Walter Marshall – Rural Policeman

Walter Marshall – Rural Policeman Family Background The 1881 census records Walter Marshall as having been born in 1857 in Oaken Clough, Bleasedale, a small and scattered community on the edge of the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire. An important source of employment in the area was a paper mill and he initially followed his father, John, and older brother, Albert, in to the mill, where the 1871 census records his occupation as paper bag maker. He was still working at this mill when, at the age of 20, he married Harriet Sanderson at St John the Evangelist, Calderdale in May 1877 Very soon after their first child Ellen was born, in January 1879 Walter joined the Lancashire Constabulary in Preston. It is possible that Harriet stayed in Calderdale as their second child, John was also born there in the first quarter of 1879. Police Career There is an extensive archive for the Lancashire Constabulary held at the Lancashire Archives in Preston. The Police Examinations Books show that Walter Marshall joined the Lancashire Constabulary on 1st January 1879 and was issued with the warrant number 7540. On the 24th January he was attached to Ormskirk Division, serving with this division for the rest of his police career (1879-19??) Walter Marshall's personal details were recorded on Ist January 1879 as follows: Age: 22 last April Height: 5' 8 1/4” Complexion: Fair Eyes: Grey Hair: Brown Particular Marks: None Where born: Oakenclough, Garstang Trade or Calling: Paper maker Married, 1 child. Unfortunately there is no photograph Between 1879 and 1885 Walter Marshall advanced steadily within the rank of constable, being promoted to Class of Merit in April 1884 and 1st Rate in April 1885. This was while he was based in Ainsdale, a small coastal and agricultural village within Formby parish in West Lancashire. He lived at 20 Liverpool Road, Ainsdale with his wife Harriet and 2 young children, Ellen and John. This was probably the Police Station, as noted in Slater's Directories 1882-84, though the 1881 Census does not mention this address as such. Since the coming of the railway in 1848, connecting Liverpool and Southport, Ainsdale's population had grown FACHRS ID: FOPS01 PC Walter Marshall Researcher: Pat Stanistreet and occupations diversified but this was still a very rural community. Two of Walter's cases whilst stationed here are recorded in the Lancashire Quarter Sessions Petitions. In both instances he attended the Assizes in Liverpool when, in 1885 he brought a prosecution against Sarah Lee ” for larceny from a person” and in 1888 he was a witness in a prosecution which involved wounding. In both cases he was reimbursed for his rail fare and in 1888 for overnight accommodation too. By 1891 he had transferred to Ormskirk, the major market town for South West Lancashire. This would have been a very different policing experience compared with Ainsdale. Ormskirk had seen a rapid rise in population caused by migration in times of economic hardship. There was severe overcrowding in the courtyards off the main streets and a proliferation of lodging houses. Many inns and beer houses catered for the influx of people to the weekly market and annual fairs and drunkenness and its associated crimes were a major concern for police in Ormskirk. In 1891 the Marshall family were living at 7 Court House, Derby Street, Ormskirk. This was a purpose built complex housing the Police Station, Magistrates Court and Police accommodation. Also living here was Superintendent Richard Jervis, a notable figure in Lancashire policing and author of an autobiographical account “Lancashire's Crime and Criminals” His telling comment “it was necessary to have two constables patrolling together” is indicative of the challenges of being a policeman in Ormskirk in the late 19th century. Late 1880s saw economic hardship and civil unrest in the town. In February 1887 200 Irish labourers had marched through the town and there was often trouble between English and Irish farm labourers. The police tried to alleviate conditions with the distribution of warm clothes and soup kitchens for children in the winter 1886-7. Again Walter Marshall appears on a Prosecutors Bill for witnesses expenses in the case of Richard Jervis (police superintendent) against James Lynch for larceny, heard at Liverpool Assizes in August 1895, his train fare of 1/6d being reimbursed. In 1897 Walter Marshall was promoted to Sergeant and in 1900 he was awarded 1st and 2nd Good Conduct badges. Promotion possibly coincided with his move to Skelmersdale, a township of Ormskirk parish In 1901 he and his family were living at 4, John Street, Skelmersdale but there is no indication whether this was a police house. Skelmersdale was an important colliery village on the Lancashire coalfield, there were also numerous brickworks in the area. The Victoria County History of Lancashire was less than impressed with