The museum based in the Keighley Civic Centre has, along with lots of artefacts, been given a large portion of the Keighley Police Archive.
This archive covers crimes, investigations and incidents going back over 100 years. The Local History Society will be working with the Civic Centre management team to transcribe these documents and archive them.
There promises to be some very interesting and the odd strange tale in the archives. For example, here’s a record from 1901 based on the accounts of two On Duty Policemen in Haworth:
21/12/1901. 0045 hours. Location: Haworth, West Yorkshire. As two uniformed police officers, PS JOHN JOHNSON and PC CLARK were walking along a snow covered beat in Haworth when suddenly a green light illuminated the surrounding area. The officers looked up to the sky to see a luminous UFO shaped like a cigar pointed at both ends. The object emitted occasional flashes and sparks. They watched the object for 15 minutes as it slowly and silently moved across the night sky before disappearing into the distance. PS JOHNSON stated that the object was seen at an altitude of 100-150 feet before gradually gaining height. Two members of the public reported seeing similar objects in Keighley and Shipley respectively.
Originally cited in the Keighley News, 02/12/94, the report by these officers is classified as a Close Encounter of the First Kind.
Whilst much of the archive is ‘run of the mill’ documentation, we’re sure that there’ll be lots in there that can be used for interesting displays and / or educational materials for our local schools.
If you are interested in assisting in the transcription and archiving of these documents please e-mail us to let us know.