| 1829 | Metropolitan Police Act – Robert Peel, Home Secretary forms Metropolitan Police |
| 1830 | Violent ‘Swing’ riots by farm workers in southern England seeking higher wages and the end to mechanisation – 9 executed, hundreds transported or imprisoned |
| 1830 | Selborne and Headley Woorkhouse riots.
William IV succeeds George IV as King |
| 1832 | Winchester City Police formed |
| 1835 | Municipal Corporations Act – Boroughs to appoint Watch Committees |
| 1836 | Southampton, Portsmouth, Basingstoke, Andover & Lymington Borough Police forces formed
First Chief Constable of Southampton Police is John T Enright. |
| 1836 | Royal Commission to consider rural constabulary |
| 1837 | Newport Borough Police |
| 1838 | Coronation of Queen Victoria |
| 1839 | Captain Robert Elliott is appointed Superintendent in charge of Portsmouth Police |
| 1839 | Hampshire County Constabulary formed with Bournemouth & Isle of Wight under Chief Constable Captain George Robbins. There were 106 officers, comprising of 1 Chief Constable, 14 superintendents and 91 constables. This was a ratio of one officer to every 1,200 inhabitants or 4,000 acres. Pay was 18/- per week at a time when labourers were paid 8 – 9 shillings. Events leading up to the setting up of Hampshire Constabulary |
| 1839 | County Police Act |
| 1842 | The second Chief Constable of Hampshire is Captain William Charles Harris. |
| 1845 | Alton Police Station built with family accommodation for Superintendent and Sergeants. The only transport is the Superintendent’s horse and there were no telephones then. |
| 1846 | Andover Borough Police merge with Hampshire County Constabulary. Increase in establishment to 165 officers. Repeal of the Corn Laws promised cheaper food for all and an end to protectionism. |
| 1847 | First Police Headquarters built at West Hill, Romsey Road, Winchester. |
| 1848 | William Leggatt appointed as Superintendent in charge of Portsmouth Police |
| 1851 | Population of England stands at 16.9 million – half live in rural areas. |
| 1856 | The new Chief Constable of Hampshire is Captain John Henry Forrest. |
| 1852 | Lymington Borough force joins Hampshire. |
| 1857 | New Police Stations at Fordingbridge and Lyndhurst. |
| 1858 | New Police Stations opened at Droxford and Petersfield |
| 1859 | Thomas Walter Chase appointed as Chief Officer of Portsmouth Police |
| 1860 | Richard Barber appointed as Chief Officer of Portsmouth Police |
| 1865 | Romsey Borough Police merge with Hampshire. |
| 1867 | Alton, murder of Fanny Adams |
| 1867 | Last public hanging at Winchester |
| 1868 | Thomas Breary appointed as second Chief Constable of Southampton Police |
| 1869 | Ryde Borough Police until 1922. Last public hangings take place in Britain. |
| 1869 | Habitual Criminals Act. However persistent criminals start to give false names to thwart the Act. The search is on for a reliable identification system. This would result in fingerprinting becoming compulsory for all convicted persons in 1902. |
| 1869 | Philip Steven Clay appointed as third Chief Constable of Southampton Police |
| 1872 | Portsmouth: Albert Road Police Station Southsea opens. County constabulary manpower increased by 72 officers. |
| 1874 | CID established in Hampshire force |
| 1875 | James Jervis appointed as Chief Constable of Portsmouth Police |
| 1880 | Alfred William Cosser appointed as Chief Constable of Portsmouth Police |
| 1882 | Prevention of Crime Act suspends trial by jury. Irish extremist start campaign of terrorism |
| 1887 | Police officers allowed to vote in Parliamentary elections |
| 1888 | Local Government Act sets up county councils and Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of London’s East End. |
| 1889 | Basingstoke Borough Police merge with new, ‘Hampshire County Constabulary’ |
| 1890 | Police Pensions Act – now pension after 25 years a right, previously it had been discretionary |
| 1891 | The new Chief Constable of Hampshire is Captain Peregrine Henry Thomas Fellowes |
| 1890 | Separate Isle of Wight County Constabulary formed with Newport Borough Police |
