The Air Beat

We're late!

This has been a bit of a 'post horn gallop' to get the magazine ready for publication.

Sadly Jim is still recovering from his surgery and I am sure than on behalf of all the members, we wish him well with what is a slow and painful recovery from surgery. It has not been without complications, which have taken a toll on his health.

I also have a "day job", which means that I don't have unlimited time to sit and write, much as I would really, REALLY like to.

I did tell a friend recently that I was fed up of waking every morning and thinking of the list of jobs I had to do, rather than the things I would like to do! But I know I am not on my own with that line of thought.

SO with with apologies from me and Jim, here is your latest PMCC Magzine.

This month we have several interesting pieces which centre around researching and discovering the history of items in people's collections.

Research is not difficult to do these days, but it does take time to do properly and you have to be aware of all the people and groups you can use to help you.

So without further ado and more words from me, I'll let you dive into our magazine.

Norman

It's in the papers, somewhere

On day in the 1980's, workmen were under the Crown Court in Beverley, trying to find the source of a water leak.

The court is in the old Quarter Sessions building and dates from the 18th Century. From the dock a tunnel leads to the rear yard of what is now the police station, but at the time the building was built, it was the local prison

Beverley Prison c1860

Photo of the Turnkey and his wife, Beverley Prison, C. 1860.

Investigating the tunnel, the workmen found a small boarded up door which wasn't shown on nay plans, so they broke in to try and find the leak.

What they found was the paper archives of the East Riding Constabulary, that had been sealed up sometime around 1968.

Its existence had then been forgotten about.

Arrangements were made for the store to be emptied and everything taken to the County Archives, where there was space, and then the contents could be assessed for their value and a decision made about what should be kept and what could be destroyed.

Amongst the vast numbers of files were all the road traffic accident reports, including full "Fatal" files.

I recovered a couple out of interest, because at the time I was a Traffic Sergeant and I also knew the officers who had investigated the incidents..

It was only later when I examined one report in particular, that I came across something interesting, and because it is dated, we can see change happening.

ERC Fatal

This report is about a fatal road crash which happened on the 31st December 1960. The cover of the accident report booklet is titled East Riding Police. But surely the East Riding was a "Constabulary up to amalgamation in 1968>

Constabulary comes by Latin and is the root of the word "Constable", a very old office holder in not just the English speaking world.

The 1856 Police Act was the enabling legislation which formed police forces in counties in England and Wales, where none were already in existence. Almost without exception, they were called ** Constabulary.

Borough and City forces which had come into existence from 1836 were "police", but it was known that a police force and a constabulary were one and the same.

Move forward to the first decade of the 21st century, and those few remaining county constabularies, began to change their names to "police". It is said in part, so that people whose first language is not English, would understand what the entity did.

A few forces styled themselves "Police" but still retained "Constabulary" on their badge.

What I noticed in this report was that the East Riding Constabulary was undergoing this change, from Constabulary to police in 1960/1961 with some printed forms showing Constabulary and some police.

Police statement Constabulary

The various hand written statements of evidence in this report are variously styled East Riding of Yorkshire Police and East Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary.

Until the end in June 1968, the badges were all East Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary, although there is some evidence that Police was used as well.

ERC Cap Badges

There is no evidence in the records of the reasons for this change in styling taking place, but when I look further at papers from the late 1960's it seems "Police" is used. Very seldom can you put a date to a change when anything takes place in policing!

ERP badge

Researching Reginald Walter Quack

Natal Police

By Steve Seargent

The following is some research I have carried out into the life and career of Reginald Walter Quack. At the end you can find links to the various resouces I mention in the text.

