Today most of us will buy our Christmas dinner meat from a supermarket or reputable supplier at a price most families can afford. About 150 years ago a lot of families were much poorer and would get theirs by other means, such as somebody poaching it for them. Poaching on estate land was common.

One infamous poacher in the Bournemouth area, who later became head game keeper, was Solomon Troke.

"Solomon was a distant relative of mine. He was well known for poaching on Lord Malmesbury estate,"said Pat Roe one of his relatives.

He was first sent to Winchester Prison for poaching when he was only 15 in 1847. Three years later he was caught 'trespassing in pursuit of game' and the following year a warrant was issued for Solomon and three other members of the Moordown Gang for assaulting a policeman in the execution of his duty.

Solomon was described at the time as being 5ft 10in tall with dark brown hair, of boyish appearance with a fresh complexion and prominent nose. He was often seen dressed in a brown velteen shooting coat, cloth cap with a peak and corduroy trousers, and at other times he wore a brown smock-frock.

Solomon was fined in his absence for the assault and because no payment was made was committed to the House of Correction for 21 days of hard labour.

In 1853 he was fined for poaching fish in the River Stour, Throop, part of the Malmesbury Estate of which Lord Malmesbury had the exclusive rights of the fishery. Two years later he was charged 'with using a gun at Holdenhurst for the purpose of taking game' and was fined, failed to pay and was committed to three months. A month earlier he had been fined for using a gun to kill game without a certificate.

In 1861 Solomon and another man were charged with poaching with an airgun on Dean's estate at Holdenhurst where he tried to disguise his voice. He also had a double and single barrel guns, loaded and capped, at home. He was sentenced to three months hard labour with the warning not to offend again for 12 months or he would be imprisoned for six months hard labour at Winchester Prison. He was 30 years old.

In 1864 he was charged with trespassing on Samuel Johnson's land in search of game and was fined £2 and seven shillings. In the same year he was committed to 21 days of hard labour for an assault at the Horse and Jockey pub at Redhill, as well as trespassing on William Troke land at Redhill in search of game where he was fined £2 and 13 shillings costs.

Solomon's last conviction was not for poaching but for being drunk and refusing to leave the 'Heathcote' in Bournemouth when requested by the landlord. He was fined 10 shillings and seven shillings costs.

The next time Solomon appeared in court he has turned over a new leaf. In 1879 Solomon was assaulted by a poacher 'in search of conies' when he was gamekeeper at Haddon's Hill, Holdenhurst. Over the next few years as head gamekeeper on the Malmesbury Estate he is in court accused of assaulting poachers, getting five men convicted of damaging turf and catching four men night poaching on the estate near the Indian hut. Why he changed to bat for the other team, nobody knows. But his skills as a poacher made him a perfect gamekeeper to apprehend other poachers.

Solomon was pallbearer at the Earl's funeral in 1889. He died on March 19 1920 and is buried with his wife Ann at St John's Church, Moordown. His sons Charles and James and their spouses and other of Solomon's descendants are also buried at St John's.

The Old Sol Society and relatives put together a dossier of part of his life which can be viewed at Bournemouth Library.