– the story behind the picture
by Kevin Gordon
This story starts with a sepia coloured photograph in the archives of the British Transport Police History Group titled ‘William Holman – Brighton Railway Police’. The photograph shows a bewhiskered, top-hatted man making a note in his pocket-book. But who was he?
William Holman was born in Ightham, Kent in 1801. He was married to Sarah Wooldridge at St Nicholas Church in Brighton in April 1833 but the records show he had an unusual middle name ‘Leapeard’. Is this a miss-spelling of Leopard or Leonard?
As early as 1830 there were calls for a Constabulary to be established at Brighton. On 25th November 1830, the High Constable of Brighton enrolled a number of Special Constables at the Sea House Hotel. The Brighton Gazette of 9th December 1830s says that such a body of men was necessary ‘for the protection of property and suppression of outrages’.
William and Sarah Holman had a daughter Martha who was born on 19th July 1836. When she was baptised William’s occupation was shown as ‘Brighton Peace Officer’ and it is likely that he was one of the Special Constables sworn in by the High Constable.
The London & Brighton Railway Company was established in May 1837 and the first permanent rail of the railway was laid at Hassocks Gate on 4th February 1839. The Brighton railway was about to change the fortunes of Sussex but not without problems; a massive workforce was needed to build the new railways. Many men, who had formerly worked as cheap agricultural labourers, found new work on the railways. Thousands travelled from Scotland, the Continent and particularly from Ireland in this industrial ‘goldrush’. These rough and largely uneducated group of men caused problems across the land.
As a result of railway related disorder, the Special Constables Act 1838 was passed. The preamble for this act read:
Whereas great mischiefs have arisen by the outrageous and unlawful behaviour of labourers and others employed on railroads, canals, and other public works, by reason whereof the appointment of special constables is often necessary for keeping the peace, and for the protection of the inhabitants and security of the property in the neighbourhood of such public works.
The act put the cost of recruiting these Railway Policemen firmly onto the railway companies. In Sussex, a committee was established consisting of Captain Heaviside, F.H. Pedder Esq, The Brighton High Constable and the Chief Officer of the newly formed Brighton Police with a view to establishing a Railway Police force in Sussex. The committee was also tasked with regulating their duties.
At the Brighton Petty Sessions of Monday 30th July 1838, Henry Reed was sworn in as a Special Constable under the London and Brighton Railway Act. The Chairman of the bench explained that this officer would be responsible for patrolling the railway between Brighton and Shoreham, although his authority was to include the whole of the railway line and all of its branches. His jurisdiction would extend to half a mile each side of the railway and that he had the authority to call upon parish constables to assist him in case of any riot.
The Brighton Police Force was also established in 1838.
It is probable that William Holman was one of these early railway policemen. Their duties not only included law-and order but also ensuring the safe movement of engines. In these early days there were only four or five trains a day in each direction. They also had to operate the points to move trains from one track to another and it has been suggested that this is the origin of police officers doing ‘point-duty’ at busy road junctions.
The 1841 census shows William and his family living at ‘Pycombe’ just north of Brighton. His occupation was shown as ‘Police Officer’ and when another daughter, Susanna Elizabeth was born on 27th August 1843, his occupation was shown as ‘Policeman’.
The Railway expanded across Sussex and on 14th May 1849, the line from Polegate to Hailsham opened. Superintendent Acton, the head of the local Railway Police chose PC William Holman to be based at Hailsham Station for the grand opening. On the first day of operation one of the train guards fell onto the track and was killed. William gave evidence at the inquest. The dead man was 18 year old John Hield, a ticket collector at Brighton who had been ‘allowed’ to be the train guard as his father was the station master at Bexhill.
Maybe being stationed at Hailsham was too far from home for William, maybe there was another reason but by April 1851 he was back in Brighton living at 33, Pimlico – a street in the North Laine area of the city close to where Tichbourne Street now stands. His occupation was shown as Railway Signalman. Ten years later the census shows his address as 29, London Street, (now London Road) Brighton where he was living with his wife Sarah, four daughters and two sons. His occupation was shown as ‘Signalman’ and we know that his signal hut was at the junction of the Hastings line before it arches across the viaduct eastwards towards Lewes.
William was on duty in his signal hut on the morning of 7th September 1861, an ominous date in Sussex history. That morning William noted three trains heading north leaving Brighton Station in quick succession at 8.29, 8.32 and 8.36am. His fellow signalman Henry Killick (who had been on duty for over 24 hours!) at the southern end of the Clayton Tunnel became confused with this quick succession of trains and allowed them all to enter the tunnel together resulting in an horrific crash. 23 people were killed and nearly 600 were injured.
William was called to give evidence at the subsequent inquest. He agreed that it was unusual for three trains to pass him so close together and said that if the timings were two minutes between trains, he would have stopped them, but considered that three minutes was OK. Unfortunately in saying this, he was ignoring the regulations that said that there should be a five minute break between trains on the same line. William was immediately relieved of his duties as a signalman and given a post of a ‘lesser importance’ – the cab inspector at Brighton Station. His dismissal was public and appeared in the local press.
William spent the rest of his working life as a cab-inspector. In 1866 he was assaulted by a cab-driver who had parked in the space reserved for the Grand Hotel. Railway records for 31st December 1871 show his age as 65 years and that he was on a wage of one pound and eight shillings a week. By this time he had moved to 142, Upper Lewes Road, Brighton.
William died at his home on 7th June 1875. His estate, to the value of under £100, was left to his widow Sarah.
I am pleased that the story of William Holman, an early Policeman in Sussex, has been unearthed – and all from one old photograph.
Originally published on the blog: Sussex History by Kevin Gordon
Reproduced with permission of the author.
Sources:
British Transport Police History Group
National Newspaper Archives
Ancestry.com
A.S.L.E.F (Brighton Branch) Website