sUMMer 2013 - Northumbrianarpo.org

coronation processional route. I stood for more 12 hours in Piccadilly Circus and did noteven see the coach go by as we were all facing the crowds. In 1954 I resigned to start aretail business. Grace worked for a further 6 months and she too resignedLooking again through your magazine there is a picture of the Helmsley Hotel, wherewe stayed when we were in New York and the picture of the elephants reminds me ofInsp Stan Manging, a very big man, chasing an escaped bear around Eldon Square.My daughter, Julie, joined Northumbria Police and, over the years, worked in manydepartments, so when I saw your correspondent from Cyprus was Campbell Findlay itreminded me that he was Julie’s boss when she worked in Child Protection. I am pleasedto hear that he is enjoying life out there. Julie did her 30 years and finished as a DO in theFraud Squad. She retired in 2011.I really started to tell you about Norman Woods but I seem to have been carried away.I have never worked with Norman, but I remember him as a good quarter miler and wemet as members of the Elswick Harriers. This was late forties and early fifties.Some correspondence from Gilbert Wood set me off on aresearch project to ascertain whether there was a definitiveanswer to the story he had heard and, in the course ofmy searching, to debunk the urban legend about ‘CaptainRobert Ellicombe’, about whom there are numerous pages4on the web apparently authenticating him as the originatorof the Last Post, or Taps. Here is the authoritativeaccount, written by historian Robert Scott, of how thetune came to exist. My thanks to Gilbert for raising theissue.Editor.Who Wrotethe Bugle Call Taps?The 24 notes of the hauntingly mournful bugle call we call Taps are heardfrequently across America these days as our military dead continue to bereturned from Afghanistan for burial.For many years after the Civil War, legend had it that Gen. Daniel A. Butterfield composedthis call in 1862, which means its 150th birthday is coming up next month.Writing about bugle calls in the August 1898 issue of The Century Magazine, GustavKobbé stirred up a hornet’s nest among Civil War veterans with his article, “The Trumpetin Camp and Battle.” Kobbé was a respected music critic and opera expert.After tracing many of the U.S. Army’s bugle calls to the French army of Napoleon,Kobbé admitted,“In speaking of our trumpet calls I purposely omitted one with which it seemed most appropriateto close this article, for it is the call which closes the soldier’s day, Lights Out. I have not been ableto trace this call to any other service.”In order to profit from the battle experience gained in the Civil War and faced with adownsized army, in 1866 the War Department had assigned Lt. Col. Emory Upton to heada board of officers at West Point charged with creating a new tactical manual.Upton, the Army’s most brilliant strategist, asked Major Truman Seymour to compilea system of bugle calls to be incorporated into the new tactical manual to be published in1867.Referring to the “Lights Out” call, Kobbé concluded, “If it seems probable it was originalwith Major Seymour, he has given our army the most beautiful of trumpet-calls.” Tapswas still called “Lights Out” in the post-Civil War Army.Kobbé’s article prompted a letter from Oliver W. Norton, who said he knew the originof the bugle call and claimed he was the first to play it. Writing from Chicago, Norton, asuccessful businessman who would later found the American Can Company, said in hisletter,“Mr. Kobbé says he has been unable to trace the origin of the call now used for Taps, or ’Go toSleep,’ as it is generally called by soldiers. During the early part of the Civil War, I was bugler atthe headquarters of Butterfield’s Brigade. Up to July, 1862, the Infantry call for Taps was that set

IA dog’s best friendby Gavin Aarvoldhave a confession to make — I did it: I too leaked a story to the Press.I was Deputy Dog, Chief Inspector, in Sunderland Central Sub-Division, which kindof dates this as that terminology seems to have been erased from the way things are donenow. Each morning I would read through the occurrence log — old colleagues will recallit: that painstakingly typed series of sheets itemising the events of the previous 24 hours?I was the kind of “long-stop”, looking to catch those balls that needed not to have beendropped, like “Mrs. Bloggs reports large explosion next door — response: All quiet onarrival”; or “Passerby reports Joplings’ window broken — response: Seaman arrested forgross indecency with dummies.” Followed later by “Amended entry: there were only 143of them, man charged with criminal damage to window.” Again amended to: “Americansailor released into custody of Captain of Battleship Legless – Joplings’ window broken bystone thrown up by horse’s hoof.” I could go on, but my pills are taking effect, so back tothe story.I also used the log to inform the daily press conference, which actually only consisted ofme and my mate Brian, a reporter from the Sunderland Echo whose readership on a goodday got to about eleven; with recycled, additional perusers in some three dozen chipshopsin the area, or so I used to tell him in a mildly encouraging way.Mongrel DogBrian came into my office, regular as clockwork, to hear of any incidents worthy ofpromulgation to the good people of Sunderland. We were on good terms with somecommon interests and so on this particular morning, when serious things were in shortsupply, I took pleasure in commenting — “Not much this morning, Brian, just a dogarrested for shoplifting”. His reporter’s antennae picked up the signal immediately. Iexplained that a youth had been observed to enter Woolworth’s store with a mongreldog on a piece of string. He, the youth, was described as about 16 yrs, spotty face, scruffydress: — “What? In Sunderland? He must have stood out like a sore thumb”, I hear thedetectives amongst you exclaim!Anyway, this Adonis had wandered around the store until he came to a display ofcanine accoutrements and was observed by the alert store detective (a reject from the Met.)to take a collar and lead from the display and fasten it around his pooch’s neck. Notingthe store ‘tec’s interest, the pair made a bolt for the door, only for the new lead to becomeentangled in a pile of metal shopping baskets. Whilst a dog is reckoned to be a man’s bestfriend, this best friend didn’t have a reciprocal arrangement and the spotty youth ran off,leaving his doggy pal to take the rap.Dog and Cat shelterMy intrepid team were called to the store and Fido was taken into custody. His pawprintsand mug-shot were taken and he was charged with theft and handling stolengoods. Sentence was to be handed over to the Dog and Cat shelter which, as I said to myfriend Brian, was potentially one of death: if Fido was not claimed within a few weeks hecould be put down. Brian left Gillbridge hotfoot. I don’t quite know how he did it, but thestory was quickly picked up by the nationals, the BBC and later, even by the foreign press.Pictures of the doggy thief behind bars were in all the papers.Much to the delight of the papers, things got even funnier a couple of days after thestory went global when a “daring gaol break,” as they termed it, was staged over night atthe Dogs’ Home and the pooch was busted out and never seen again:— a reward of threeBonios was offered, but no doggy claimed it.I confess, my marrer Brian came in the next week with a bottle of wine — it kind ofcompensated for the bollocking I got from a certain divisional commander for causing amonumental blockage of our comms. system — the press were calling from all over. Soyou see, when it comes to leaking stories, we had our moments — and I came a lot cheaperthan them down south!6

