成人快手

I joined the Birmingham City Police in 1953. I think I had always wanted to be a policeman.听 I was advised by a police officer, who was a friend of my father, that Birmingham was a very progressive force and that was where I should go.

Traing Rex - Harborne 1962

On the day I joined there were about ten of us recruits and the Chief Constable, EJ Dodd introduced us to Sir David Maxwell-Fife, the 成人快手 Secretary and I was introduced as the youngest post-war recruit.

Whistle and truncheon

In those days we were only allowed out with an experienced constable for about a month and then we were allowed out on our own on nights for two months which if this period was in the winter you became very pale and blinked when you saw sunlight.

We were given a 'beat' card and we had to learn all the roads on the sub-division. In those days you only had a whistle and truncheon which encouraged you to learn a lot about human behaviour very quickly. I worked in the Sparkhill area and lived at the station,听 we were always on reserve even when off duty.

Taking notes on a bus collision

On my first day I was in awe when I encountered the amount of traffic in Birmingham in comparison to my home in Wales. Also the number of shopkeepers who tapped their windows as you walked past their shops with an invitation for a cup of tea.

Sights on the CID

I had been a grade one police driver very early in my service and I seemed to be very lucky at the number of arrests I made. I was invited to become attached to the CID with a view to a permanent position.

The best job in the force

I had said yes to the Detective Chief Inspector, but when a vacancy came up on the Dog Section, which I had always regarded as the best job in the police force, I jumped at it because you were involved in most incidents and qualified as an expert in that particular field, meaning that even senior officers could not tell you how to handle your dog.

Training Rex

No place on earth is an easy place to police because you don't know what crisis is around the corner,听 a sense of humour was essential and did we have some very funny incidents! There was also a great deal of tragedy which policemen had to learn how to handle very quickly.

Mainly I remember the enjoyable parts when we made our own decisions. I did not like the idea of arresting people for听many offences and handcuffing them, we only handcuffed violent people.

I worked with Rex for ten years. Unfortunately some police dogs had to be put down on retirement, but some had a lovely temperament and were allowed either to stay with their handler or find a new home. Rex became a pet on a farm.