Born on the 18th September 1891, James Jones joined
Wolverhampton Borough Police in January 1920 and his
record shows his previous occupation as 'platelayer'.
He was single and he had formerly served two years and
eight months in the Royal Engineers.
PC Jones came to my attention following an enquiry by
the History of Bradley and Bilston Facebook group (worth
a visit if you are interested in the history of the area
and the wider Black Country). They had several pictures
of an unusually tall officer and they wanted to be able
to put a face to the name.
After scanning through the Wolverhampton records at the
museum, I found a match on the collar number provided by
the group.
PC Jones' collar number was 77 and his height was shown
on the record as 6'5" and 3/4!
He took the exam to become a sergeant on three
occasions, sadly failing every time. He seems to have
had an interest in first aid - being pictured with the
police ambulance three times. PC Jones received his long
service medal in 1943 and retired in 1946.
|
PC Jones taking part
in a practice accident in Darlington Street
at the junction of Waterloo Road. |
|
Another view of
the practice accident. |
|
PC Jones with
a 1916 Star ambulance at the Royal
Hospital. |
|
Controlling traffic in Queen
Square, in the 1920s. |
|
PC
Jones helping with a
stretcher at the Royal
Hospital.. |
|
Another tall police
officer on duty in Queen
Square, before 1914. |
Many thanks to Janet O'Brien from the History of Bradley
and Bilston Facebook group for sharing the pics and
helping us piece together PC Jones' story.
Corinne Brazier
WMP Heritage Project
West Midlands Police |