Reginald Walter Quack
7th December 1874 - West Derby Lancashire
8th July 1900 - Dundee Natal

Parents:
Emil Duack (later Quack)       *10th June 1844, Stuttgart Germany - † 6th October 1924 Liverpool Lancashire
Margaret Ann Kilshaw        * 1850 Birch Vale, Bury Lancashire - † 8th April 1882 Mossley Hill Lancashire
                    Married 24th February 1873 West derby Lancs.
QSA Medal
Service Career
Natal police 22nd July 1898 to 8th July 1900
Died in Service of Enteric Fever

Queens South Africa Medal with Bars Tugela Heights and Relief of Ladysmith, awarded to Trooper Reginald Quack, Natal Police

Reginald Walter Quack was born at 19 Green Lane West Derby Lancashire on the 7th December 1874. His birth however was only registered by his mother on the 18th January 1875.

His father was Emil Duack who was born on 10th June 1844 in Stuttgart in the Kingdom of Württemberg.

It appears he had his name changed some time after he emigrated to England as a wine merchant.

The Marriage Licence for his parents issued for some reason in Chester which is in Cheshire County note his father as being a widower aged 28.

His mother is noted as being a spinster and above the age of 21. She would have been 23 at the time.

Birth certificate

Marriage certificate

Marriage Certificate Image from the Familysearch.org website supplied by the Cheshire Records office.

The couple were duly married at Saint Mary The Virgin Parish Church in West Derby Lancashire on the 24th February 1873.

Reginald was their second son his elder brother Emil Aitken Quack was born on the 6th December 1873. Aitken was his maternal grandmothers maiden name.

He had four other brothers Charles Fredrick Kilshaw Quack was born on 29th September 1876, a third brother Godfried William Quack born on 17th July 1878. His paternal grandfathers name was Willem.

His final brother Harold Henry Kilshaw Quack was born on the 18th September 1879 his maternal grandfather being Henry Kilshaw.

The family were obviously affluent for the time as in the 1881 census, both Reginald and his elder brother Emil are shown as being boarders at the private school of Miss Jane Wilson Acre House School Tottingham High End Lancashire.

Ships manifest In the same census his parents resided at his place of birth?? called Greenbank House, Greenbank Road with three servants which by now was incorporated into Toxteth Park Liverpool.

His mother passed away on the 8th April 1882 at Greenbank House. His father remarried for a second time to Laura Emma Jarret on the 22nd January 1884 at Cheltenham Gloucestershire which was the brides home town she having been born there in 1891.

The union produced a step sister Pauline Emilie Jarret Quack born on the 27th March 1885 at Toxteth Park in Liverpool likely at Greenbank House. The family of Emil, Laura their son Harold and daughter Pauline were still residing in Toxteth Park in the 1901 census together with four servants.

It seems Reginald followed his father into the merchant business as on 4th December 1893 he was a passenger on the SS Calabari bound from Liverpool to Bathurst in the Gambia.

On the 18th November 189t Reginald was aboard the Tintagel Castle Bound for Capetown where interestingly he is noted down as being a foreign Merchant aged 30 and married??

Image from Researcher Rory P. Reynolds

It would appear that he plied his trade as a merchant until on the 22nd July 1898 he was accepted as Trooper 2183 in the Natal Police at Pietermaritzburg, having two testimonials and giving his next of kin as his father at 22 Toxteth Road Sefton Liverpool.
Diary The Natal Police force numbered only 317 all ranks in October 1899 according to Maj. Tylden in his book on South African Armed Forces.

With the invasion of Natal by Boer forces on the 11th October 1899 and the start of the Anglo Boer War like others, Trooper Quack was mobilised for the defence of the colony under daily orders when he and 21 others went to New Hanover and from there by train to Greytown under the command of Serjeant Fothergill.

It seems that was a policeman as noted in the daily orders of the 8th of December 1899 under Paragraph III of Force Order NP8548/99 having completed one Service Record year’s service, Number 2163 Trooper Quack was promoted to the rank of First class Trooper from 12th December 1899.

It is probable that as Reginald was granted the bar Tugela Heights on his QSA together with the Relief of Ladysmith he was part of the Natal Police men who as part of the composite Field Force unit took part in the actions around Gun Hill and later Wagon Hill.

