Gloucestershire Constabulary
Who are we?
Gloucestershire Constabulary is the second oldest county force in England with a proud history dating back to 1839. We are represented in the Heritage Hub by our Police Archive Group which plays a vital part in helping to preserve our rich police heritage.
What do we do?
At the heart of the Police Archive Group are our volunteers. They are based on Police premises where they look after a unique collection of photographs, diaries, memorabilia and artefacts donated by the good will of retired police officers, their families and the wider public. This rich community collection brings the story of the Force to life and complements the Constabulary’s formal administrative records which are held at Gloucestershire Archives. It deserves to be fully accessible to the public.
Part of the Heritage Hub
The Police Archive Volunteers, and the collection they look after, will have a permanent home in the onsite Heritage Hub at Alvin Street, Gloucester. The volunteers will be able to share their knowledge to help anyone who is interested in finding their police ancestors or delving into the development of the Force. The community archive collection will benefit from proper storage in one of the new Hub strong rooms and onsite visitors will be able to access and view it. Online visitors can start to explore the Constabulary’s past via the new Police Archive project website, which launched earlier this autumn. Our hugely popular Constabulary Open Day, attended by over 5000 people this year, is already a key date in the Hub community’s fledgling calendar. At the 2016 event, the Police Archive Group worked alongside Gloucestershire Archives and the Gloucestershire Family History Society as the “History Zone”, with complementary expertise and displays.
How do I get involved?
Why not dip into our new website http://gloucestershirepolicearchives.org.uk/ and let us know what you think? Or you might have items – or memories – which you’d like to donate to the project archive. We know there is still lots of interesting material out there in the community so get in touch. And, of course, we would love to hear from you if you would like to join our team of volunteers. There are lots of different roles – from adding content to the website to recording spoken histories or packaging fragile items, and you will be given all the training you need.
You can view our Gloucestershire Archives blog here at https://gloucestershirearchives.wordpress.com/