TO ensure law and order, the lack of which several correspondents have been complaining abut in recent editions of the Review, it would be most effective if the police of today set about vandalism with the same determination Superintendent Edward Thomas Chipp displayed when he came galloping into the uprising during the General Election riots of Cinderford in 1874.

This man went about solving problems by sheer determination to put criminals behind bars. He first appeared on the scene in 1871 when he arrived at Coleford Police Station to take charge of all police activities in the Forest of Dean.

The elections throughout the rest of the Forest passed off quietly, but in Cinderford there was heavy drinking and riotous behaviour. The town had grown rapidly around the coal and iron industry, and there had been an influx of people from outside the area looking for work.

It was on the Saturday when the trouble flared up. According to some accounts it was caused by political activists advocating the policies of the Conservative party in an area which was anything but Conservative. According to others, in blatant breach of the principles of democracy, the Returning Officer was also one of the candidates, and he exaggerated the number of votes he got.

Either way, it was sufficient to incite rioting among people who were already disorderly and drunk. Houses and shops were burned and ruined, and shots were fired into the street by people in fear of their lives.

Cinderford Police Station had a complement of only two constables, insufficient to cope on their own. Supt Chipp brought in reinforcements; extra police from Gloucester and Cheltenham, while military reinforcements from the 103rd Regiment of Foot from Newport were held in reserve at Littledean to show the troublemakers he really meant business.

Supt Chipp, at the head of a large force of police all of whom were armed with cutlasses, came galloping from Coleford into the affray. They went about the town restoring order, but next day, Sunday, tension was still high.

He obtained orders from magistrates that all the pubs in Cinderford be closed down, and 56 police officers made sure the order was enforced. On Monday Supt Chipp led raids on houses in Cinderford and Ruspidge resulting in the arrest of the 25 ringleaders who were transported to Littledean in chains and imprisoned in Littledean Jail.

Until the police of today start taking action similar to that described above, vandalism is likely to continue. The message to the police is clear: Do something about vandalism before vigillantes do. – Anthony Reeve, Littledean.