Reduction in rank It seems that after the Wagon Hill Attack on the 6th of January 1900 and the relief of Ladysmith at the end of February 1900, Reginald Quack was on line of communication duties when at 7:15pm on the evening of the 21st April 1900 he was posted as a barrack guard. Unfortunately he became disruptive after getting drunk and was reduced in rank to a second class trooper after a hearing on 23rd April 1900.

His service career was soon to be brought to a close as he contracted Enteric Fever sometime in late May or early June 1900 and he died at the Dundee Military hospital on the 8th June 1900. His death was noted in the Natal Police records on the 7th August 1900, and confirmed post war by a Natal Death Notice dated 26th May 1903.

death notice

All above service records provided by researcher Rory P. Reynolds

Death certificate

Image from the Familysearch.org website

Newspaper notices announcing his death were made in Liverpool and Dundee newspapers.

His Queens South Africa medal entitlement is confirmed on the Natal Police Medal Roll.

Medal Roll

Image from researcher Rory P. Reynolds

He appears on two separate memorials the pictures of which below are from the Find A Grave website. The first is at his place of burial Dundee Cemetery Natal and the second is in the churchyard of All Saints' Church, Childwall, Liverpool. The cenotaph reads:

"To the memory of Reginald Walter Quack of the Natal Police Field Force, second son of Emil and Margret Ann Quack, who died 8 July 1900, aged 26 years, in the service of his country. Interred in the new cemetery at Dundee, Natal, S. Africa."

memorial 1 War memorial 2

Reginald left an estate in South Africa totalling £593.15/- to his father which for the times was a large amount.

Will

Image from the Familysearch.org website

On a final note, Reginald’s elder brother Emil honoured the memory of his younger brother by naming his first born child born on 10th March 1902 Reginald Emil Aitken Quack, he passed away in 1973.

A brass button and shoulder title as worn at the time by Trooper Quack

© 2022 Steve Seargent
Gazipasa
Turkey

‘Lest we forget’

Sources;
Wikipedia various pages as relevant
Anglo Boer War Website https://www.angloboerwar.com/boer-war
Family Search Emil Quack
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LTLW-27T
Family Search Margaret Ann Kilshaw
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/timeline/LTLW-2GV
Family Search Emil Aitken Quack
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/timeline/LTLW-254
Family search Reginald Walter Quack
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/timeline/LTLW-2ZV
Family Search Laura Emma Jarrett https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LTLW-LHC
Family Search Reginald Emil Aitken Quack
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/timeline/GM4S-HLM
Steven Keller Esq.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/207048521/reginald-walter-quack

The Armed Forces of South Africa – Major G Tylden
Military Badges and Insignia of Southern Africa – Colin Owen ©for the picture of the Natal Police Badge on page 1.

Photo of a Natal Police Trooper from "Bob" in the britishbadgeforum.com

New Book

Broken heads

Our member Alan Cook writes:

Having seen the most recent online magazine, which as ever was excellent reading, it reminded me I should send you details of a book I have just published.

The attached pdf (Click to download) details give a good summary of the book and its contents. What I would add are that although the book is basically about the role of the special constable in Essex from 1800 to 1913 it should have a wider appeal. I wanted to find the earliest origins of the special constable in Essex and 1800 was as far back as I could find.

I discovered that there is a lot of rubbish written about the early history of special constables, the most common error being that they were formed by an Act of Parliament in the time of Charles II. Not only does the book deal with these common myths it also reproduces in the appendices all of the relevant Acts of Parliament – mostly in full – and therefore is a good reference for anyone interested in the subject. It will hopefully become a good comparative study for anyone considering looking at their own force area.

As you know most people know me for my collection of decorated truncheons and tipstaves. It is therefore ironic that a book about specials also ends up touching on this subject. If anyone wanted to know why so many truncheons were produced in the era of William IV then they should read this book.

The book stops at the First World War due to space constraints. To have gone on would have made the book too big. However, I have written the next stage in the history and hope to publish another book later in the year. Both books are stand alone and do not require the other to tell their story.