Alan Bailey65 yrs. Alan retired as a constablefrom Washington in the late1990s.Basil Cole67 yrs. Bas was an ex-NewcastleCity officer. He retired in 1993.David Dingwall49 yrs. David retired on an illhealthpension in June 2012 as aD.C.Robert DoDDs93 yrs. Robert retired in 1974 as asergeant. He lived in the Gatesheadarea.FRAnk Douglas91 yrs. Frank retired in 1980 assuperintendent at Wallsend.Originally a member ofNorthumberland County Constabulary.Frank, after retiring,would occasionally call in to theoffice at Wallsend and alwayshad a word to say in passing.Allen GalBRAith70 yrs. Allen retired as a sergeantin 1994.Colin Gee74 yrs. Colin was an ex NewcastleCity officer. He retired as aD/Ch/Insp in 1987. Amongstother roles, Colin was a memberof the Fraud Squad for a numberof years.Jim Green83 yrs. Jim worked NewcastleEast and Wallsend. He retired asa constable.Peter Greenland68 yrs. Peter retired as a sergeantin 1994.George HalDAne75 yrs. George retired as aninspector in 1992 having workedat Alnwick, Belford, HexhamPrudhoe, South Shields andWhickham.TeRRence Harrison71 yrs. Terrence retired as a constablein 1988.Mavin Holmes58 yrs. Mavin retired as a constablein 2005.ObituariesRobert Houghton79 yrs. Bob was P.C. 2786 andretired from NorthumbriaPolice having worked the latterpart of his service In theComms Room & office at GillBridge Avenue Div. HQ.Keith Hunter59 yrs. Keith retired in 2001 asa constable having worked atNewcastle East, Newcastle Centraland Motor Patrols.Douglas Leith80 yrs. Douglas spent the earlypart of his service in Gosforthand Pegswood but largely,his time was spent serving atWesterhope and Newburn. In1958, he married WPC GladysBowman who died in 2002. Heretired as a constable.FRAncis Leonard85 yrs. Francis retired in 1981 asa constable.Bernard Lowis80 yrs. Bernard was a memberof Northumberland Constabulary,retiring as a constable in1978.Michael LynchMichael died on 16th March2013. He lived in Ibiza for manyyears.John McKay82 yrs. John retired as a constablein 1983.Alex McNab80 yrs. Alex retired as a constablein 1966.George Moses86 yrs. George retired as aninspector in 1975. He lived inthe Washington area.Bernard Osborne79 yrs. Bunny, who retired in1987 as a superintendent, wasan ex Newcastle City officerwho spent much of his servicein the CID.lAwrence PARker88 yrs. Larry retired in November,1972 as a sergeant. He was aconstable at Pilgrim Street and asergeant at Newcastle West End.BARRy Price79 yrs. Barry Price died 10th February,2013 aged 79 years. Barrywas an ACC with Northumbriaand chief constable of Cumbriain the 1980s.eRic PykeEric Pyke died 16th March, 2013.For many years he was a mainstayof the Gateshead branch ofNARPO. Eric regularly contributedto ‘The Bobby’, was activein the management and socialwelfare of the branch and regularlyorganisied events for themembers.iAn RoDDen71 yrs. Ian was a Gatesheadofficer who spent some time withRCS.Hazel Scott (Nee Kirk)74 yrs. Hazel was an ex-NewcastleCity police officer.John Short92 yrs. Jack retired as a constablein 1971. He was an ex-TynemouthBorough officer.Ruth Simpson83 yrs. Ruth was the widow ofBill Simpson, retired Ch/Inspand earlier training sergeant.Albert SwinBAnk79 yrs. Bert was ex-SunderlandBorough. Worked in MissingPerson in the late 1980s at GillbridgeAvenue. He retired as aconstable.Joyce Ward78 yrs. Joyce retired as an inspectorin 1981. Further details of herservice are not known.John Wile81 yrs. John retired as a constablefrom Blyth in 1982.David Wilkin65 yrs. David retired as a constablein 1997Richard Williams66 yrs. Dick retired as a superintendentin 1997 and resided inNorth Wales.John Wilson64 yrs. John retired as a sergeantin 1999.7

