2012-11 - New Zealand Police Association

FeatureMemories are made of theseMany police employees collect official memorabilia.Graham Morrell, who runs the 111 Club, has a specialreason to continue his hobby, he tells Deb Stringer.A defunct badge forNyasaland, now Malawi.Of all the items Sergeant GrahamMorrell has collected over theyears, a police teddy that belongedto his late son Ian remains front and centreof his police insignia collection.Graham has been building his impressivecollection for 33 years and although itincludes more than 5000 badges, patches,hats and teddies from around the world,Sergeant Ted Moriarty will always be hismost prized possession.“My boy Ian who died when he was 14was really into collecting like me, so wethought it was fitting to deck out his tedwith a custom-made police uniform andadd a miniature long-service leave badgeand give him his own QID [Ian’s date ofbirth] to pay homage to him.”These days Ted Moriarty spends a lot oftime in the Napier forensic photographer’soffice, a job Graham has held for 32 of the37 years he has been with Police.Ted Moriarty does venture out onoccasional field trips, including to theannual Police 111 Club’s Swap Meet heldin Taupo. Graham has been running theclub since the mid-90s and membership isopen to all emergency service enthusiaststhroughout Australasia, with its annualmeeting giving its 31 members thechance to display their latest and greatestcollections.A shield in memory of Graham’s sonis awarded each year to the person whois voted as having the most impressivecollection.“It’s really nice to have the shield becauseit’s just another way to keep my boy’smemory alive. It is one of the centralreasons why I continue my commitment tothe club,” Graham says.Graham’s memorabilia includes Britishbadges, K9, Air Support and PoliceTed Moriarty belonged to Graham’s son Ian, also akeen collector, who died when he was 14.Graham Morrell says internet sites such as TradeMe and eBay have killed off some of the trading aspectsof his hobby, which may be a problem with a silver lining, as he’s running out of space for his collection.Academy displays along with his mostrecent collection – badges from countriesthat no longer exist or have changed theirnames, such as Nyasaland (now Malawi),New Guinea (now Papua New Guinea andIrian Jaya) and Yugoslavia (now dividedinto several regions).Getting insignia is not always easy, saysGraham. “These days, websites like TradeMeand eBay have killed off the trading aspectof the hobby, which is a shame because noweveryone expects something from their tattyold patch or badge,” he says.Composing handwritten letters tobuild-up international contacts is anotheraspect of the hobby that had died out sincethe introduction of technology. “I wouldhave written hundreds of letters over theyears and although I still get to make somecontacts via email and have made life-longfriends, it’s not quite the same and a coupleof years back I was thinking I may have tostop collecting because I was finding it veryhard to access the things that were missingin my collection.”That feeling subsided though andGraham is now on the hunt for a helmetfrom the City of London Police to fill a gapin his collection.“Even though I don’t actively collect hats,this collection has grown to over 100 withthe most recent addition being a helmetfrom the Isle of Man.”Another stand-out in his hat collection isan Italian feathered Lucerna, traditionallyworn by the Italian police, which he pickedup eight years ago.Although there are many items out therethat Graham would love to have in hiscollection, he says he is unsure how long hewill continue to collect simply because heis fast running out of room to store all histreasures.“It has definitely been a hobby which Ifeel has enriched my life and I guess I willcontinue to do it as long as it makes mehappy,” Graham says.Another hobby of Graham’s is restoringold photographs. He is interested inhearing from anyone who wishes to haveold police photos restored. Graham canbe contacted at graham.morrell@police.govt.nz.new zealand police aSSOCIATION november 2012 265