| 1892 | Portsmouth & Southampton now ‘County Borough Police’ forces. |
| William Berry appointed as Chief Constable of Southampton County Borough Police Force | |
| 1893 | John Messier appointed as Chief Constable of Portsmouth County Borough Police Force |
| Chief Constable of Hampshire, Peregrine Fellowes, dies after being injured trying to stop a runaway horse | |
| 1893 | Portsmouth: PC 66 Robert George Poore joins the Borough Police |
| 1894 | Pockets books with pencil attached introduced |
| 1894 | The new Chief Constable of Hampshire is Major St. Andrew Bruce Warde |
| 1898 | Arthur Prickett appointed as Chief Constable of Portsmouth County Borough Police Force |
| Court procedure has been changed. Previously an accused could not give evidence in their defence and so could not be cross-examined in court. | |
| George Kemish, born Great Bridge, Romsey on 14 January 1855, married Emily Lomer 5 November 1877 at St Marys, Southampton. Joined Hampshire Constabulary at Winchester 4 December 1880. Examination book No. 446. Promoted to Sergeant 9 September 1895. Retired (ill health) 3 August 1902. Died Bentworth, Hampshire on 2 September 1910. | |
| 1901 | Population dramatically increased to 30.8 million but only about 20% now live in rural areas. 10 year national census – results now on the web at the Public Record Office |
| 1901 | Queen Victoria dies and is succeeded by Edward VII |
| 1902 | The treadmill is abolished in prisons. Fingerprinting introduced |
| 1904 | Cosham and Farlington join Portsmouth Borough Police |
| 1904 | Southampton: New police station and court built in ‘mock tudor’ design, next to Bargate on west side – demolished in 1930 to make way for road around Bargate. |
| 1907 | Thomas Davies is appointed as Chief Constable of Portsmouth County Borough Police Force |
| William Edward Jones appointed Chief Constable of Southampton County Borough Police Force | |
| 1908 | Winchester ‘Russian Gun’ or the’ Dumper’ riots |
| 1910 | Accession of King George V |
| 1914 | Andover Riots and outbreak of First World War |
| 1918 | War ends – over 5 million men are now serving in British Army |
| 1919 | IRA founded |
| 1919 | Police Act allows for establishment of The Police Federation after a ‘police strike’ |
| 1920 | Topliss murder at Andover |
| 1920 | Southampton: Borough force now police Bitterne, Sholing, Woolston |
| 1922 | Ryde Borough Police merge with Isle of Wight County Constabulary |
| 1926 | Portsmouth force now have ‘City Police’ status. |
| John Thomas McCormac appointed as Chief Constable of Southampton County Borough Police Force | |
| 1928 | The new Chief Constable of Hampshire is Major Ernest Radcliffe Cockburn |
| 1929 | Hampshire – first police motor vehicle introduce, a BSA motorcycle combination |
| 1931 | First Highway Code and Road Traffic Act introduces third party insurance etc. |
| 1936 | George V dies and is succeeded by Edward VIII who abdicates within the year.
PC Goronwy Evans joins Portsmouth City Police and Fire Service |
| 1937 | Coronation of George VI |
| 1939 | Outbreak of Second World War.
Young police officers leave to join the armed services. |
| 1940 | Arthur Charles West is appointed as Chief Constable of Portsmouth City Police Force |
| Herbert Clifford Allen appointed Chief Constable of Southampton County Borough Police Force | |
| 1941 | Portsmouth City Police Choir formed. Central Police Station bombed along with the Guildhall |
| 1941 | Frederick Thomas Tarry CB, CBE is appointed Chief Constable of Southampton County Borough Police. He was previously Chief Constable of Exeter |
| 1942 | Winchester City Police and Isle of Wight Constabulary amalgamate with Hampshire to form the Hampshire Joint Police Force until 1948. The new Chief Constable is Richard Dawnay Lemon |
| 1947 | Charles George Box is appointed as Chief Constable of Southampton County Borough Police Force |
| 1948 | Bournemouth Borough Police formed, separate from now – ‘Hampshire Constabulary’ |
| 1952 | New name – Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary.