If you are able to find space in the magazine it would be appreciated. Although the book price is £20, I am selling it at £15 to people who approach me through clubs such as BPH.

Best wishes,

Alan

Ed: You can contact Aan at alan@truncheon.org.uk , or through his website

Helmet Authenticity

What is historically correct and what’s not?

In our digital age it’s great to see the wealth of historical information that has been published since the creation of the internet, that in years past may not have been published, or if indeed had been, might not have reached the wider audience that our digital age has made possible.

We all know that police history has to varying degrees been recorded or lost by forces who cared for their history to a greater or lesser extent!

There are some particularly good Police museums around the UK, while some forces it seems were less thoughtful on what might one day be a critical omission from the History of Policing.

Decisions made on uniform and equipment could and should be recorded. Thankfully our interest is helping preserve this history for the future.

The issue of omitting to record matters is why I’ve written this article.
Bournemouth helmet
The accompanying photographs are a case in point. Recently this helmet came up for sale on eBay. It immediately caught my interest as I collect memorabilia from West Country forces. I decided to bid.

A couple of days later the very honest seller contacted me saying that they were canceling the auction as they had been contacted by a potential bidder with no bidding or sellers history to say that the helmet was not a Bournemouth Police helmet.

No other information was provided to the seller or was forthcoming.

I replied to the seller saying I was willing to take the chance and thanked them for their honesty. I bought the helmet thinking if it wasn’t a Bournemouth helmet it should not be difficult to identity which force possibly issued it or it was worn by. After all how wrong could I be?!

Helmet inside On its arrival the detective work began. It’s a cork construction helmet.

The helmet shows signs of wear, but for its age it is in very good condition. The plate is secured by wooden pegs that look original and not disturbed. There are no additional holes.

An internet search for Bournemouth QC helmets drew a blank. The only reference to Bournemouth of help through Dorset police history records (freely available on the web) recorded that on the creation of Bournemouth Police in 1947, on the Borough splitting from Hampshire and ensuing boundary changes, Bournemouth had the distinction of swearing in the first female officer anywhere in Dorset.

PCs Richard and Mary Ford (husband and wife) transferred to Bournemouth from Gloucestershire on creation of the Borough force.

A grainy photo of them both in uniform exists. Richard wearing what appears to be a two panel helmet with a black KC Bournemouth helmet plate . The photo unfortunately does not show the top of the helmet clearly but it was possibly sporting a rose top.

The photo taken in 1947 pre dates the issue of the badge depicted here by at least 5 - 6 years.

It got me wondering - Did the Borough change helmets for a ball top six panel after 1952? That’s where I drew a blank. I have not been able to verify the style of helmet worn from 1952 to amalgamation with Dorset and Bournemouth.

Time and history it seems are not on side. The era has long passed and sadly so too have many of our friends and colleagues who may have served during that time. The question as to this helmet’s authenticity I would love to answer.

If this helmet is married to the right badge - great, but if not that’s only part of the investigation solved. If that is the case, what style of helmet did Bournemouth wear up until amalgamation on 1st October 1967?

A further question then arises, which force or forces are the likely contenders to have worn this style of helmet?

At this point I must take the opportunity to thank those members of PICA GB and PMCC who have taken the time to contact me with help and suggestions through Facebook.

Particularly Dave Wilkinson who trawled through hundreds of photos. His efforts were not conclusive. We both thought this helmet might have been a trial piece that for some unrecorded reason was dispensed with. The wear shown on the head band makes me waver on this suggestion though.

side rose In my collecting experience I only ever seen 6 panel helmets with a leather, cloth or plastic band, not a metal one.

On the ones I have seen, they all have large chrome or white metal side roses.

As is shown here the roses are small and black as is predominantly the case with the style of a 2 panel helmet.

The fact this helmet has small black roses peaked my interest.

From the pictorial evidence on the internet of ball top helmets that I have seen, this helmet is not from Sunderland, Canterbury or Margate or Brighton.

