Special police constable ww2 records??

[pok4r]

hi, can anybody throw some light on this,
my absent grandfather born 1880 Leicestershire served ww1 and survived, after my grandmother died in 1961 my mother stated on certificate that he was deceased 'ex-army' and 'ex-police constable' as i know where he worked up to 1923 no police involvement, i get the idea he may have been a 'special' in ww2 ok he was 60 yrs old but that wasn't a problem i'm told, and the only explaination remaining.

how can i find out? i'm aware all those who served as 'specials' got medals,, police records in general, closed but is it the same for these guys?

and records for the medal holders must be around somewhere,, any suggestions please? love to know what happened to him,

name 'John Henry Siddons', born 1880 Osgathorpe, was one of prince Alberts own hussar ww1 :wub:

[Geoff Wycherley]

If my memory is correct I tried to find information on my late Father,he at the time of WW2 was in a reserved occupation but served as a special Constable in the Lancashire Constabulary.

I did approach Lancashire Archives at the time to see if they held any records, their reply was that any records that may be in existence would be held by the Home Office. I took the matter no further. The medal you mention was awarded after ten years service as a Special Constable. The one my Father had, had his name inscribed on the side of it.

Geoff W

[Sue1]

Hi, I have come across this in my own family. Grandfather b1880, served in Boer War, Served WWI, Home Guard 1939-42. He did, however, serve as a special constable during the General Strike and I am wondering if this is what your Grandfather did - they were the same age also.

Sue

[pok4r]

Hi Sue,
so did you find anything out about him?


Hi, I have come across this in my own family. Grandfather b1880, served in Boer War, Served WWI, Home Guard 1939-42. He did, however, serve as a special constable during the General Strike and I am wondering if this is what your Grandfather did - they were the same age also.

Sue

[Peter Goodey]

Have you contacted the relevant police force and county record office?

[Sue1]

Not an awful lot. I didn't follow up on HIS special constable activities - I got that he had been an sc from something that had been written about him. I managed to get his Boer War Records from TNA but WWI records were among the burnt series and WWII he was home guard and in the course of that he was killed (and his HG records have disappeared) and awarded a GC - it was somewhere in the writings about that that I found out about the Special Constable Service. His father was also a sc and I did try to follow that up - it was not easy - very few records of "specials" exist. He lived in Epping which, at that time, came under the City of London Corporation - I wrote to them and they gave me a lot of information - I think I was lucky there. Which area would you be searching in for police records?

Sue

[Sue1]

Have just found the paperwork telling me what to do if I wanted to research the Special Constable job further. This came to me from the London Metropolitan Archives which won't be relevant I imagine but the local equivalent will be.

It was suggested to me that, knowing the area he lived in, I should contact the local Magistrates Court where the "swearing in" would have taken place. Obviously the records as probably not still in the Magistrates Court but they will be able to tell you where they are archived. I imagine, from reading more carefully, that it will be Leicestershire you will be looking at.

Sue

[pok4r]

The area that seems to be the obvious is Leicestershire, i have spoken to Archives in Wigston and a police archive dept but nothing on him regards 'normal' police,, even tried railway police, no luck either, this the only/last chance, somewhere he was a police constable after 1923 :wacko:

[Sue1]

Do you know where he was in 1926? In times of Civil unrest I understand it is possible that, after minimal training, special constables can be sworn in at local Police Stations - again I have no idea where this paperwork would be archived or even if it was.
There are also some jobs which require a person to to be sworn in as a special constable i.e. in the case of my G Grandfather - he was the Head Keeper at Epping Forest and all the Keepers had to be sworn in as specials to enable them to do their job. I believe there were also Market Police but not sure if they were in existence in 1923 and this may only have applied to places like Smithfield and Billingsgate in London but I don't know that for certain.
Could he have been in the Military Police by any chance - just a thought.
I believe, somewhere on the internet, there is a police website - I am sure I have seen one - might be worth looking at. It might also be worth chatting to a local Librarian - quite often very helpful and knowledgeable if you get a good one.

Sue