Some items belonging to and photos of an Essex Bobby.

[ChrisB]

Thought there might be some interest in these items. I'm not a collector of Police items but these mean quite a lot to me as they were my Dads. He joined the Police not long after leaving the merchant navy in 1947 and stayed till he left the UK for New Zealand in 1959. He would have quite happily joined the NZ police but they wanted him to go back to Police College for awhile and he was not prepared to leave my mother all alone in a new country.

Just a little group of his items including two of his Essex helmet plates (Kings crown), his cap badge, his number from his epilates (PC 601), police buttons, two awards he received as a member of the police tug of war team (1955,1956), his police athletic championship blazer badge (queens crown) and what I thought was his whistle chain but looking at the photos might just be a watch chain.

Anyway I hope you have enjoyed and if you want a closer photo of anything I will do my best to do it.

Cheers

Chris

Edited January 8, 2007 by ChrisB

[ChrisB]

I have a few photos from my dads time in the Police force so thought I would show a few here.

Fist up is my dad beside the radio car (somewhere I have is licence/permit to drive the radio car but I couldn?t find it at the moment).

[ChrisB]

A group shot in front of his station I think.

[ChrisB]

His Officers and sgt's.

[ChrisB]

A shot of the tug of war team and some of the silverware.

[ChrisB]

From the coronation 1953.

[ChrisB]

Last photos. I think these were either taken before setting up for the group photos shown in post #3 & 4, or for the coronation as they have their gongs on, even my dad is wearing his.

Cheers

Chris

Edited January 8, 2007 by ChrisB

[Guest Rick Research]

Did he get the Coronation Medal for that duty?

[ChrisB]

As fas I know he didn?t. At least the medal is not in his belongings along with the rest of his police items. To be honest I never thought about dad being eligible for this medal. Do you know what the requirements were and would it be possible to get it now? (dad passed away 1976).

Cheers

Chris

[leigh kitchen]

Are you sure about the dates of service? The photo of your dad & the radio car shows him in the open neck tunic, which I think came was introduced in 1960, another photo shows a group, some in high neck, some open neck.

Although worn on the shoulder straps nowadays & in some cases on a breast badge instead, the numbers are still referred to as "collar numbers" harking back to the old tunics.

[ChrisB]

Hello Leigh,

I got the date my dad and mum left the UK wrong it was 1957 not 1959. Not sure when dad started in the police force but he was in for about 7-9 yrs. By 1960 he was living in NZ though. But having a closer look at the photo in post #3 and not only are some bobbies wearing high collars and others not but there are a few different helmet pates being worn and some of the helmets have crests while others don't. I always assumed these were all from the same station as dad but most probably they are from different parts of the UK. No idea why they are all together perhaps this was a training course or something to do with the coronation, I wish I knew for sure. If you have a look at the photo in # 7 they all seem to be wearing the open type jackets (looks as though there are some plain clothes in the background). Perhaps the open jacket was peculiar to the Romford coppers before the 1960's.

Cheers

Chris

Edited January 9, 2007 by ChrisB

[leigh kitchen]

It could be that the open tunics were on a trial issue prior to adoption nation wide.

I was wondering if the group shot with the variety of tunics etc is actually a training college shot, at two of the men (rear left & rear second from right) appear to be City of London Polices

Certainly by 1980 Essex were wearing the crested pattern helmet as opposed to the rose or "t*t" type with enamelled or rather plastic central design to the plate, I think with chrome fittings & possibly a black plastic band, possibly blackend brass? I have photos somewhere but they're not really relavant to this thread.

I think the terms for the two different styles of helmetare "Guardian" & "Home Office".

[ChrisB]

The photo in post #3 could be at training college. It would probably make sense with the different uniforms on display. One question though, are assignments of personnel and uniforms ready by the time of graduation? Of course there is no way to know the time line on this or how long after graduation the photo was taken but would a copper know which station he was going to by the time he finished police college?

