Claude reflected over the years he had known both these mates who enjoyed the booze but other than that they were harmless to society, likeable rogues was a very accurate description of them. In all the dealings Claude had with them they always got on and even now in old age, he would make a point of visiting Andy now he was aware he was a “Resident” the whisky? Well Claude would see how things panned out.”
Chapter 19
Arriving in the large village of Churchton it was twenty five miles south of Copton it was to be a new experience for Claude. The area lived up to its reputation of being a picturesque place. It was surrounded by wonderful hills occupied by grouse. The residents of the area were mainly professional people with some council owned properties in which those serving the middle and upper classes resided.
The police station had been built in 1840 the date of the inauguration of the force. At one time it had been occupied by a superintendent but in modern times a sergeant commanded it and he lived in the house attached. Two uniform constables lived in houses at the rear of the police station and there was a rural officer who lived some five miles away. The sergeant also commanded another similar office about fourteen miles away on the other side of the hills.
It was to all intent a classical place in which to serve as a police officer.
Claude new the sergeant having previously served with him, he had also served at Ashton many years previous, a tall quiet smart man a very experienced and competent officer. He was, over six feet and his turnout was always immaculate.
He worked from 9am to 5pm unless called out to attend anything, which required a sergeant to supervise. He, to quote a phrase had it all sown up. He arrived at 9am, checked all the messages until 11am prompt when his wife arrived with a tray of tea, which included any constables who were inside.
The sergeant was of the old school; he was fully in command and had the added advantage for his constables was that he got on very well with the divisional commander. One day a new Inspector arrived from the main police station and to quote a phrase tipped the place upside down, everything was wrong. Nothing was said to him but once he had had left the sergeant called to Claude, “Get me the chief super on the phone.” He normally had his telephone calls dialled for him. Claude did as he was requested and put the chief super through; the sergeant spoke to him for about five minutes. The Inspector never visited the police station again.
Claude’s next-door neighbour was rather on the small side for a policeman in those days. One day he was walking the town with his sergeant when it was noticed he seemed much smaller in height. The sergeant stepped off the pavement and said, “You walk on the pavement, I will walk in the road, it will make you look taller.”
It was the type of area where the police knew everyone, or else, and everyone knew the local police. Tickets for the annual police ball were always sold out within two days of going on sale in October for the ball in December.
Claude was keen in those days and one of his fads was checking for defective tyres. He hadn’t realised it at the time of course but it appears the locals made it known. At Christmas he arrived in the office when the sergeant had called him
“Friendly can you come in here?”
When Claude arrived the sergeant handed him a parcel and said, this is from the locals. Claude opened it to find it was a pair of kneepads.
The Sergeant viewing the parcel being opened looked didn’t say anything but winked. Claude got the message.
The local undertakers name was Fred, he was known locally as “Fred the Dead.” He attended all calls to sudden deaths and knew the system off pat. One day Claude attended one such death and Fred arrived.
They both searched the old man lying on the bedroom floor, Claude noted the property on his person and then got Fred to witness it and subsequently a member of the family signed as having received it.
Claude and Fred left, the body was entered appropriately and subsequently Claude attended the post mortem. Finally submitting the death report it being a natural death there would be no Inquest.
On arriving for duty some day or two later the sergeant called him into his office.
“Friendly a member of the family from that sudden death has telephoned me to say the diamond ring from the old man is missing. The daughter is adamant it was on the body at the time of the death, you have until you go off duty to sort it out before I report the matter.”
Claude was out of the office like lightening and within minutes he was in the coffin making room of Fred the dead, Fred assured him he had not seen any ring. This of course didn’t mean much but it was something, Claude could smell big trouble ahead.
He finally arrived at the house hoping to make a further search in case the ring was lying around. He had only just arrived when he on high looked down upon him in the form a ringing telephone. The daughter who alleged she had definitely observed the ring on her father just before his death spoke to someone on the phone talking to him or her of the missing ring.
She hesitated, stopped, replaced the phone and with a look of embarrassment said, “That was my other sister she has the ring it seems father gave it to her whilst she visited him the day of his death.”
No apology was made but Claude was grateful the matter had been cleared up.
Claude had a similar case of relative who said on receiving the personal property of their father who had been killed driving a lorry. They had not been given his wallet and there was a good deal of money in it for he had just been paid. A search was made there was no sign of any wallet neither in the mans` property or in the lorry. A report was made and an enquiry about to be launched. The following day whilst the post mortem was held the wallet was found. Due to the impact it had been forced through his clothes into his chest cavity. The wallet was then handed over, there was no enquiry.