UK population is about 50 million and there are 3 million cars on the roads. |
| 1952 | New Police Station opened at Lymington |
| 1953 | Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II |
| 1956 | Death on duty of PC Jim Dolan at Weyhill |
| 1958 | William Newick Wilson is appointed Chief Constable of Portsmouth City Police Force |
| 1960 | Alfred Thomas Cullen is appointed as Chief Constable of Southampton County Borough Police Force. |
| 1962 | New Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary – Douglas Osmond |
| 1964 | Owen Flynn is appointed Chief Constable of Portsmouth City Police Force |
| New Havant Police Station opened | |
| 1965 | December, 70 m.p.h. speed limit imposed on UK motorways as an experiment after a series of multiple accidents in fog (there weren’t many motorways then anyway). Previously there was no limit and there was a much publicized incident when a motor sports racing manufacturer started to test their car on the M1 reaching a top speed of 190 m.p.h. |
| 1965 | Abolition of Death Penalty – 3 yr. trial period begins. Introduction of teleprinters in police stations at about this time made the transmission of internal messages more efficient, instead of station officers writing them out by hand. |
| 1965 | The height of the Cold War and the government introduce Police Mobile Columns intended to go into devastated areas in the event of a nuclear attack. |
| 1966 | Southampton force now titled ‘City Police’ |
| 1966 | Replacement Headquarters building opened at West Hill, Winchester. Old Winchester City police station at the Guildhall closes and moves to North Walls police station which had been temporarily occupied by Chief Constable and HQ staff. This was while old HQ was demolished at West Hill and new one built |
| 1967 | Hampshire Constabulary formed from the amalgamation of Hampshire, Southampton & Portsmouth Police forces on 1st April |
| 1967 | Introduction of the breathalyser – Powerful new drink drive law has been introduced allowing blood or urine samples to be used to determine amount of alcohol in drivers body instead of prosecution only being able to use evidence of driver’s physical condition to convict. The breathalyser was a disposable crystal filled glass tube that had to have the ends snapped off before a mouthpiece and a bag were fitted. Cheap device, no batteries but a fiddle to use. Change in colour of the crystals indicated excess alcohol. |
| 1967 | Also this year the fitting of seat belts to the front seats of passenger cars become compulsory but not the wearing, that didn’t come until 1983! Traffic cars had been fitted with simple diagonal belts before this. These early belts were not user friendly with no inertia reel device. |
| 1970 | Isle of Wight Pop Festival – when half a million fans attended a five day event at Afton Down and saw Jimi Hendrix’s last UK appearance. He died shortly afterwards. |
| 1971 | M3 opens |
| 1972 | IRA terrorist bomb detonated at the Para barracks at Aldershot – February 22 |
| 1972 | Alton by-pass opens. Alton was one of the many traffic bottle-necks in Hampshire in the 1960’s, along with places like Petersfield, Emsworth, Southwick, Swaythling. Car ownership expanded rapidly during this decade and the old road network was not built to cope with this increase in traffic. |
| 1974 | Police National Computer operational. Major improvement in police efficiency as previously vehicle registration records were kept by County or County Borough Councils, requiring officers trying to trace car owners, to telephone individual councils where vehicle was registered to obtain owners details. Night time, in emergencies, police officers would have access to search the council records or had to call out an official. |
| 1977 | September, new Chief Constable is John Duke, CBE, QPM |
| 1983 | Wearing front seat belts in cars made compulsory – for a trial period |
| 1984 | Year long National Miners’ Strike saw dozens of Hampshire officers travelling (by coach or plane) to Nottinghamshire and other mining areas each week, for Public Order duties. |
| 1984 | Police and Criminal Evidence Act. This Act brought about the most far reaching changes to the way the modern Police Service goes about its daily duties. Previously, for instance, suspects were interviewed, charged and only when bailed or about to appear in court were they able to consult with a solicitor. The statutory right to have someone notified of your arrest became was introduced although this had been done for some time previously. |
| 1987 | The Great Storm of 15th October. Read a report about it and a night duty to remember at Southsea. |
| 1988 | September, new Chief Constable is Sir John Hoddinott CBE. |
| 1990 | This decade saw the first installation of a network of desktop computers in Hampshire police stations. That was the good news – the bad news was that it was a system called ‘Uniplex.’ In this same year the World Wide Web was born. In the same year the cover of the Spring edition of ‘Copperplate’ featured the ill-fated Optica-Scout police spotter plane flying over the Needles. |