Editor’s note.Kevin contacted abranch secretary,enquiring whetherit was possiblefor him to becomea memberof NARPO andincluded his recollectionsof lifeas a police officerand the impact ithad made uponhim.WereMEMories OF MY TIME INTHE JOB IN THE 1960sKevin Robsonyou in the West End in the late 60s? I left just before amalgamationwith Northumberland County. My super was John Bensley.I knew George Scougall (who I met years later and found he'd been injured in a violentarrest in a car park whilst keeping covert obbo on a twoc hotspot in Gallowgate. He'd beenlying in a bin liner! Apparently the prig was a bit surprised when this bin-bag jumped upand 'cautioned' him). I remember Ken Johnson, Bruce Coltman (who, when he was workingwith SSAFA, a few years back wonderfully helped my dad who was an old soldier).George Ging was an inspector, and of course there was Ken Richardson, although he wasin A division, everybody knew 'Muscles'. Gavin Aarvold was a young sergeant at the time(and rapidly aspiring, having gone to Bramshill), and Malcolm ('Baby Face') Young wasbriefly a sergeant in uniform in Benwell, operating out of Tower View, having been in thedrugs squad before being made up and having to spend a time in uniform. (I met himyears later at Durham University. I was doing an MBA and he was doing a PhD on thetribalism of the police force!)It wasn't necessarily the happiest time of my life. I was young and ambitious. I passedthe sergeants' promotion exam first time within weeks of completing my probation, butthen found myself having to wait for dead mens' shoes whilst being used as a beat stopgapall over the place, and not being able to get my teeth into something worthwhile, but itleft an indelible mark. I was young and callow and not ready to learn the game, and I justgave up and moved on, but I guess the fun, the bait room crack, the tricks we used to play,the wonderfully-reviving early morning bacon sarnies and massive pots of tea in Slatyfordbus depot canteen at the end of a night shift before going home to much needed bed; thetiredness of shift quick changes and the nightmare of having to work on if you'd lockedsomebody up on the nightshift and had to put them in front of the magistrates beforegoing back and starting a 2-10 (you were always tagged on the end of the pre-arrangedcourt list for that day), all interspersed with brief bits of excitement, never left me. I'venever lost the outlook and the knack with people. In fact it stood me up for life. Maybe,once a copper … eh? Perhaps it just gets in your blood? I served just 5 years or so and thenleft to pursue another career, so I don't draw a police pension.Dunston and the Man in BlackBy Roy A Jackson.My first posting on leaving the Police Training School was to Dunston, asmall town on the south bank of the River Tyne.In those days, the middle sixties, Dunston was a lot different to the town it is now. The'Rocket' flats were still on the planners drawing board, the Dunston Staithes were still inuse. Several times a week ships, usually from Russia or the Baltic States, visited the Tynein order to export coal. They tied up at the staithes where the trains that travelled on railalong the top of the Staithes delivered the coal to them.All along the Dunston section of the Tyne there were numerous large firms all doing abrisk business, these ranged from heavy metal fabricators, a power station, a ship breaker’syard, where they were still engaged in cutting up WW2 U-boats. Also to be foundalong the river-front, there was a wood yard, a coal depot, a flour-mill and a couple of carscrap yards.For me, perhaps the most memorable company along this stretch of the river was theC.W.S. Hide and Skin Works. This particular factory was remarkable, not for pleasantreasons, but for the most god-awful stink that it produced.This stench was always bad but it was even worse when a new consignment of its raw8

material, i.e. the external covering of deceased cattle and sheep were being delivered. Ona bad day, particularly if the weather was hot, the smell was so awful that it tended totarnish the buttons on your tunic and to melt the wax in your ears.All those premises have now disappeared, the factories closed and were demolished,even the iconic six chimneys of the Dunston Power Station vanished from the skyline.They were eventually being replaced by, among others, the Metro Centre car parks, a TVstudio, a series of small office buildings and a lot of executive housing. Land that youcould not give away forty years ago is now worth a fortune.To return to the Dunston of the sixties, for the most part it appeared that little hadchanged in the town since Victorian times, this was particularly true down near the riverside,here there existed a lot of narrow, terraced streets, some still lit by the old fashionedgas street lighting.At night time, particularly when the fog started to roll in from the river and crept alongthose narrow, gas lit streets, you could easy imagine that you were back in the Victorianera. Under certain conditions these streets would have been an ideal setting for a 'SherlockHomes' or a 'Jack the Ripper' film.BeFore raDIosThese were the days prior to the police being issued with personal radios. If we cameupon an incident you hoped that there was a telephone close by whereby you could eithersummons help or at least inform control of the situation.In order for us to remain in contact with the office and no doubt to assist the sergeant inkeeping a close eye on us, we were expected to make a 'point' back at the police office eachhour on the hour. The only exception to this strict rule was the 11 pm 'point', this was tobe made at the public telephone kiosk which was situated in Staithes Road. This road wasnarrow, winding and it followed the line of the 'Gutt', the local name for the River Teams.The road gave access to the riverside, and as its name suggests, to the staithes and to theships that were moored along there.It was on a foggy autumn night that I started out on what was to be my first shift patrollingalone. Of course, I had been shown round the area for a couple of weeks prior to thisby Joe the senior constable, and I was pretty confident that I would at least be able to findmy way back to the office.I made the 11 pm 'point', in Staithes Road, but no message was received from the office.I waited in the area for a few minutes, and while I did so I saw a number ladies of acertain persuasion, who, having negotiated with the visiting sailors a price for a nightsaffection, were in the process of making their way, with their new found 'friends', down tothe docked ships. There they would no doubt fulfill their part of the contract.By midnight, the fog had become quite aproblem, visibility was down to a few yards. Ipatrolled or should I more correctly describe itas wandered round those narrow foggy streetschecking as I went for insecure premises. It wasthen, as I checked the front door of a Seamen'sOutfitters shop, that I came across my first insecureshop door.The surprise, as the door handle turned undermy hand and the door swung open, was reallyquite unnerving. As I stood there in the dark, at the open doorway, I remembered theadvice that Joe had given me for just such an occasion. The advice went something likethis.“When you find an insecure premises, walk slowly into the centre of the room, holdyour torch out to the side and then switch it on. That way if there is anyone there andthey throw something at you it will hit the torch not you”It was this advice that went through my mind as I made my way slowly into thepremises. You have to remember that there was very little light coming from the streetand I had never been into this shop before.I reached what I believed to be the centre of the room, put my arm out to the side and9

