Gloucestershire Police Archives received a request to identify an officer from a photograph.
The photograph was the same as one that we already had.
We did some research and found that we still had the personnel file for Police Constable 74 James Smith.
James was born in Colesbourne in 1884 and before joining Gloucestershire Constabulary he had been in the 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment.
We know from the 1911 census that he was stationed in Gloucester
which is where he submitted his resignation from.
His discipline record shows that he had been in trouble.
Inspector William Lane compiled a report about the incident.
We also know that he was in debt to a company in Cirencester that sold him a bicycle.
Debt was always a serious disciplinary offence, it was also proved that he lied about it.
We are not clear what happened to him after he left the Gloucestershire Constabulary in June 1911 but we know from his personnel file that he applied for several jobs.
The reference was not a very good one.
We have found it difficult to find any further information about him as James Smith is a common name although we have found that there was a James Smith in 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment who was killed in 1914.
If this was our James Smith did he rejoin the army because he was unable to find another job or because of the war?
Comments about this page
It is so good all this information is kept. History is important to everyone . Including police history which is important to police officers and staff, it shows where they came from and how the police service has developed over the years.
So many police forces have lost or disposed this type of information which is a loss for everyone.
Well done and thank you.
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