VOLUNTEERS who help run the Cheshire Museum of Policing, based in Warrington’s historic Arpley Street building, have been presented with their King’s Award for Voluntary Services during a special ceremony at Warrington town hall.
Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire Lady Redmond, who presented the award of behalf of King Charles, was joined by the High Sheriff Joëlle Warren, Mayor of Warrington Cllr Mo Hussain and Chief Constable of Cheshire Mark Roberts.
Cheshire Museum of Policing Chair, retired detective Chris Upham said: “The police service, or force as it was, is a family and when you join it you never leave, even when you retire. We laugh together and we cry together. Like any family, we don’t always get on, but we always try to look out for each other and we develop a ‘Cap Badge Loyalty’ to our own force, who are our closest family.
“Each generation knows it is walking on the shoulders of giants and tries to be the shoulders the next generation walks on. Last night I was honoured to be at the Brave Officer Awards, and I am pleased to say the streets of Cheshire, often the mean streets, are still policed by giants. Most of my service has been here in Warrington and I was especially pleased to see two of our local officers acknowledged for their outstanding bravery. One evening, they were going about their normal duties when they were alerted by the CCTV operators to a drug dealer in the town centre. He was eventually arrested but not before he had violently punched one officer to the ground and stabbed the other in the chest four times with a screwdriver. Thankfully the CCTV operators kept watch and were able to direct other officers to their assistance.
“I was so proud of those younger members of my family and so grateful they survived the ordeal.
“But as with any family, we evolve as life changes. Uniforms, equipment, methods of policing and so much more changes and sometimes it seems that the only thing that is constant is change.
“Sadly, we haven’t always preserved our past, our heritage and our history and so much of it was consigned to the dustbin. So 20 years ago, a group of retired officers met to discuss the possibility of starting a police museum at Warrington. We were encouraged, supported and enabled by the then Deputy Chief Constable, Graeme Gerrard, holder of the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished service, and I’m so glad to see him here today to share this occasion with us because without him it may not have happened.
“We were granted use of the disused female cell block, but access was through the main cell block, which was often used for remand prisoners and interviews and we clearly couldn’t take visitors through there. We needed to apply for grant funding to create our own separate access within the police station.
“Faith is believing in something you can’t see and can’t prove. Wren and Biffa, the two big waste disposal operators, had enough faith in our vision to grant us £50,000, and our dream very soon became a reality. Their faith in us and belief in our dream has been repaid many times over.
“Since then the museum has gone from strength to strength and as predicted at the outset, it has long been the Jewel in the Crown of Cheshire Constabulary. Along the way the museum has received many accolades, but this very prestigious award is especially for the volunteers without whom there would be no museum. We are fortunate to have a great group of volunteers who are not just involved but committed. There’s a huge difference; if we look at a plate of bacon and eggs, we can see that the chicken was involved, but the pig was committed.
Chris added: “We continue to receive tremendous support from the Constabulary and in return we play a big part in the force’s Community Engagement Programme. It is a relationship that works well for the communities of Cheshire, and we have great plans for expanding on that as we are about to acquire further space within the police station.
“Our past has been remarkable, our future is likely to be more so, but there’s a lot of work to do and there’s also the not insignificant sum of maybe £100,000 to find to enable us to do it.
“But we will get the money, and we will do it, and when done, many opportunities will present themselves to us, especially with regard to the two restored courtrooms we shall have.
“Perhaps Sir Phil could be persuaded to write us a couple of courtroom dramas we could use.
“So today we celebrate what we have achieved but also look forward with great optimism to what we are about to achieve.”
The museum is one of only 231 Groups in the country and only 9 in Cheshire, 3 of which were in Warrington to receive the award last year. This award not only reflects on the volunteers, it also reflects on the Constabulary, the town of Warrington and the County of Cheshire, all of whom are represented here today.
Chris concluded: “As playwright J M Barrie, author of Peter Pan, once wrote ‘Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from them selves’ so fellow volunteers today is our day in the sunshine. Enjoy it!”
While the Chief Constable presented certificates, Lady Redmond presented each volunteer with a King’s Award lapel pin.
Special Certificates
In addition to the volunteers, the museum relies on the support of others who, whilst not registered volunteers, do willingly give their time and efforts to ensure the museum is properly governed and well run.
Special certificates on behalf of the trustees and management of the museum were presented to:
In alphabetical order
Jonathan Betts
Councillor Jean Flaherty
Sarah Ford
Graeme Gerrard QPM
Sarah Hall MP
Rev Tony Hunt
Chief Constable Mark Roberts QPM
Detective Chief Supt Adam Ross
Craig Sherwood
Dave Thompson MBE DL
Jamie Thompson
The Mayor with Sir Phil and Lady Redmond
Blessing
The motto of Warrington Borough Council and of the first police force in Warrington, Warrington County Borough Police, is Deus Dat Incrementum, which means ‘God Gives the Increase’ or ‘God Gives the growth’ It originates from Corinthians and it signifies that while humans may work hard, ultimate success and development come from God.
So in true Christian tradition, the formal side of this ceremony finished with a blessing from the Museum Chaplain, the Reverend Tony Hunt.
A pair of sabres originating from the first police force in Warrington was used for the ceremonial cake cutting.
Pete Hampson and Chris Upham with the Mayor
