Jan, People who aided, or were suspected of aiding, the English authorities were sometimes emigrated (my use of this form of the verb is deliberate) to Australasia under a procedure known as Protection of Crown Witnesses. I mentioned this some time back on this List. I've made a few attempts to find out more about this procedure as I was trying to trace a family named Ryan which was transferred from Clare to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) because their lives were in danger. For some time a police guard had lived in a little hut next to their house to ensure their safety. There is obviously quite a bit of documentation on the 19th century Crown Witness procedure in the English archives in Kew. I found references to it online but have not been able to visit Kew to find out more. Nor have I been able to find records of their arrivals at the Australasian end. Maybe the records have been lost but it is also possible that their arrivals were kept secret to maintain their anonymities, i.e. that records were deliberately not kept. I also wondered whether there were any records of financial assistance offered to these people but have not turned anything up. I have no idea whether this translocation was forcible or voluntary or something in-between, e.g. whether there was some kind of judicial process. Pádraig (the Paddy that was) P.S. The British police force was called the RIC. P(tPtw) -----Original Message----- From: irl-clare-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:irl-clare-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Janet Haggart Sent: 20 November 2006 01:04 To: irl-clare@rootsweb.com Subject: [IRL-CLARE] British Police Force in Ireland Hello Listers I am seeking information regarding Irishmen who worked for the British constabulary around 1900. I run a family history group for U3A in Australia and one of the members is descended from one of these people. He was her grandfather and she was told by her late father that he and his brothers were sent to Australia to escape from people who may have harmed them because of their father's association with the British constabulary. I would be very grateful for any information about Irishmen in the British police force. Many thanks in advance Jan Haggart ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-CLARE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message