Sunderland was a close contender, but again would have had large side roses as mentioned above. Brighton had white 6 panel summer helmets, but their blue ones were 2 panel.

In conclusion there is a clear omission in police history available on the internet as to the authenticity and origin on this (even though I say it myself) rather fine helmet.

If any of our readership can answer any of the questions I have posed ( hopefully all of them ) it would be most appreciated and fill another gap in the historical record of UK policing. I’m hopeful the truth is out there.

I hope my quest reaches a wide readership. I did post the helmet on the PMCC Facebook page which generated a little interest, but no concrete results, except widening my knowledge regarding the correct styles worn by Bournemouth from creation until amalgamation. I’m really hoping the helmet is identified to a particular force. I also hope is it spurs others on to bring forward “mystery” items that we can all enjoy and assist with

As a post script - Dave Wilkinson has contacted me again confirming Bournemouth wore Home office pattern Hampshire helmets until the mid 50s then adopted combed helmets until amalgamation.

Ed: You can contact Doug via his email address if you can help:
dougster519@hotmail.co.uk

Which medal is this?

Member George Barnsley wrote recently asking for help in identifying a medal ribon on an officers photo.

I am trying to identify a medal in the group worn by Chief Inspector William Swanson Sutherland of Lanarkshire Constabulary. He retired from that force around 1946/47.

I have identified three of the medals as L-R - WW2 Defense Medal, 1937 Coronation Medal and the last one as the King Hakon VII of Norway Freedom Cross (Thanks to member Gerard McEwan). However, the third medal I cannot identify. Can anyone identify it?

Chief Inspector Sutherland

I like a challenge, and I also have a good idea of who to ask, which I need to know something. So I went to the Gentleman's Military Interest Club for help.

This is a place where members discuss medals, and if it is worth knowing, someone in this forum will tell you chaper and verse.

The answer came back very quickly that the third medal is the King Christian X of Denmark's Medal, in Commemoration of the Liberation of Denmark at the end of WWII.

Also called the "Pro Dania Medal" (or the Medal of Liberty), this award was instituted on 5 May 1946 and bestowed on some 3,100 persons who had rendered special services to Denmark during the German occupation. It didn't take long to find a photograph on line to compare it with.

Danish Liberation medal What I did wonder was whether the force was right. I have a couple of Lanarkshire badges, which are the double headed eagle. I've not seen an officers cap badge, and trhis one looks like the Scottish National cap badge.

The obverse of the medal depicts the head of the King, this time surrounded by the legend "Christianus X Rex Daniae". The 3-line reverse description reads "Pro / Dania / 1940-45".

The ribbon is red-white-red in equal parts.

I wondered what this officer was involved in during WWII to be awarded King Christian X of Denmark's Liberty Medal in Commemoration of the Liberation and King Haakon VI's of Norway Freedom Cross.

This medal was awarded to Norwegian or foreign military or civilian personnel for outstanding achievement during war. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence in the Norwegian honours system.

The reply from GMIC suggested that Chief Inspector Sutherland was in fact a member of the Glasgow City Police, so George investigated further.

A check of the 1937 Coronation Medal Rolls listed him as a member of the Glasgow City Police. The Currator of the Glasgow City Police museum confirmed that William Sutherland was born in 1891 and joined Glasgow Police in 1913. Notably he was in charge of the Police Aliens Dept of Glasgow Police during WWII. He was awarded: 1946 King Christian Medal (Denmark) and the 1948 King Haakon VII Cross (Norway) for this work. The only other person to get these medals in Glasgow was the Chief Constable, Malcolm McCulloch.

One interesting term I learned from this is that in Glasgow City Police at the time he was called 'Lieutenant'. This was what the rank between Inspector and Superintendent were called in this era.

Finally, I now know what the Lanarkshire Constabulary officers cap badge looks like too.

Lanarkshire officers cap

Saving for the future

Other than the Cyrillic languages, the work Museum is almost the same in most languages. At least the symbol of four Doric columns in brown on a white background is universal.

