English Police records added to Ancestry

Was your ancestor a policeman?  Nearly 70,000 Metropolitan Police pension records have been added to Ancestry in a new collection which spans 1852-1932 and features scans of original records held by The National Archives.

Generally the registers will reveal information about the officer's length of service, whether he retired or was discharged, his pension amount and who his next of kin were. Other details may include place of birth, marital status and parents, and from 1923 birth and marriage details of the spouse are also included.

Among the papers are entries for notable detectives, including some of the senior members of the Jack the Ripper investigation unit. Frederick Abberline, chief inspector on the case, resigned in 1892 aged 49 with an annual pension of £206, 13 shillings and four pence.

Ireland Police Gazettes, 1861-1893

Ancestry has added thousands of Irish police gazettes to its database.

The Irish Police Gazettes collection contains printed publications used for communication among members of the police force in Ireland between 1861 and 1893. It contains information on wanted criminals, crimes committed, criminals who had been apprehended, and missing persons.

The collection can be searched by:

• Name
• Birth year
• Publication year
• Event year
• Event location
• Event Type
• Role in Crime
• Conviction Place

You can also browse the collection by year and read the various articles and descriptions.

Essex Police Museum

Has one of your relatives worked in the Essex Police Constabulary?

The Essex Police Museum holds the following indexes on the following;

• Police officers in the Essex County Constabulary from the 1880s to present day
• Police officers who served in the Colchester Borough Police and transferred to the Essex County Constabulary in 1947
• Police officers serving in Southend Borough Police 1914 - 1969
• Police War Reserves - World War II
• Women Police Auxiliaries - World War II

These indexes will provide basic details concerning an individual, such as date/place of birth, dates of service, commendations, misconducts, sickness, training, pay, reason for leaving and rank held.  Basic information is free, full records incur a cost.