the area. It notes: “Skelmersdale is a particularly bare, unpleasing district, for the most part occupied by collieries, with huge banks of black refuse at intervals amongst tree-less fields. In the outlying parts of the township crops of FACHRS ID: FOPS01 PC Walter Marshall Researcher: Pat Stanistreet potatoes and corn are grown in a soil which appears to be sand and clay mixed. That clay constitutes a large proportion of the sub-soil is evidenced by the numerous brickworks, which do not tend to render the landscape more picturesque.” Walter Marshall served in Skelmersdale until his retirement in 1904, on a pension of £60/6/11d per annum. Family By 1911 he and his wife Harriet had moved to Rock House, Upholland, a modest house with 4 rooms, a short distance from both Skelmersdale and Ormskirk. Also with them was their youngest daughter, 14 year old Alice and their granddaughter, Agnes Blackburn. The 1911 census confirms that they had had 5 children, of which 2 had died. Daughter Ellen and son John (as already stated) had been born in Bleasedale in 1877 and 1879 respectively. John died in October 1882 and is buried in St Peter's, Formby Another son, Walter was born in Ainsdale in the 2nd quarter of 1882 but died in February 1883 and he too is buried at St Peter's. A second daughter, Annie, was born in Ainsdale in 1885, whilst Alice was born in 1894 Ormskirk. Harriet Marshall died in March 1919, Walter Marshall survived his wife by 12 years, dying on the 12th October 1931. The National Probate Calendar lists his effects as being to the value of £802:14s:2d, £50,000 by today's values. In 1908 Superintendent Richard Jervis wrote of his perception of the changing role of the policeman “Respectable people have come to realise his necessary position in civilised life, and have experienced in a variety of ways that he is a friend to the community.” Walter Marshall would have witnessed this change in his career as both rural and urban policeman. Conclusion Does Walter Marshall meet the criteria of the 5 key questions that this mini project is addressing? • His job as policeman probably gave him more social status than that of a paper maker, depending how far he may have advanced in that industry, it certainly rewarded him financially as the value of his estate in 1931 which by simple calculation is the equivalent of £50,000 by today's values. • He stayed with one force throughout his career, his postings within a short distance of each other in South West Lancashire. • He certainly married young in 1877 , at the age of 20, and the birth of his eldest child Ellen, a month later, would would explain this. He joined Lancashire Constabulary on January 1st 1879, while his wife was pregnant with their second child, John. It is likely that the provision of a police house was an incentive for this change of job, to cater for the needs of growing family. • Walter Marshall does fit the stereotype of "honest and upright, and earnestly devoted to his duty.". His career pattern shows steady advancement with promotion within the rank of Constable and ultimately promotion to Sergeant. In 1900 he was awarded 1st and 2nd Good Conduct Badges. FACHRS ID: FOPS01 PC Walter Marshall Researcher: Pat Stanistreet • When he retired in 1904 he received a pension of £60/6/11d per annum. Sources Family Background Census: 1861, 1871 - see details in census resume. Lancashire Church of England Marriages and Banns – 1877 – St John's, Calderdale Birth Registration, Registration Quarter Apr-May-Jun, 1877, Garstang, Lancashire, England Birth Registration, Registration Quarter Jan-Feb-Mar, 1879, Garstang, Lancashire, England Police Career Police Examinations Books – Lancashire Constabulary, Lancashire Archive, PLA 11/22, p58-59 Census – 1881,1891, 1901 Lancashire, England, Quarter Session Records and Petitions, 1648-1908: QSP 4192/1-136, Petitions, 1885 QSP 4271/1-68, Petitions, 1888 QSP 4466/1-17, Petitions, 1895 Ainsdale 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales Ainsdale, Lancashire 1851-91 – Changes in Social Class Composition of a Rural Hamlet – Andrea Page, 1998. Ormskirk R. Jervis – Lancashire Crimes and Criminals – 1908 M. Duggan – Ormskirk – a History – Phillimore – 2007 Stacey, F. W - Ormskirk: the development of a nineteenth century Lancashire market town Skelmersdale Victoria County History for Lancashire – Farrar - 1906-14 Family Census – 1911 England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007, Ormskirk, March 1919 St Peter, Formby, Lancashire, Register: Burials 1873 - 1922, 1882, Page 34, Entry 269 – Online Lancashire Parish Clerks St Peter, Formby, Lancashire, Register: Burials 1873 - 1922, 1883, Page 35, Entry 277 - Online Lancashire Parish Clerks England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, Oct 1931 Measuring Worth – www.measuringworth.com FACHRS ID: FOPS01 PC Walter Marshall Researcher: Pat Stanistreet .

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