| 1991 | The Census showed that the Resident Population of Hampshire on Census night was 1,541,547 an increase of (4.2 %) since the 1981 Census. 1.1 % of the increase was due to net in migration; the remainder resulted from the number of births exceeding deaths. The density of the population (i.e. number of people per hectare) was 4.1. Portsmouth City had the highest density (41.6) whilst the lowest density was in Winchester District (1.5). The provisional 1991 figure for England & Wales as a whole is 3.2 persons per hectare. |
| 1996 | Police Act 1996. |
| 1999 | Paul Kernaghan takes over as the Chief Constable of Hampshire |
| UK population is about 59 million. | |
| 2001 | Death of former Chief Constable of Hampshire, Sir John Hoddinott CBE QPM MA FRSA, b 1944. |
| From Frontline Issue 82 Sept 2001 | |
| 2001 | The population of the United Kingdom on Census Day 2001 was 58,789,194. The population has grown by 17 per cent overall since |
| 2001 | December: The Hampshire Constabulary History Society publish a new book entitled, ‘Policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – A Photographic History’ now out of print. |
| 2002 | Uk population is nearly 60 million and there are 26 million cars on the roads. |
| 2002 | Uniform change – Sergeants and constables have now been issued with white shirts to replace the light blues ones that have been supplied since the 1960s |
| 2004 | August Death of former Chief Constable of Hampshire, Sir Richard Dawnay Lemon |
| 2005 | Introduction of the Freedom of Information Act. Changes in the organisation of the Regional Training School regime means that recruits no longer take part in PT, football, drill or end of course Passing Out Parade. All of which had been enjoyed for decades as a change from periods of study. In March 2005 the Constabulary will employ its first PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers). |
| 2005 | October: The best and worst performing police forces in England and Wales have been identified in government figures. The worst was Humberside, according to the Home Office criteria. South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Cambridgeshire were in the bottom five. The best were West Mercia, Northumbria, Hampshire, Surrey and West Midlands. Forces were rated for investigating and cutting crime, providing help, resource use, promoting safety, local policing and community confidence in the police. Across 43 forces, there was an improvement in 56% of those rating categories, 39% were stable and 5% had deteriorated. Nine per cent of the ratings were poor, 40% fair, 44% good and 7% excellent. |
| 2006 | Sir Douglas OSMOND, Chief Constable Hampshire Constabulary 1962 – 1977, died on Thursday 20th April 2006 |
| 2008 | New Chief Constable is Alex Marshall |
| 2009 | January Hampshire Constabulary has been named as the UK’s top gay-friendly police force. The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2009 has placed the force second nationally in the list of Britain’s top 100 employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Banking giant Lloyds TSB topped the annual poll, which means Hampshire Constabulary is also the top public sector organisation. |
| 2009 | January – BBC TV News report: Hampshire Constabulary has announced it will axe 200 jobs – 100 of them police officer posts – by the end of the year. The cuts will be achieved by removing some officers from non-operational roles rather than from the frontline. |
| 2013 | February 7th – New Hampshire chief constable, Andy Marsh |
| 2016 | April 4th, new Chief Constable is Olivia Pinkney |
Hampshire Constabulary History Society
"All our yesterdays; gone, but not forgotten"
Very interesting but I think the first World War began in 1914.
Thanks, amendment made.
During the miners strike it was only male officers who went to Nottinghamshire, leaving the police women to cover many rural beats in reduced numbers and often alone. Previous to that police women on the Isle of Wight at least had not been allowed to cover rural beats alone.
Derek, in a bit of a clear out at ACRO, I have found a photocopy of the 1948 Pakistan Fingerprint Manual, in English. Accepting this isn’t Hampshire focussed do you think the Society wants this. I have been offered a real one from Pakistan !
I think the manual came to us at a period when ACRO were looking to improve actual bio metrics with Pakistan.
M
Many references I find says that the first name change to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary happened in 1957 and I have a Brunswick star-type helmet plate for Hampshire Constabulary with a Queen’s crown (St. Edward’s crown). The QC would place this plate between 1953 to 1957 as I believe the badge/plate used for the 2nd Hampshire Constabulary (formed from the merger of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, Southampton Police and Portsmouth City Police) is the current badge with wreath/rose/crown.
Can you please help me to have the datelines for my collection correct?
If the name change did happen in 1952 then there should not be a Brunswick star-type helmet plate with a QC as they used the KC until his death.
Other possibility is that the star-type plate was used with the second Hampshire Constabulary (1967) before adopting the current badge/plate.