switched on my torch. The sight that was revealed to me by that torch has lived with meto this day.There, not two feet in front of me stood a man, he was tall, dressed entirely in black, asugly as sin, he had a pale, sweaty face with staring, bulging eyes, a snarling mouth halfopen, it looked as though he was ready to bite me.If there had been an Olympic Event of 'Reversed Stand Jumping', I would have won thenorthuMBerland CountY ConstaBularY Cadets –reunionBy Barry StewartL – R (Standing) Back Row – Ian Grounsell, Bryan Stewart. Middle Row - Tom Nicholson, Goff Nicholson,Allan Bowman, Percy Mather, Peter Blacklock, Brian Keenleyside, John Hope, Neil Hall, Colin Burn, HeathWaddington, Dave Reah, Bob Fulton, (head of Bryan Sim) Peter Routledge, Iain Bee, Jimmy Watson, DaveKnox. (big Ian Macaulay must have been at the bar!) Sitting – Keith Laidler, Barry Stewart, Ken Stephenson.10Back Row – Ken Anderson, Arthur Brown, Heath Waddington, Colin Pratt, Dave Reah, Eric Neale, BKen Stephenson, Jimmy Watson, Keith Laidler.Front Row – Neil Hall, Bruce Elliott, PC Bob Grant, Insp Tim Ritson, DCC Gordon Brown, AUR Scrogg

• Pasta had not beeninvented.• Curry was an unknownentity.• Olive oil was kept in themedicine cabinet• Spices came from the MiddleEast where we believedthat they were used forembalming• Herbs were used to makerather dodgy medicine.• A Takeaway was a mathematicalproblem.• A Pizza was something todo with a leaning tower.• Bananas and oranges onlyappeared at Christmastime.• The only vegetables knownto us were spuds, peas,carrots and cabbage, anythingelse was regarded asbeing a bit suspicious.• All crisps were plain; theonly choice we had waswhether to put the salt onor not.• Condimentsconsisted of salt,pepper, vinegarand brown sauce ifwe were lucky.• Soft drinkswere called pop.• Coke wassomethingthat we mixedwith coal tomake it lastlonger.• A Chinesechippy was a foreign penter.car-• Rice was a milk pudding,and never ever part of ourdinner.• A Big Mac was what wewore when it was raining.• A Pizza Hut was an Italianshed.• Spaghetti was a small townin Bolognese.eating in the 1950sReflections from Pauline Ayre• A microwave was somethingout of a sciencefiction movie.• Brown bread was somethingonly posh people ate.• Oil was for lubricatingyour bike not for cooking,fat was for cooking• Bread and jam was a punishment.• Tea was made in a teapotusing tea leaves, not bags.• The tea cosy was the forerunnerof all the energysaving devices that wehear so much about today.• Tea had only one colour,black. Green tea etc. wasnot British.• Coffee was only drunkwhen we had no tea.• Cubed sugar was regardedas a bit of an overkill.• Figs and dates appearedevery Christmas, but noone ever ate them.• Sweets and confectionerywere called toffees.• Coconuts only appearedwhen the fair came totown.• Black puddings weremined in Bolton Lancashire.• Jellied eels were peculiarto Londoners.• Salad cream was a dressingfor salads, mayonnaisedid not exist• Hors d’oeuvre was a spellingmistake.• The starter was our mainmeal.• Soup was a main meal.• The menu consisted ofwhat we were given andwas set in stone• Only Heinz made beans,any others were impostors.• Leftovers went in the dog.• Special food for dogs andcats was unheard of.• Sauce was either brown orred.• Fish was only eaten onFridays.• Fish didn’t have fingers inthose days.• Eating raw fish was calledpoverty, not sushi.• Ready meals only camefrom the fish and chipshop.• For the best taste, fish andchips had to be eaten outof old newspapers.• Frozen food was called icecream.• Nothing ever went offin the fridge because wenever had one.• Ice cream only came in onecolour and one flavour.• None of us had ever heardof yogurt.• Jelly and blancmange wasonly eaten at parties.• If we said that we were ona diet, we simply got less(more for us).• Healthy food consisted ofanything edible.• Healthy food had to havethe ability to stick to yourribs.• Calories were mentionedbut they had nothing at allto do with food.• The only criteria concerningthe food that we atewere, did we like it andcould we afford it.• People who didn’t peelpotatoes were regarded aslazy so and sos.• Indian restaurants wereonly found in India.• A seven course meal hadto last a week.• Brunch was not a meal.• Cheese only came in ahard lump.• If we had eaten baconlettuce and tomato on thesame sandwich we wouldhave been certified12

