Colleagues gathered to celebrate the 80th birthday of stalwart volunteer Will Brown at the Museum of Policing in Cheshire.
A splendid buffet was provided, and Will was presented with a bottle of whisky by colleagues.
Will joined Cheshire Constabulary in 1961 as a police cadet and became a PC in 1964. He served throughout the county mainly in CID. He spent time in uniform in Inspector and Superintendent ranks, before becoming a Detective Superintendent at Chester.
After retirement in 1993, he worked in security for a multinational company until 2010.
Will said: “I became a volunteer at the museum in 2007 and in 2014, I compiled the book ‘A Bobby’s Job’ published by the History Press which charts the history of policing in Cheshire from the foundation of police forces in the county.”
Since 2015 Will has been museum researcher dealing with a host of enquiries mainly related to family history. He has a great interest in police history particularly that relating to Cheshire and the smaller borough forces which were merged with Cheshire Constabulary.
“I get a lot of satisfaction from working at the museum, when you give people information about a relative, they are pleased. They are particularly grateful if you find a photograph of their relative, that gives them a lot of pleasure,” he said.
At the celebration museum manager Peter Hampson paid tribute to Will and his valuable work.
“When we were serving together as officers at Warrington Police Station Will I did know of you, but didn’t really ‘know’ you,” said Peter. “Through our work at the museum, I got to know you very well and valued the work you do. I now count you as a dear friend.”
Peter acknowledged that Will was stepping back from his role but would still be available as a consultant on the history of Cheshire Constabulary.
He said: “You will always be part of the museum and always be welcome and part of what’s going here.”