Oswald's Church, Chester,Cheshire.Fathers Name. John Gosling.Fathers Occupation. Labourer, Cheshire.Spouse. Margaret Broster.Occupation. Servant.Age. 34 years.Condition. Spinster.Place of residence. Lea Newbold, Cheshire.Fathers Name. Joseph Broster.Fathers Occupation. Labourer, Cheshire.