The Cambridgeshire policeman whose been missing for 150 years

Police Constable Richard Peak failed to show up to work and hasn’t been found since

More than 150 years ago, PC Richard Peak left his late night duties but failed to return to work; never to be seen again. The sudden disappearance came as quite a shock in the Burwell, Wicken, Soham and Fordham areas.

According to Capturing Cambridge, on the evening of August 17, 1855, the Wicken Police Constable had performed his duty according to the usual routine. PC Peak’s job was to police a crop auction at the Red Lion Inn in Wicken, which was due to finish at 9pm.

However, at the end of the sale, between 40 to 50 people were left in the pub so PC Peak remained there until the early hours of the next morning. He was helping to make sure there was no disturbance.

At about 2am on August 18, PC Peak, known as the ‘village bobby’, asked to go home but the landlord pressed him to continue on duty as he feared a disturbance among the people inside the inn, Capturing Cambridge said. Following the landlord’s pleas, PC Peak stayed to keep watch for rowdy residents and eventually kicked out two ‘parties’ who were being noisy.

The Red Lion was cleared at about 3.15am. PC Peak reportedly said to the landlord: “Good morning; I’ve got an hour and a half’s walk, and then I will go to bed”. Sadly, this is the last that was ever heard of him.

During the evening, the officer was spotted getting drinks at the bar out of uniform. Although, it is thought that the drinks were consumed over an extended period of time and that he was “perfectly sober when he left”, reports Cambridge Chronicle and Journal.

When PC Peak left Wicken, he was dressed in a brown straw hat, a brown coat, a check coat, dark cloth vest and a pair of coarse uniform trousers with a black neck tie and wellington boots. The officer was reportedly supposed to attend a neighbouring police conference at 4am that morning but failed to report to work.

Rumours soon spread that he must have met with foul play due to the circumstances under his disappearance and the strenuous exertions of the other members in the force. As the weekend passed, the mystery grew and PC Peak hadn’t uttered a word.

Residents in towns and villages in the area searched for the missing officer but there was no success. Even stranger, in 1880, a skeleton was pulled from a pond in Wicken which appeared to have a damaged skull. Later, another skeleton was recovered during renovation work at the Anchor in Burwell. However, neither of these remains belonged to PC Peak.

PC Peak was from Caxton and he joined the police force in 1851, aged about 20. He was stationed at Burwell and was given the responsibility of keeping order in Wicken village. Cambridgeshire Police described him as the “village bobby” for Wicken.