• A bun was a small cakeback then.• A tart was a fruit filledpastry, not a lady of horizontalpleasure.• The word” Barbie” was notassociated with anythingto do with food• Eating outside was called apicnic.• Cooking outside was calledcamping.• Seaweed was not a recognisedsource of food.• Offal was only eaten whenwe could afford it.• Eggs only came fried orboiled.• Hot cross buns were onlyeaten at Easter time.• Pancakes were only eatenon Pancake Tuesday, in factin those days it was compulsory.• “Kebab” was not even aword never mind a food.• Hot dogs were a typeof sausage that only theAmericans ate.• Cornflakes had arrivedfrom America but it wasobvious that they wouldnever catch on.i• The phrase “boil in thebag” would have beenbeyond our realms of comprehension.• The idea of “oven chips”would not have made anysense at all to us.• The world had not yetbenefited from weird andwonderful things like PotNoodles, Instant Mash andPop Tarts.• We bought milk and creamat the same time in thesame bottle.• Sugar enjoyed a good pressin those days, and wasregarded as being whitegold.• Lettuce and tomatoes inwinter were just a rumour.• Most soft fruits wereseasonal except perhaps atChristmas.• Prunes were medicinal.• Surprisingly muesli wasreadily available in thosedays, it was called cattlefeed.• Turkeys were definitelyseasonal.• Pineapples came in chunksin a tin; we had only everseen a picture of a real one.• We didn’t eat Croissantsin those days because wecouldn’t pronounce them,we couldn’t spell themand we didn’t knowwhat they were.• We thought thatBaguettes were aserious problem theFrench needed todeal with.• Garlic was used toward off vampires,but never used to flavourbread.• Water came out of the tap,if someone had suggestedbottling it and chargingtreble for it they wouldhave become a laughingstock.• Food hygiene was all aboutwashing your hands beforemeals.• Campylobacter, Salmonella,E.coli, Listeria, andbotulism were all called“Food poisoning.”• The one thing that wenever ever had on our tablein the fifties, “Elbows”the finanCial Crisis inCYprusCampbell Findlaythought I would give you my take on the current situation out here inCyprus. I have had a few e-mails from old friends expressing concern and Iwould like to thank them for their thoughts through The Bobby.Well, where to start? Our second home is in deep doo-doo … . In early March thebanks closed for almost two weeks. The banks with the biggest problems are The Laiki(pronounced laykey) and The Bank of Cyprus. The Laiki was the biggest hit and existsin name only now. The Bank of Cyprus (our bank) is in trouble but not so much as Laiki– if that makes sense. People were saying that everyone should have seen this financialdisaster coming … some did and transferred their funds late last year. Others got out inthe month before the banks shut because they had their cards marked by someone ‘in theknow’ Corruption in its many forms is rife – especially in the corridors of power. Anyway,thousands like Deirdre and I thought that the Bank of Cyprus was a stable institution andwould ride out the storm. In the first week after the Banks reopened we were only allowedto withdraw €100 a day and couldn’t transfer funds … on line… [or] out of the country.That temporary restriction has been eased somewhat and we can now withdraw €300 eachper day but we have to go into the bank to do it. The situation is bad but not as bad as the13

media have made it out to be.When the banks reopened we expected … noisy scenes and lots of verbal abusedirected at bank employees. That wasn’t the case at all. I was at the bank at 8.30 am onDay 1 and there were four people in front of me waiting to get in. There were three tellers… and a security guard was only allowing three people into the bank at a time – when Ileft, … there were 15 waiting to go in … quietly talking amongst themselves. The fortnightthe banks were closed was hard for a lot of people – [some businesses] were not acceptingdebit cards. Thank the Lord we had a few euros in the mattress. … our pension provider… asked if I wanted to have my pension paid into a Newcastle bank – needless to say Itook advantage of the offer. When the haircut was originally announced everyone …was going to be hit for 6.75% of [their] savings accounts, but then, [because] there isa European bond guaranteeing savings up to 100,000 euros … things were quicklychanged [to affect those] with more than €100,000. Deirdre and I are NOWHEREnear that figure but … the wealthy have lost/will lose a lot. The man in the street hasbeen affected, because employers with more than 100K in the bank have had theiraccounts frozen and some cannot pay wages. I pity [those] who may have just sold anapartment for say €120,000 and had that in the bank … . Suddenly, instead of €120Kthey only have €112K. There are a number of very wealthy Russian and Chineseinvestors … suing the government … and there is still a big question over the legislationthe government have used to STEAL people’s money. Finally, we are not allowedBank of Cyprusto take more than €1000 each off the island [currently]. We are coming back for five weeksas of 21st July and fortunately have money waiting for us in our UK account. There is astory going around that the wife of the owner of a supermarket chain was stopped at LarnacaAirport with €12 million in her suitcase! Our immediate plan is to bleed our accountsdry in case the whirling blades come around again! They reckon Slovenia is next.It will take some considerable time for Cyprus to recover from this and a lot of the problemwould go away if people paid their income tax. In Cyprus, you are allowed to earn€19,500 before you pay tax and believe it or not there are doctors, solicitors, barristers andothers in well paid jobs who declare they have earned just €19,500 per year. The mistakethey made was putting the earnings OVER €19,500 in the bank. They have been caught inthe haircut!Holiday makers should not be put off coming here – just bring enough euros with youor GBP which you can exchange in the street bucket shops. There has not been the risein street crime as has been suggested by some newspapers. The weather is glorious – itis 5th May today – it is 11.05 am and the temperature on our balcony in 29C and rising. Iwas swimming in the Med last week. We remain content here and are financially sound –looking forward to seeing the bairns and grandbairns in July.Yamas, Campbell and Deirdre Findlay.Letters to the EditorfaMiliar naMeswas a Northumbria police officer from 1970-1992 serving at Newburn, Traffic North,I Gosforth, City Centre, Byker, HQ, Wallsend, Berwick and City West before movingon to Cheshire, GMP and Cumbria.On retirement in 2001 I returned to live in the North East.I came across your website after speaking to Malcolm 'Oscar' Wild who I served with atGosforth and the West End. Malcolm and I can be regularly seen on the terraces at Hillheads,home of Whitley Bay FC.I must admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through back issues of 'Bobby' andrecognising some familiar names like Campbell Findlay - one of the great characters of myearly career.As much as I enjoyed the very well written articles and reminiscing on my time inNorthumbria, in equal measure I was also saddened by the obituaries in each back-copyas I recognised those names from my era, some of whom were not much older than me14

