On the evening of 11th September 2020, I was going through my emails and one of them was from Maurice HANN.
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Dear Ian,
It’s Anita Hazell here (Maurice Hann’s daughter). I am writing to inform you that Dad sadly passed away on Wednesday evening (9th) at 17.30. It was a peaceful death and I was sat by his side, holding his hand, with my son (Matthew) the other side of his bed.
Before he died he requested that I should inform you of this. Thank you for being such a good friend to Dad.
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Obviously I was shocked and very sad to hear Maurice had gone, although I knew he was not in the best of health. However, when it comes to that day you cannot help to be upset that the end has come. 2020 has been a bad year for everyone.
Maurice will always be dear to me, because for 7 years we communicated about our Dorset Police interest, and Maurice loved being retired and living in Parkstone.
Maurice HANN above, was not a regular police officer in the Dorset Constabulary, but was a special in the Met, between 1965 and 1967.
He found out early in his life, when living in London, that some of his ancestors had been policemen in Dorset. His grandfather Francis, would often talk about his father Richard, being PC 1 in the Dorset Constabulary. Maurice and his grandfather naturally wondered, if that meant he was the first officer to join Dorset Constabulary.
Later on in life, after being able to retire early, Maurice researched the Dorset Constabulary and his own ancestry to try and find out. Maurice very quickly put together a book, which was published in 1989. Not only is it a record of his police ancestors, but is a great reference book on how life used to be for an early County Constabulary Cop.
This is Maurice’s book, which has a great Durzet cover.
After starting my research in 2012, naturally I started reading anything I could get my hands on. I could not find the original Constabulary Centenary book , I was not even aware of how big it was, which looking back bemused me, as my grand father should have had a copy, well if he did, it did not get passed on ! Melvin HANN’s 150 years book on the Constabulary history was devoured and then Maurice’s book. Although both are HANN’s they do not seem to have had an ancestral connection.
Within the first year of my research I contacted both gents by phone, as I was 350 miles away, and they both helped me immensely.
Over the years I contacted Maurice many times as he knew a great deal about the early years and would become my “go to” expert, especially for information before 1920.
In September 2013, Maurice wrote in an email to me:
“ When I started researching PC1. Richard Hann I had to travel from Middlesex to Dorset in holiday times and then go to Winfrith and read the General Order Books. Dorset police had NO individual records of individual officers! Can you believe it?!
In consequence it was not until I had gone through all the General Order Books from 1856 to 1888, did I get my g-grandfathers full history. Actually that’s not quite true. The Force did start to make individual records of officers, but not until about 1872. I have seen some of the full sheets which were produced, but more often than not you got more info from the General Orders.
I got so interested in the history of the Force (well, its members), that I started to make a database of each name. I have the original print-out in front of me now. From memory I think there are over 700 names, and about 4,000 entries with headings:
Dated. Surname. First name. Rank. Number. From. To. Dept. Arr. Remarks.
(From and To relating to rank).
All my work was copied by Dorset Record Office, and duplicated in a tidier form. (My original from 1989 was done on an old dot matrix printer, well before much better technology!)
Most unfortunately (for you), I finished recording details in 1888, because this was the year PC.1 retired.”
Maurice meant, it was unfortunate for me as my great grandfather started in 1892. But I also was going down the same path as I had also acquired an interest in its “members”.
Maurice through his meticulous research did prove his great grandfather was PC 1, but also managed to disprove that he was the first PC 1.
The first PC 1, would have been taken on about December 1856, where as Richard HANN did not start till July 1859. As you can read above which is a snippet from General Orders 13th July 1859.
It is not the easiest to read so just in case you are having trouble deciphering in a nut shell, a Supt resigned, which then had the knock on effect of Constable 1 William SIMMONS being promoted around the same date and then Richard was taken on. Unfortunately it does not mention Richard HANN, being taken on or his first posting, which is unusual, especially, as this book which would have been one of several copies was the HQ copy.
Over the next two years of emails back and forth, Maurice answered all my numerous questions, about force numbers, the Sgt Majors, The Assizes, the Initial Senior Ranks, all his answers were helping me to build up a framework of how the Constabulary hierarchy worked and the names of the men at the top.