It was an area in which the police had and were still expected to give assistance, which these days would not be considered by officers. Whilst walking the town the cars often parked nose into the pavement. It was common for an elderly lady driver to request an officer if he would, “reverse my car out please?” Officers complied with the request.
Claude had a misfortune one day when making a call to a rougher area, having parked his van near a lamp post on leaving the side of his van struck a lamp post causing damage to the nearside wing.
Arriving back at the police station he reported the matter to the sergeant who came outside and said, “If you have damaged a police car you will be suspended from driving, I am not on duty until 9 am, I see nothing, have a word with Pat,” he turned and left.
The other constable said. “Pat has a garage on the other side of the village he does body work.”
Claude visited him and he looked and said, “I am going away on holiday tomorrow,” he hesitated then said, “Leave it here I will do it tonight.”
Claude returned to the office and that night revisited the scene armed with a bucket of water, washing up liquid and a brush.”
The following morning at about 10 am the sergeant called him, “Friendly can you come in here?”
Arriving in the office he said in the presence of a man seated there.
“This fellow alleges he saw you bang the police van against a lamppost yesterday day, know anything about it."
“No,” replied Claude.
Only one way to find out said the sergeant and the three went outside the van was examined there was no damage,
The man insisted and said, “This is strange there was paint all over the lamppost.” This necessitated a visit to the scene but a close inspection revealed no traces or sign of debris or paint marks.
The man commented, “I must be losing it,” and walked off.
One day Claude was collecting something from the police car parked on the road outside the office. The road was fairly isolated. There was a screech of brakes as a passing car came to a sudden halt. Claude looked up; it was the current training officer who had been passing. He climbed from his car, put on
his cap and shouted at Claude, “Helmet, helmet, you are in the street with no helmet or cap on, go and get one don’t let me see you in the street again with no head gear.”
He returned to his car and drove off Claude had to smile for he was the very sergeant who years before had reported some fellow coppers for drinking after hours and had been having it off with some woman in a club he was also married of course. As a result his motorcycle had been nicked and he got into trouble. It was some comfort for Claude to look at him, recall the incident and he thought he never realised Claude was aware of it.
One day Claude was off duty when a man arrived at his rear door. Claude’s wife answered the door and immediately there was a rumpus outside. The man could be heard saying, “Your husband has been having it off with my wife I demand to see him. With that he barged into the house. On arrival he looked and said to Claude, who are you?”
“He is my husband,” came the reply.
The man was even more frustrated and began to shout, “that is not him,” with that there was the sound of a door close and on looking the man, a farmer saw Claude’s next door neighbour leaving the house. “That’s him,” he called and ran out.
The next day the superintendent arrived with a policewoman, the following day Claude’s neighbour was moved to another station.
One day a patrol car arrived and the driver walked to the police station reporting to the sergeant that he had been despatched the twenty or so miles from Copton to check the distance from the rural police office and how long it took a vehicle to travel it. The new divisional commander had seen the details of a call the rural officer had made and wasn’t happy with the time off arrival and so had sent a patrol car to travel the route to check.
Claude was visiting Ashton one day and whilst in the town had seen that a local estate agent was advertising two bungalows about to be built. Claude had fancied living in his own house and so sought permission, his report was returned with one word “Approved.”
He put things into motion and some six months later he was to move from Churchton
Claude submitted his report to move and received this reply to his report.
“Noted and approved, there is no possibility this officer will be permitted to work at Ashton Police Station. He will travel the 20 miles each way journey daily, at his own expense.”
This was bitter news, and had not been mentioned in the original permission.
The consequences were that Claude would finish some evenings at 10 pm arriving home just before 11pm. He would have to rise on the days of the quick change over at 4. 30 am, leaving at 5 am to parade at 5.45 am.
There was no more to be said, it was a case of getting down to it and not complaining.
Chapter 20
Claude did as he was instructed but now decided that promotion may well be a possibility but could he pass the examination? He had only attended the old Secondary Modern School leaving there at the age of fifteen years without any qualifications. The initial police entrance examination was a close run thing between passing and failure.
In such circumstances for instances when he been down graded to a lower at school, this had not made him despondent but had only made him more determined to succeed.
He decided to purchase a correspondence course in law. In preparation he made a study lectern. He commenced a course taking a whole year spending all his off duty time in study. The course finished and the day of the sergeant’s examination arrived.
Claude visited a large hall in Copton together with all the other candidates. When he turned each of the papers over he could not believe his eyes. He knew the answer to every question in fact he had answered them all before in his test on the course. He was now faced with a dilemma, as the questions were a choice of several. He was uncertain which he knew best. It was with trepidation and after a delay when he could see the invigilators were of the opinion he didn’t know the answer to anything. The questions gave scenarios of events and asked for the law on each subject.