From recent issues, I remember with great affection Basil Cole and Davey Ness, who Iboth served with and played force rugby. Arthur Elliot who was at Tower View when Ifirst joined and provided some of the funniest incidents of my career. Phil Hayle was mysuperintendent at Byker and was a resident at Berwick when I was there.I send my regards to anyone who may remember me, keep up the good work, yourmagazine is a great read Colin PhillipsPAULINE AYre’S DRIVing CourseACCidentcan well remember the accident with the sheep. I was the ‘Tommy’ from the East EndI who was also on the course, and in the car at the time.I seem to recall we were on the A697 road near Powburn, in a on a long straight, ina Morris/Austin 1800. I was sitting dreaming away in the back seat, when, all of a sudden,there was a loud bang and the car bonnet flew up. The car stopped, and I rememberthinking (Not knowing anything about a sheep at this time) that bonnet shouldn’t haveflown open like that. When I got out, I saw that we had hit a sheep. While we were pullingourselves together, a lorry travelling the other way stopped and the driver shouted, “Haveyou bled it”. “Have we what?”, was the reply. “If you don’t know what to do, cut its headoff”. He then drove off. I remember thinking, well Pauline seems to be a bit upset anywayabout killing the sheep, it wouldn’t go down very well if the first thing we did was to cutits head off. Well anyway we didn’t do anything like that, we managed to get the accidentreported, and dealt with, and the course continued in another car in the afternoon.I seem to remember there was one hell of a lot of amusement, and laughing on thatcourse. Ray Turner was the instructor. A great instructor, with a great sense of humour. Ibroke a gear stick in one of the cars and, when it was repaired, he insisted I wear thebroken piece like a medal, as a badge of honour. We always seemed to have some funnyincident to tell at the end of the day.What became of us she asks? Well, I think Ray passed away, I moved to Berwick, andretired. Obviously still alive. It was a really great course.Tommy Charlton. Ex PC 164. later to be 1164.A Case OF Mistaken IDENTITYMy name is Ronnie Owens NARPO member number 101893. I retired in 2002 afterserving in CID in South Tyneside, RCS and Crimestoppers unit.Re the letter form Joe Todd identifying the person on a photograph with Dennis Cleughas Colin Webb. Joe has got it wrong. It is without doubt Alaister Freeburn. Al was myCID aide back in the early 1980s at South Shields CID. Good to see that Joe is still alive andkicking, I remember Joe well.Since retiring in 2002, I now live in Killiecrankie, Perthshire and work in Blair Castle,where I have met loads of ex Northumbria colleagues visiting the area.Ronnie OwensREBuke FOR THE EDITORIn my opinion your editorial (Northumbria Bobby 2012) was not worthy of thisrespected publication and represented a rather extreme political view of a democraticallyelected coalition government.It used to be the case that the police would try to be politically neutral, on the basis thatpolitics by its very nature is confrontational and today’s government could be tomorrowsopposition, However this particular editorial was a rant against the Conservatives anddemonstrated the rather biased views of you, the editor.15

New BookseDItor’s BooK reVIeW16The new role of the P.C.C. is in its infancy and to condemn it almost before it has begunis to reveal another agenda of complete denigration without any supporting evidence.Finally, your view that the Police Committee was the ideal conduit for public opinion israther naive. In my experience the relationship between the Chief Officer and the powerfulChairman of that committee was perhaps a little too close. That may be one of thereasons for this initiative and to have a system where the P.C.C can be appointed or dismissedby the electorate may be beneficial, at least in the democratic sense.If you feel that you represent the views of all N.A.R.P.O members or even a majority Isuggest that you think again and perhaps consider whether your position as editor entitlesyou to air your personal prejudices.John Bowyer Northumbria police (Retired)Murder and Crime in County Durhampaul Heslop announces his new book. Thirteen historic chapters that madeheadlines throughout the country.The book opens with the murder of Captain Johan Frederick Berckholtz of a Prussianship moored in the River Wear at Sunderland, before moving on to Mary Ann Cotton, whomurdered around twenty people by arsenic poisoning, including many of her children.There is the killing of policeman William Smith, who was stoned to death at Butterknowle,and the shooting of another, Superintendent Joseph Scott, at Durham, by a former colleague,Benjamin Wright. It includes the murder of his grandparents by Charles Conlin,who buried them alive in a shallow grave; the Mill Dam Riots at South Shields; and thecase of Mary Elizabeth Wilson, who poisoned four husbands at Hebburn and Felling, andmuch more.Illustrated with over sixty images, this collection will appeal to everyone interested intrue crime and the shadier side of Durham’s past.The Gallows TreeCrime and punishment in the eighteenth Centuryin his latest offering, Barry Redfern explores the state on criminal justice inthe eighteenth century Northumberland and Berwick upon Tweed.This appears not to have been a time for the feint-hearted, especially, we learn, whenWilliam Winter and his gang were at large. However, Winter and hisne’er-do-well crew proved to be no match for the keen eyes of twoyoung shepherd boys, Robert and Abraham nor the tenacity of parishconstable. John Brown, and others of his ilk, who set off to apprehendthose responsible for a heinous crime. Barry chronicles this and otherinstances of lawlessness in interesting detail, supporting the text withphotographs and maps, together with extracts from official records ofthe day. The content and manner of presentation immerse the readerinto the cut and thrust – and the mundane aspects, on occasions, ofthe pursuit of justice.The tales retain the reader’s interest throughout the book, told, asthey are, with supporting references, where appropriate. Recountingtales of the criminal justice system and local penal policies andinstitutions, frequently supported by photographs of the present-daysetting of those historical buildings made this book a most enjoyableread.The Gallows Tree, published by Tyne Bridge Publishing, is availableat £7.99.