In December 2015, I believe Maurice realised it might be easier for him to give me a copy of his database index of information from 1856 – 1888. Initially it took a while to get it to me, with changes in technology, but I was shocked at the size of it and the hours/days/weeks/months it must have taken.
After going over Maurice’s database, I realised I had an overload of information which I spent many hours/days/months going over. Much of it was just repetitive annual information, but was so detailed, that nothing seemed to have been missed.
Maurice continued:
“ Now I can tell you that I am sure that all those old General Order Books AND individual records (and goodness knows what else) were given to the Record Office at Dorchester quite a time ago. (At a guess I would suggest 15 years ago). I knew the officer (now retired) who was sorting it all out. However, I have also been given to understand that the Record Office has still not catalogued any of it. (That’s only hearsay). I tried to get in touch with the officer (retired) by telephone just now, but had no success. He has moved in recent times, and although I have his new address, I do not have his new number “
I did meet up with the retired Sgt, who confirmed he was involved in trying to save many records that were stored in a first floor building over the main office at HQ, Dorchester. The roof of the building, basically had collapsed after a storm, this was where all the old records were stored, so either the records had to be moved or thrown out. Many hours were spent trying to recover and preserve those relics otherwise he believed they would have been put in a skip after all the roof debris had fallen on them. It cannot have been a very pleasant experience but he was willing to give his own time to do so. He then went on leave and apparently the relics/records had been moved to a garage at Sherborne, He never saw them again.
Badge 26
In about 2016 Maurice was contacted by someone who had found a number 26 badge. Badge number 26 was held by Henry HANN , Maurice’s great uncle so he was trying to prove it could have been worn by Henry. The badge was “found” at East Stour, which was an area Henry would have been in or close too.
Maurice wrote: “ The finder of the badge has kindly offered it to me. I also have a cap badge circa 1950 which belonged to my uncle, H.L.Hann (retired as sgt 1957). I shall now make a display cabinet to hold both with a description of their history.”
In February 2019 I asked Maurice about the General Orders books he used.
“You asked what other info I have regarding Dorset Police. I think I originally told you that I have a few of their General Order Books. You know, I am sure, that each police station had General Order Books, and hence when they were no longer needed they were (presumably) sent to old GHQ at Dorchester, and then eventually to new GHQ at Winfrith. The fact that each police station had one means that the info was duplicated many times. Hence when I was researching at Winfrith circa 1987 I saw all the duplicated books. SOME were destroyed in the 1940s. Have I ever told you the story of my uncle, Harold Leslie Hann? …., PC at Dorchester in the 1940s, sitting on the toilet at Dorchester Police Station and having to use old General Order books as toilet paper! I remember his story about reading one whilst he was in the seated position! ….. And telling my father how he read about HIS grandfather (my great-grandfather) …. PC 1 being reprimanded for drinking in a pub at Cerne Abbas. Of course in the war years there was a paper shortage, and the general order books had a hole drilled in the corner, string inserted, and then hung up on the toilet door “for the use of”!
The following month Maurice celebrated his 80th birthday on the 9th March with his family and friends at the at the Miramar Hotel in Bournemouth. He wrote: “On a more unfortunate note, I was diagnosed with Liver Cancer a year ago. Have been in for four lots of chemo (NOT the invasive type where you lose hair etc). One more dose to have circa May this year. They give me 12 months of living. I’m giving me three years, being a determined old sxd!
Luckily NO signs of the actual cancer taking a grip of my life. I am still pretty active for my age. Manage regular two mile walks along the prom”.
At that point I asked Maurice if I could borrow any general order books he had from after the year 1888. He replied and said of course , so I said I would arrange for a friend or firm to pick them up and return them at my expense.
I was arranging that, when he sent me another email saying that he had no further need for them and nor had his family, so he was happy to give them to me and a few months later I received them.
As you can see, Maurice was a kind considerate man who was always willing to help me and pass on everything he had.
God bless you Maurice, I will miss you.
Maurice HANN 9th March 1939 – 9th September 2020