Having started writing late he finished early for his tutors had taught him of the brevity of answering questions briefly but including all the required information. It was in fact certain words they were looking, such as, with intent, without reasonable excuse and so on.
The examination over all returned to their stations and it was some weeks later that Claude paraded for duty one day to be told to report to Copton Divisional Headquarters. On arrival the Chief Superintendent informed Claude he had passed the examination further was positioned top in the force and fourth in the results for the whole country. He instructed Claude to sign an application to attend the Promotion board he was sent next door to the typist who typed it there and then all he was required to do was sign.
Some weeks afterwards he and two other officers were travelling to see the Chief Constable. There was rumour officers were promoted in order of preference as submitted by the Divisional Commander. Those who were low down on the list having regard to the number of vacancies where normally asked unanswerable questions so that when they were unsuccessful they blamed themselves and not their senior officers or the system. The Chief Constable made it known to Claude he was very pleased with his results and that he would be promoted.
Having been successful in the examination Claude was posted to the small riverside town of Riverport.
When he arrived the area was knew to him. He moved into his allocated police house and was soon off to the force-training centre to attend a newly promoted sergeant’s course. The course was interesting giving some advice of life as a supervising officer; Claude had seen many such men in his career, now it was his turn to make some decisions.
The course was more relaxed than the constable’s courses a result of which students were permitted to leave the establishment during the evening. There is however always someone who tests the system.
Outside the centre entrance gates lived one of the chief officers who was not much pleased to be awoken in the early hours when a Scottish student armed with bagpipes had been standing at the main gates playing Amazing Grace.
The four weeks course finished, Claude finally arrived at Riverport and on arrival he met with the station commander. He was no longer referred to by surname or collar number but as Sarge.
The station commander at this police station was a man who had already completed his 30 years service but had stayed on. There was a phrase to describe him, it was rare, especially in the police service, and the phrase was “Gentleman.”
He saw Claude and briefed him as to what was required; as usual there were some changes as there was between all police stations.
On Claude’s first early morning shift he made certain the union flag was raised as per his leader’s instructions, well not quite. At 9 am the boss arrived with pipe in mouth.
“Is there a state of emergency or disaster sarge?” He asked.
“Not as I am aware,” replied Claude.
“I see I just wondered why you are flying the flag upside down that means it is a distress signal,” he turned and left.
Claude ran up onto the roof and with some further advice from one the senior constables the flag was flying OK.
After some days there was to be a raid of the camping site of some itinerants. A large number of officers took part and it was successful.
Whilst at the site an incident which had occurred some months ago in Ashton was reactivated. The town of Ashton had a large carnival for countless years. It was massive; the parade was so long that when the front of it had gone around the town and was about to enter the road from a sports ground having finished the route, the end of the parade was just entering the town. This event had been successful for many years and was supported by dancing troops and bands from a wide area. On this occasion a local sports body had decided to serve intoxicating liquor. The local louts had been drinking since early morning and when the afternoon arrived many were the worse for drink. There was a fair ground and many women and children were attending. Claude, hi
s sergeant, another officer and some special constables were policing the function.
During the afternoon the youths now the very worse for drink left the clubhouse, caused severe damage to the fair, a pram with a baby was turned upside down; the two police cars were rocked and nearly turned over. The youths rampaged off into the nearby railway yard. They broke into some railway good wagons. Many thousands of pounds of damage was caused. From that time onwards the railway authorities refused permission for their land to be used, as a result there were no further large carnival events, a typical result of an organisation intending to increase its funds and brought in drink to what had been a family occasion, the reader may agree or disagree, in any event there were no more large carnivals.
Most of the youths were known and arrested but one an itinerant had fled.
On this particular day, some years later the main raid completed Claude went up to a man sitting by the campfire. Leaned over him and said
“Hello Mr Sands, we are looking for you, remember the carnival at Ashton, I have been looking for you for two years.”
Claude arrested him and locked him up at his new police station.
Enquiries with the magistrate’s clerk office indicated the papers had been destroyed due to the time lapse.
“Don’t worry about that," said Claude, “I have a copy of the full file.”
The youth was returned to Ashton and dealt with.
A fellow but very experienced sergeant at his new posting was helpful to Claude with advice when he saw the station inspector was giving Claude some hassle over the ash tray located on the counter at the entrance to the police station.
“Don’t worry Claude,” he had said. “When I first arrived he gave me the same hassle so I resolved to stop him. This one day before he arrived I emptied the ashtray, then washed it and dried it. When he arrived he was just about to moan, “Sergeant the ash tray is dirty get it cleaned.”
Police Memories Page 34