Sgt John Spencer of Spring View
Photo: Rev David Long
This pic is already in the Album, under People - St Mary's Parishioners. I am re-sending it now as I am taking his grand-daughter's funeral at St Mary's, Lower Ince, tomorrow afternoon (April 12th, 2017).
She is Olive Hart, who died recently aged 92.
Olive had a brilliant memory, and, as a life-long resident of Lower Ince, was invaluable in putting names to faces in old photographs - of which she supplied very many for St Mary's archive. This was one of hers - and I thought it timely to supply further information about it, whilst correcting some of the assumptions in the caption below it.
Olive's father was George Arthur Spencer, and he was John's 4th son. He was Baptised in March 1890 at St Thomas Seaforth, and his father's occupation was given as Constable.
John was married at St Laurence Chorley, in May 1882, when his occupation was given as Constable, of Bootle.
Both Bootle and Seaforth were, like Ince, in Lancashire County - so he would have been in the Lancashire Constabulary.
He seems to have moved to Spring View in about 1891 - being given as the father of Elijah Harold, Baptised in 1892 at St Mary’s. Three more Baptisms at St Mary's are recorded, up to 1897. His occupation for all is given as Police Serjeant, and his address as 553 Warrington Road - which is almost opposite Spring View Police Station - so the family of 10 did not live in the Police Station, but in a small terraced house. He was buried from there in September 1920, aged 65.
At the Marriage of his second son, Henry Ernest at St Nathaniel’s, Platt Bridge, in January 1910, he is listed as ‘Ex-Police Serjeant’.
This photograph would therefore pre-date that event.