THE strict rules imposed on policemen in the early days of the Oxford city force even extended to beards.

They were allowed to wear beards and moustaches, “on condition that the beard be kept in such a manner as not to hide the numbers on the collars and in such a form as shall be satisfactory to the superintendent”.

As we recalled (Memory Lane, May 4), the first Chief Constable, Charles Head, who took office on January 1, 1869, had a ‘permanent order book’, which gave instructions and information to officers.

In 1871, policemen were no doubt delighted to hear of a pay rise – a constable would start at 17 shillings a week and on promotion to sergeant, would receive 25 shillings.

Three years later, they were told that under the new Parliamentary Act, “no constable shall belong to any political society nor vote at any Parliamentary election” .

A decision in 1876 to allow every man in the force one day’s leave a month led to an almost laughable scenario.

A policeman who came across a drunk on the evening before his day off was often reluctant to take action, in case it interfered with his free time.

So he would dump the drunk on the beat of another constable – and if he happened to be off next day, he, in turn, would transfer the man to the next beat.

By the time the constables had finished with him, he had sobered up!

In 1894, police were warned to be vigilant for bomb outrages by anarchists.

Alarmingly, the unfortunate constable who found a bomb was instructed to “at once remove it to the police station for further steps to be taken in the matter”!

These reflections of life in the early days of the city police force were given in a talk by the city’s third Chief Constable, Charles Fox, to members of the Rotary Club of Oxford in 1961.