This makes one of the very sad effects of BREXIT the way that many dealers in the, both large and small, now refuse to send anything to Europe because of the additional burden of paperwork and costs.

Frequently now even when you ask a seller if they will post to Europe, you are met with a polite refusal, a rude refusal, or no answer.

What book sellers have discovered is that if books are sent to Jersey, which are then forwarded to Europe, because of the unique status of the Channel Islands, it is easy and there are no costs. However I digress....

I was recently alerted to a retirement present which had appeared on eBay, given to Pc James Chilners in 1904.

watch 1 I was met with the usual refusal to countenance sending the item to Europe. However this interesting heirloom needed to be saved.

A silver pocket watch, is not especially unusual, but working, with its key and with a full inscription on the back, it has more than the value of the hallmarked silver.

I put a message up onto the PMCC Facebook group, to see if we had anyone who was a collector of either Halifax Borough Police items, or of pocket watches.

A Good Samaritan and our member Steve Blake stepped in immediately and bought the watch. It had been offered with a "Buy it now" option/

A little difficult to read in the photograph, this is what the inscription on the back says, as it is shown on the back:

Watch inscription

August 20th 1904
Presented to
Ex PC James Chilners
By the
Members of the
Halifax Borough Police Force
As a token of
Respect and Esteem
On his retirement
After 25 years
And four months service

Watch 3 The officer would have joined the Halifax Borough Police at the start of April 1879.

Halifax HP
According to the Police Almanac, the population of the Borough was 37,000 and there were 58 officers in the force.

By 1901, the population was 107,000 and the force strength was 101 officers. However we know little about PC James Chilners or his service.

A little later, one of our members who was interested in the item, because of its history and connection to the town, contacted Steve and purchased the watch for his collection.

Not everyone is on-line all the time and equally, it is impossible to see all the artifacts which come up for sale on the many different web sites. so when the altruism of a member comes to the fore, to secure such an interesting historical item, it is worth mentioning. Thank you Steve!

The Personnel Registers of the Halifax Borough Police are held by the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Wakefield, under reference A193-3 so it will be possible to find a little more out about PC Chilners and of course there is also the British Newspaper Archive which can be searched on-line for any reported cases involving him.

o0o

Another recent save is this framed retirement certificate.

Awarded to PC Tony Basil Gerge RVM, by the Metropolitan Police in 1997, PC George served just over 38 years.

The certificate was spotted in a house clearance sale by our member Vaughan Millard, who recognised the importance of the item.

As Vaughan says "This just makes me so sad that this ended up in a house clearance and I got it for pennys on Market Place ! Did the poor chap have no family ? Well mate its now PRIDE OF PLACE in my collection ...................Anyone know the PC Tony Basil George Rum joined 4/5/59 retired 17/6/97..............

The post nominal 'RVM' refers to the Royal Victorian Medal which was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1896 and is awarded personally by the Sovereign for personal service.

It is easy to use the London Gazette to discover that the medal (Silver) was awarded by Her Majest the Queen, in the New Year Honours, 1993.

London Gazette

However where the medal (and any others) is and why the certificiate went to house clearance is not known.

These things do come up for sale and my personal view is that they SHOULD be saved...

Police Pillars and Boxes Group

Our member Jim Cassidy has posted about a very interesting information site he uses in our police boxes Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/policepillarsandboxes

On the British Telephones "police telephone systems" page, there are vast ammounts of information about police phone system, switchboards, boxers and pillars.

Police pillars 1934 This photograph from the website, is labeled "Strand Exhibition, 1934".

Look at the top of the photograph and there is one of the signal lights which in some locations could be found suspends above road junctions, to alert patrolling officers that they needed to go to the nearby telephone to call the station.

Learning the locations of all the pillars and cabinets was a pre-requisite for working a beat.

o0o

A colleague posted this photograph of a Hull City Officer in the Pillars and Boxes group recently, asking if I had been able to identify him.

The short answer is "No, not yet".