Cheers

Chris

[Tom King]

I think you are right about the training college photo. Recruits would have joined the individual forces and probably gone to a joint training college for initial training prior to being posted to stations within their respective forces. As for the Coronation Medal I am sure the PRO at Kew holds the medal role for the QEII Coronation Medal. If he was entitled he will be on the list. The Coxcombe helmet was probably adopted by Essex Police in the 1960s when several local Constabularies merged to become the Essex Police. In 1965 Romford Police Station was handed to the Metropolitan Police when the GLC boundaries changed. Romford was actually one of the bases for the Bow Street Horse Patrol as early as 1805. Interesting photos thanks for posting them.

[Guest pikemedals]

hi, i do love your dad photo,s.thanks paul

[ChrisB]

Thanks very much for the compliments and information Pikemedals and Tom. Have a few more of dads police photos so thought, as there is some interest, I would show them.

The first one appears to be taken in a classroom. If you have a look at the photo in post #3 & 4 the sgt in this photo looks like the middle sgt in post #3 and the front row left hand sgt in photo #4 ( they all seem to have some sort of qualification badge on the cuff of their right sleeve).

[ChrisB]

Given that the uniforms are different I think these photos must be from around the time of dads police college days again.

[ChrisB]

Probably taken at the same time as the photos above. I wonder if those barrack like rooms in the background are the classrooms. The old building in the left hand side background of the bottom photo looks fairly impressive. Bit of a long shot but does anyone recognise it?

[ChrisB]

Again this one was probably taken at the same time as the above ones. Looks like he is looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack (well not a haystack but a bit of long grass perhaps). Cant have been easy with those white gloves on.

[ChrisB]

Last photo. Unfortunately I don?t have many stories of dads time in the police but one of the family tales involves one of the times he got into a bit of bother. As you can probably see by the photos dad was a fairly solidly built chap and at 6ft 4in he didn?t have too much of a problem with those likely lads he nicked, the likely ladies well that?s another story. The story goes that dad was called out to a domestic with some other coppers and the wife shows obvious signs of being hit so they go to arrest the husband the wife takes a sudden dislike to this news and while my dads back is turned she hits him with a kitchen chair hard enough to fracture a rib. Never turn your back on a angry women. I always see a women who looks like Andy Capps wife when I hear this story, hair in curlers but without the rolling pin.

The other story is a bit lighter on details but it does have a photo. It seems the chap in the photo was suffering from either too much drink or had a mental condition and decided for whatever reason that it would be a good idea to climb the street light and perch at the top. This photo probably appeared in the newspaper the Romford Times as the back of the photo has the photographers name and the fact he was a photographer for that paper.

Hope you have enjoyed looking at these photos as much as I have enjoyed shearing them.

Cheers

Chris

[Nick]

Cheers Chris

Nice family history and interesting photos of a bygone age. If my memory serves me correctly I have seen police photos with similar badges on uniforms and I think they may be for a first aid qualifications.

[leigh kitchen]

"Probably taken at the same time as the photos above. I wonder if those barrack like rooms in the background are the classrooms. The old building in the left hand side background of the bottom photo looks fairly impressive. Bit of a long shot but does anyone recognise it?"

Looks like Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire, it's now an activities centre, conference centre, hotel - something like that.

Just done a search on the web - there are quite a few sites on it - you can even take the missus there for a romantic weekend & some tuition in medievel axe throwing.

In all seriousness, you have the chance to follow in dads footsteps but without the parades, exams & cross country runs - nice surroundings.

http://www.eynshamhall.com/

I've just thought - Eynsham Hall fetured in the Roger Graf series "Police" in about 1980 - 81.

An appalling series from a police point of view (a big well done to Sir Peter Imbert for that one) - Graef managed to find police officers who were a little different & less capable than the norm, but anyway - one of the episodes features police training at Eynsham Hall.

Edited January 11, 2007 by leigh kitchen

[leigh kitchen]

Cheers Chris

Nice family history and interesting photos of a bygone age. If my memory serves me correctly I have seen police photos with similar badges on uniforms and I think they may be for a first aid qualifications.

Possibly the St John's qualification badge, circular, about 2" diametere & of white metal, but I thought these were worn on the right upper sleeve.

[ChrisB]

Thanks very much for the info Leigh. Just googled the name and from the photos online it certainly seems to be the place. Will eventually get to the UK sometime in the future and this is now one of the places I will put on my list to check out. Though I?m not to sure about the medieval axe throwing lessons for the missus.

Cheers again I appreciate it.

Chris