Bilton Banks. The Pit and It’s Peoplegritty and down-to-earth stories and photographs from this close-knitNorth Eastern mining community.The towns and villages that arose around the coal mines of theUK, be they in Wales, the North of England or the Scottish lowlandcentre, were communities in the deepest sense. Sharing hardship,celebration and tragedy entire families lived and work alongsideeach other in a way that can only be understood by those wholived it. The whole community functioned on the shift timetablesof the pit and the health and welfare of the people depended on itscontinued functioning. The mine was a hard taskmaster and oftendemanded the ultimate in sacrifice yet the loss of British coal miningleft entire areas bereft and without purpose for a generationand indeed the effects of that loss are still evident in the some of themost deprived areas of the UK today. A look back at an era that hasgone forever yet whose legacy can still be seen in the lives and thelandscape of much of this island. (Copy courtesy of Stenlake PublishingLimited)The book is available from Stenlake Publishing Limited, (54-58 Mill Square, Catrine, Ayrshire KA5 6RD – telephone – Sales01290551122) use W H Smith as their main distributor. However, at their request, theauthor also supplied them with a number of possible local outlets, including newsagentsand post offices (Shilbottle amongst them), which may accept the book for sale.Stenlake sell the book directly to customers and this may be the simplest and quickestway to obtain copies of the book. They will take orders over the telephone, acceptingcredit and debit card details. They also accept cheques and do not charge for postage andpacking for deliveries in the UK.Barry’s book can also be obtained from Amazon, but they do charge for postage andpackaging; unless you have a free delivery option.Author: Barry Stewart. ISBN 9781840335910 Paperback £16.00the poliCe and CriMeCoMMissionera bold move towards democracy or not?By the Editorin the Winter 2012 issue of the Northumbria Bobby (the Bobby), the editorialconcentrated on the advent of police and crime commissioners about to beelected for England and Wales.One reader took the strongest exception to the commentary, calling it, “… a rant againstthe Conservatives and demonstrat[ing] the rather biased views of you, the editor” amongst otherequally passionate condemnatory criticisms. You can read the letter, published in full, inthe ‘Letters to the Editor’ section. In order to allay any ideas that may gain momentumamongst the readers of the Bobby, should the letter of rebuke remain unchallenged, Ithought I might provide some substance to the editorial of the last issue that gave rise, atleast in one instance, to censure.Was the role anD FUnCtIon oF PolICe aUthorItIesUnDerstooD BY the eleCtorate?According to a Cabinet Office survey conducted under the last Labour Government,at that time, only 7% of people in this country knew that if they have a problem with thepolice, they could go to their police authority. The Home Secretary said that the Coalition17

Government would. ‘Clearly be ensuring democratic accountability for the police at locallevel through the introduction of police commissioners, although [the Home Secretarywas] sorry that the hon. Lady ha[d] such a jaundiced view of the views of the British people.(Citation: HC Deb, 26 July 2010, c731 Teresa May in answer to a question from CarolineLucas MP)The editorial in the Bobby did not assert that police authorities functioned more effectivelythan the proposed PCC would or might do. The case was made that, pro rata, therewere more elected community representatives, some in the guise of members of the policeauthority, than would be the case with the advent of the PCC. By the very nature of theoffice, there would be but one PCC for each police force.a FlaVoUr oF What Was saID In ParlIaMent.What wouldhappen ...if they wereelectedwithout theappropriatelevel ofclearance?Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab): Many of the improvements that the Home Secretaryhas talked about are already happening on the ground in Stoke-on-Trent…Recently, however,the House might have seen a man who runs the British National party claiming that he has 1 millionfollowers – that is, 1 million people – voting BNP in the UK. What happens when the BNPstands for one of these commissioner posts, as will happen, and gets it?Mrs May: This is something that the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues have raised on a number ofoccasions, and I will give him two answers. If he looks at the voting record so far, he will see thatthe British National party has never managed to get more than 15% of the vote in an election.But let us set that to one side; I actually believe in trusting the people of this country.Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab): Given the amount of sensitive information to which theelected commissioners will have access, will they undergo security clearance before standing forelection? What would happen after the election if they were elected without the appropriate levelof clearance?Mrs May: If the hon. Lady is implying that people who wish to stand for election should somehowbe required to have security clearance, that is a new and interesting thought, but it is not one thatI intend to pursue.The reader might think that a Labour member of the House would express a partialview. In fact, it is not the substance of what was said by the Honourable Member for Stokeon Trent. It was the answer given by the Home Secretary. Referring to the BNP, she opinedthat, “the British National party has never managed to get more than 15% of the vote in an election.”Writing in the report by the Electoral Commission, Watson (2013, p.3) commentsthat in the recently-held PCC elections, “Last November turnout averaged only 15.1%.” Thisis worryingly close to the figure proffered by Mrs May. What would parliament be able todo, should a member of a minority party secure sufficient votes and become the electedPCC? Is this a firm step towards democracy, vesting in one person the powers to hire andfire a chief constable and decide the policing priorities? Some may hold the view that it is along-needed step towards democracy. The evidence would suggest otherwise.the PoWers oF the PCC anD the CheCKs anD BalanCesThe Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, 2011 sets out a number of rules governingthe PCC and those referred to here are to be found in Schedule 1:The deputy police and crime commissioner8 (4) states that Section 7 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (appointment of staffon merit) does not apply to the deputy police and crime commissioner. Police Reform and SocialResponsibility Act 2011 (My emphasis added)Scrutiny of senior appointments12(1) The police and crime commissioner may accept or reject the panel’s recommendation underparagraph 10 as to whether or not the candidate should be appointed.There are additional incidental powers that the reader may choose to follow up. Theydeal with contracts, acquiring or disposing of property and the protection from personalliabilityIt seems that a number of potentially anti-democratic principles are enshrined in theelements of the Schedule to which I have referred. Not least, it may be considered, is the18