Hull City Police Pillar

I have the original negative, so I can zoom in to very small areas of the photo, without losing definition.

There is a lot of information visible, without magnifying the image. From the shop names, we can identify the exact location.

The Helmet plate is a Kings Crown, which were being worn until 1953, however the plate looks like the one with the separate crown centre, which was 1935 to 1947 +/- He has a single medal ribbon, and he has an open neck tunic, so that means the photo is post 1951.

The collar number is at an angle, so the numbers are indistinct.

HUll PC number

There is just a single medal ribon, which I again asked the Gentleman's Military Interest Club for help with.

Naval GSM ribbon

I knew what it wasn't, a Police Long Service Medal, besied he looks too young. If he had been on active service during WWII, there would have been several medal ribons and the GMIC replied that it was the Naval General Service Medal, because of the colours.

Naval GSM ribbon On the left is the NGSM medal ribbon and on the right is the Africa GSM, but being black and green, the ribbon does not match the one on the uniform.

The Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) was instituted in 1915 to recognise service by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in minor campaigns that would not otherwise earn a specific campaign medal.

So we are looking for someone who did two years National Service after 1947, probably was involved in bomb and mine clearance after WWII and then joined Hull City in the early 1950's. We don't know when open neck tunics became normal uniforms exactly, other than early 50's and the KC helmet plate means it was probably no later than 1953....

The personnel records exist the the history of the Hull City Police lists every officer by numner, from 1836, so there is some work to do. I am fairly sure the first number is 1, it is not a 5, looking at the second because of the shadow, it looks like 3, the following number is similar, either a three, or perhaps an 6. This reduces the possible number of people it might be.

We then need to check the personnel records to see who held the NGSM medal. Even with limited information, it is possible to tell a lot from a photograph and then to discover more by some research.

HCP history

Researching

It's never been as easy to carry out research as it is today. However some research requires persistance and a degree of luck.

We all have items which we would like to know more about. There are regularly photographs posted in our PMCC Facebook group, and in other police history groups, asking for information about the subject of the photograph.
St Dogmels staff
Last week member Ross Mather, from the Virtual Police Museum of Wales posted this photograph of a very ornate Staff of Office, together with what he already knew.

Painted in a spiral fashion running from top to bottom is the text -'TOWN AND LIBERTY OF ST. DOGMELS'.

St Dogmaels (Welsh: Llandudoch) is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, on the estuary of the River Teifi, a mile downstream from the town of Cardigan in neighbouring Ceredigion.

St Dogmaels was once a 'marcher borough'. George Owen of Henllys, in 1603, described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a Portreeve.. The parish appeared as Sct. Dogmels on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire.

A 'Liberty' was an English unit originating in the Middle Ages, traditionally defined as an area in which Regalian right was revoked and where the land was held by a Mense Lord (i.e. an area in which rights reserved to the King had been devolved into private hands). It later became a unit of local government administration.

A rare item and important piece of Welsh social history. Long before the advent of police as we now recognise it, and in my opinion, likely to date from the 18th century. It would have been used as a form of identification, carried by a Parish / Petty Constable / Bailiff / Magistrate or other similar official.
I hope to carry out some research on it. When delivered in a few days time, I will undertake to sympathetically clean and restore it to a better condition. When done, I will post some new photos.

I could add only very slightly to the information because I was shown an Ossuary Wall in St. Dogmels, by a Dyfed Powys officer in the early 1990's. Once again an oddity for the village as few similar memorials exist anywhere.

Ross is looking for more information on this very nice item.

Researching the 18th century is difficult, although not impossible. Researching the 19th century is relatively easy!

PC 62 CharlesJackson ERC How about this photograph from the Grace Boam collection.

Marked on the back of the old photograph, in Grace's distinctive hand is "Photo of PC 62 Charles Jackson, East Riding Constabulary, outside the police House in Sutton on Hull, 1895."

"Seated Eileen Jackson with baby Harry, on the right her father Richard Danby, front row, Tom Jackson."

