Staff records
Not all staff records have survived. A number of registers no longer exist and no records of the first women police officers appointed in 1919 appear to have survived. Most records are arranged by police warrant number, so it is necessary to consult the registers of joiners if the warrant number is not known.
Registers of Joiners
Alphabetical registers of joiners exist from September 1830 to April 1857 and from July 1878 to 1933 in MEPO 4/333-338
. They give name, rank, warrant number, division, date of appointment and removal. The earlier volumes give names and addresses of referees. The earliest volume and the two covering 1857 to 1878 do not survive. The Registers of Joiners are useful because they give the officers´ warrant number which is needed to consult other staff registers.
There is also an alphabetical register HO 65/26, which covers 1829 to 1836, which supplements the Registers of Joiners and gives dates of promotion or demotion.
Numerical Registers of Police Warrants
Two registers of police warrant numbers, from warrants 1 to 3247, survive from September 1829 to March 1830 in MEPO 4/31-32. These record dates of appointment of officers and causes of removal from the force.
Attestation Ledgers
These ledgers covering warrants 51491 to 146379 in MEPO 4/352-360, give signatures of recruits and witnesses. They cover the period from February 1869 to May 1958.
Certificates of Service
Certificates for warrants 74201 to 97500, from January 1889 to November 1909 in MEPO 4/361-477 give a description of each recruit, date of birth, former trade, marital status, residence, number of children, name and place of last employer, previous public service, surgeon´s medical certificate, divisional postings, dates of promotion, demotion or cause of removal.
Registers of Leavers
These registers, in MEPO 4/339-351, are indexed and cover March 1889 to January 1947. They record the number of leaving certificate (1. Excellent, 2. Very Good, 3. Good, 4. Open i.e. no comment) and the date the certificate and leaving documents were sent to division. From around 1914 comments on conduct are no longer expressed numerically. RR ´required to resign´ replaces the abbreviation RP ´resignation permitted´ in October 1920.
Death in Service
Returns of deaths in service from 1829 to 1889 are in MEPO 4/2. They give cause of death, whether by natural causes, accident, murder or even suicide.
Pension Records
The Police Pensions Act 1890, gave a legal right to a pension after 25 years service, or a pension and gratuity if discharged medically unfit. Before 1890 pensions were discretionary. Registers of pensions and gratuity payments from 1829 to 1859 are in the early series of correspondence and papers in series MEPO 5. The main series of pension records covering men who resigned or retired between 1852 and 1993 are in series MEPO 21.
The registers in MEPO 21 are arranged by pension number. To consult the registers, it is necessary to know the date of retirement and this can be found by consulting the registers of leavers in MEPO 4. The registers in MEPO 21 give a physical description, date and place of birth, marital status, and dates of service. Before October 1923, parents or next of kin are given, and from September 1923 they include the wife´s date and place of birth, and her physical description.