power to appoint a deputy police and crime commissioner without the requirement toselect the appointee on merit.Was there UnIVersal sUPPort For the role oF the PCC?Researching the records of House of Commons debates on the subject shows that therewere several eminent people – individuals who had no political agenda in respect of thePCC debate – who were not convinced of the efficacy of the proposal, championed by thecurrent home secretary and the coalition.Shami Chakrabarti Public Bill Committee Thursday 20 January 2011 (Afternoon)I do not think that having a local politician direct the police is any more comforting than havinga Home Secretary with too much operational control over the police. I do not take much comfortfrom the supposed checks and balances in the Bill. It is very dangerous to put so much politicalpressure on people who are independent. They are independent in the way that judges should beindependent. Police are part of the rule of law. They are not part of the political Executive, and Iam not sure that the Bill understands that.Ian Loader: Director of the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford and afellow of All Souls College. Tuesday 18 January 2011 (Afternoon)… I will say one more thing and then I will stop. If I was starting with a blank slate and I wastrying to give practical effect to those principles, I would not have gone with the commissionermodel. One reason is just the scale; it seems to me that it is hard to say that a commissioner forDevon and Cornwall, or for Thames Valley, can be described as “local” in any meaningful sense.My personal preference would have been for locally elected police authorities, but the Governmenthave chosen not to go down that road, and we are where we are. Broadly speaking, theprinciples that animate the Bill are the right ones, but I am not convinced that this is the bestway of giving practical effect to them. Although, given that that is where we are, there are thingsthat the Committee may want to attend to in terms of how one mitigates the potential risks andmaximises the potential advantages. …Rick Muir: Associate director for public service reform at the Institute for Public PolicyResearch. I authored a book about police reform, touching on some of the issues relating toaccountability, about a year ago.Rather like Ian, I do not favour the commissioner model, because introducing an elected elementto the force level is quite remote from local people’s concerns, because some forces are very large.There are also risks involved when you hand power, particularly in policing, to just one individual.There are all kinds of advantages in holding elections around policing, as I have indicated. Thereare also certain attendant risks—basically, you may create 41 mini arms races, with candidatesfalling over one another and promising that they will be the toughest on the local crime problems,and that if they are commissioner they are going to knock the chief constable into shape.They will promise to do things that, once elected, they cannot in practice possibly deliver.In the Netherlands, they have a system with a series of local mayors, who all set their localpolicing priorities, and there is a regional structure where all the mayors from the local area sittogether and hold the regional force to account. That would have been a much more attractivesystem, which would have integrated things much better at the local level than the proposal inthe Bill.They areindependentin the waythat judgesshould beindependent.QUestIon the DeMoCratIC UnDerPInnIngIn conclusion, the premise of the editorial in The Bobby was to question the democraticunderpinning ostensibly achieved by the introduction of police and crime commissionersin England and Wales. The scope in any editorial does not permit extensive referencing.Not everyone may agree with the content of the editorial, of course. Such readers retainthe right to express their disagreement and, where it is matter of substance, to do so evidentially.There may be many former police officers who do support the premise of thePCCs. I am not one. I have laid out, with some supporting evidence, my case against. Asfor partiality on the part of the editor, a person may, in one instance, be fully supportiveof the direction of an organisation and, at another, totally opposed to the direction it is19

taking. Throughout both positions taken, he or she may still be a firm supporter of theorganisation. Disagreement and disaffection are not synonymous. The editorial, whilstmaybe short on detail was not an attack on any political party, per se. Readers must judgewhether it was worthy of, ‘this respected publication.’ By definition, a retired police officeris no longer the holder of the office of constable therefore political neutrality is not a prerequisiteof the status ‘retired’ nor the role associated with the position. A cursory reviewof previous editorials will reveal equally searching critiques of both Labour and Conservativehome secretaries together with those responsible for the mismanagement of theeducation policy in schools.the tree of loYaltYBy Gavin AarvoldBack in 1962 I was working as a forester in Sweden. My close friend, Lars,was a wild kind of guy – we were both nineteen – who had borrowed hisfather’s Volvo to take us on a double date. We were of course, the height offashion and Lars was proudly wearing the most outrageous pair of flairs.We came to a steep hill and Lars took both feet off the pedals and put them one eachside of the steering wheel on the dashboard. The girls did what girls do well at that ageand so did I – in fact soon all of us were screaming as the bottom of the hill came rushingtowards us. Lars was having great fun, until it came to the point even he thought it wouldbe wise to replace his foot on the brake. Thetrouble was his flared trouser leg ensnaredthe long gear stick and he could not free it.We careered on, straight off the road,which had turned hard right at the bottomof the hill. With a solid crash we hit a fir treedead amidships and came to an immediatehalt. Miraculously, none of us was hurt.But, as we got out of the car to examine thedamage, the tree slowly fell over, completelyuprooted. By contrast, the car showed absolutelyno damage at all; not even a smalldent on colossal fender.I am uncertain what model the car was;it had the wonderful curved back of the oldAmerican gangster sedan, with a long bonnetto match. I think the Amazon succeededit. Whatever it was, I bought my first Volvo as soon as I could afford it and have neverwavered in my loyalty since. Mind you, I tend to wear narrower trousers and keep my feeton the floor, much to my wife’s relief.BRAnCh seCRetARiesnorthUMBrIa north tYnesIDeMr. J alan tailford, david o’flanagan,15 romsey Close, 6, the haven,Cramlington, royal Quays, northne23 1nQ.shields. ne29 6Yh.secretary@0191 597 7557northumbrianarpo.org pofydof@aol.comgatesheaDJim McCoy,7 ashtree gdns,gateshead,ne9 5Bh.jimmccoy@blueyonder.co.ukeDItor: north.bobby@freeuk.com www.northumbrianarpo.orgsUnDerlanDMr. arthurpattison, MBe.10, Cliffe Court,sunderland,sr6 9nt.soUth shIelDsMr. harrysprouting,2 field terrace,Jarrow,ne32 5ph.DUrhaMMr. Barry Crawford,8 Warwick place,peterlee, Countydurham,sr8 2eZ.©2013 northumbria Branches of narPo and the contributors named herein.all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.the views expressed within this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily representthe views of northumbria narPo.Printed by Bakershaw Print ltd, Unit 8b, north tyne Industrial estate, north tyneside, ne12 9sZ.20