Although I am not sure where the information came from, I do not doubt its veracity.

The photograph was taken before the Hull boundaries were extended to include the village of Sutton.

There is a very active Hull photo group called "Hull, The Good Old days", so I asked on there if anyone knew where the police houses once were. It took just 20 minutes to get the answer; 2 - 6 Church Street, Sutton on Hull

A check of the National Library Of Scotland OS maps collection confirmed that in 1890, there was a police station at this location. I hadn't looked at the maps first, because such a small place as Sutton (in 1890) I would only have expected to see a police house. Police houses are not marked on OS Maps by convention, but police stations are.

Sutton police station
My next check was the Police and Constabulary almanacs from the time.

Almanac 1880

Sutton on Hull, to give the village its full name, had had a resident officer from 1856, as part of the Middle Holderness Division. The East Riding Constabulary named their police divisions and used the boundaries of the Petty Sessional Areas.

Middle Holderness as a separate division in 1885, merged with South Holderness becoming "Holderness Division", but with the Superintendent still at Sproatley. North Holderness became part of North Hunsley Beacon.

I'm surprsied that such a small place would have three resident officers and no Sergeant, in those far off days.

To check further, I need to visit the East Riding Archives in Beverley, where all the Humberside and constituent force records, including the East Riding personnel registers, are now held. https://www.eastridingarchives.co.uk/

By checking the General Orders and the personnel books, it is possible to identify every officer and where they were posted, from 1856 to 1st July 1968, when the York & North East Yorkshire Police was formed. https://www.eastridingarchives.co.uk/

It is possible to order documents online at the East Riding archives, but this material has yet to be digitised.

A check of Wikipedia provided me with the information that the village moved within the Kingston upon Hull City boundary in 1929.

It was a little later in the evening when the Hull Genealogy identified a living relative, the Great, Great Granddaughter of young Tom in the photo , because the family names mentioned on the photograph are all very well known in Hull.

There would be other ways to get an address location, using the census records, which are all available on-line. Those records because they are address based, allow you to see who else was living at the police houses, which helps when checking the personnel records.

John Fox wrote a guide to genealogical research back in Issue 308 of the PMCC magazine. (Available with all back issues to members on the PMCC Website)

The above research is an example of using Triangulation in research - confirming what you find by using more than once source.

There is an academic definition of Triangulation:

Triangulation in research means using multiple datasets, methods, theories and/or investigators to address a research question. It’s a research strategy that can help you enhance the validity and credibility of your findings.

Triangulation is mainly used in qualitative research, but it’s also commonly applied in quantitative research too.

There are four main types of triangulation:

Data triangulation:
Investigator triangulation:
Theory triangulation:
Methodological triangulation:

However for the kind of research that police historians use, it is 'Data' and 'Investigator Triangulation'[ which are of interest to us.

Data triangulation:
In data triangulation, you use multiple data sources to answer your research question. You can vary your data collection across time, space, or different people. You also use different sources to confirm what you have already discovered.

Investigator triangulation:
With investigator triangulation, you involve multiple observers or researchers to collect, process, or analyse data separately.

There are two old maxims in English. The first that "Two heads are better than one", suggests that other people bring new perspectives to an issue and may see something you have missed.

The second, and a corollary to the first, is that "Too many cooks spoil the broth". Too many people may introduce doubts and red herrings which will be a distraction. Remember that a Camel is a Horse designed by a committee!

Selecting a second or third person, to help, offer a different perspective or bring specialised knowledge to the research will reduce the risk of oberver bias. This is where you become so fixated on a question that you make links and jumps which are not there.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and try some research and if you are struggling, then get back to us. One of our members should be able to help.

Police Vehicles of Derbyshire

By Brian Homans

Today's Derbyshire Constabulary has evolved over the years by amalgamating with the former forces of Chesterfield Borough Police, Glossop Police and Derby Borough Police. Many of the photographs below where taken by me, but some were found on the internet and some were provided by John Oliver and Shaun Henderson.