My father was born in a small village in
Suffolk
and in the 1920’s served in the Coldstream Guards. At the age of 22 he joined the Northamptonshire Police Force. After 18 months stationed at Wellingborough he was posted to Long Buckby where he remained until the outbreak of the Second World War.
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(Left) With the Coldstream Guards (Right) Military Police 1940
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He was then called up into the Military Police serving mainly in
London
and, in the last year of the war, in
Baghdad
,
Iraq
. He returned to Long Buckby at the end of the war and in 1947 was promoted to sergeant and posted to Burton Latimer.
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(Left) PC58 (Centre and Right) Baghdad 1945
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We lived at
17 Finedon Road
in the first of the pair of police houses with the office in the centre. In those days the sergeant and the constable, in the adjoining house, manned the office by day and night and operated the office telephone switchboard in addition to their other duties. The police wives were not allowed to take outside work at that time but were expected to carry out the office duties if the officers were not present. The house next door was occupied first by PC George Ward and then by PC “Jock”
Paterson
. There was a third officer, PC Johnny Firkin, living in
Newman Street
. In addition to these constables, there were other officers based at Geddington and Broughton - both villages being part of the Burton Latimer section along with Warkton, Weekley, Pytchley and Grafton Underwood. In order to supervise this area it was necessary for my father to purchase a car on moving to the town and he had to borrow the cash in order to do so.
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1951
On the Police Station drive
with his second car
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Boughton House was part of the area policed by my father and this was the era of royalty frequently visiting the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and the Earl of Dalkeith. Princess Margaret often visited, together with Princess Alexandra.
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Princess Alexandra visiting Warkton Church whilst staying
at Boughton House in about 1951.
Sergeant George Thurlow on crowd control.
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Well-known stars of the day such as Douglas Fairbanks Jnr also attended the house parties. I was allowed to accompany my father sometimes and peep at the celebrities! I also used to visit the walled garden there and from time to time met the Duchess as she checked on produce for the house.
One of the memorable events that my father was involved in policing in 1952 was the double murder at Ashton, near Oundle, when an elderly gamekeeper and his wife, George and Lilian Peach were brutally slain. My father was detailed to attend this scene for the three months’ investigation but the murder was never solved.
A regular period of duty each year entailed policing the Silverstone Grand Prix. He hated this spell of duty directing traffic, etc.
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On retirement day in 1975 with his last
customer, Derek White of Elmcott Poultry
Farm at Caldecote near Biggleswade
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In 1956, after 25 years service, he decided to quit the police force following a plan to move him to
Kettering
as a town sergeant. A countryman at heart, he had no desire to immerse himself in town duties. Following his retirement he worked as a salesman of one-day chicks for W D Evans, the company based in the farm opposite the entrance to
Churchill Way
, and eventually for similar organisations, retiring from this work in 1975. At the time of his death in 1980 he was still employed during the summer months on the part-time staff looking after the public as they visited Boughton House.
My father replaced PS Sid Richardson who retired in 1947. In 1956 my father was followed by PS Arthur ‘Darkie’ Ellis and then PS Frank Spokes. He had served during the war years with ‘Darkie Ellis’ who was a good friend and was also instrumental, whilst living at Long Buckby, in helping Frank Spokes to join the force.
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