It's been 70 years and a lot has changed - but these Cheshire cops are letting history repeat itself

Cheshire police have shown their allegiance to the Crown - exactly like they did 70 years ago. In 1953 officers lined up outside the then Warrington Borough Police Station bedecked in the Union Jack to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth.

Now they have replicated the gathering for the Coronation of her son, King Charles III and Queen Camilla. And like the original, the new photograph is in black and white.

Both images were taken outside the premises on Arpley Street which was a police station in he 1950s and is now home to the Museum of Policing in Cheshire.

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At the time the original photograph was taken, there were 142 officers in the force - 137 men and only 5 women. Seventy years later, around 100 officers and staff posed in the same spot to commemorate the coronation of the King and Queen on Saturday May 6th 2023.

Speaking about the photograph, Chief Constable Mark Roberts said: “It is important for us to capture this moment in time and mark the Coronation of the King and Queen. We are the county’s Constabulary and I think that’s what makes us different to other forces in some regards – as we are the local force for local people and this image underlines this.

“Policing has changed in many ways since 1953 and this photo shows all the different units that we now have. However despite some of things in policing changing, in many ways it is still the same. The public still rely on officers going out and dealing with people – you can’t make an arrest virtually.

“It’s all about looking after people, engaging with them, and targeting criminals. These core elements have all stayed the same – we just had a bit of added complexity that is reflected