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9 December 2017 www.surrey-constabulary.com Editor Robert Bartlett 938at938@gmail.com

Surrey Constabulary History Journal 36

Lord Imbert had written inside the cap P. IMBERT, ACC Surrey April 76 –

June 77, DCC Surrey July 77 – Feb 79.

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Contents

Lord Imbert Page 3

Constables Pay 1958 – 1960 Page 11

PCs Firman and Leedham Page 12

1970s Dorking Page 13

PC Firman and a pile of bones 1984/5 Page 14

PC Francis Fielding First World War veteran Page 15

Surrey Constabulary officers serving in the First World War Page 17

Cobham police station Page 22

PC Allen Mason of Chobham Page 22

Superintendent Eric Boshier Page 32

PSU deployments Page 33

Reigate Borough Police 1936 Page 38

Book Reviews Page 43

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Lord Imbert, Baron Imbert of New Romney

Kt, CVO, QPM, DL Late Commissioner of the Metropoliton Police

Deputy Chief Constable and ACC Surrey Constabulary 1976-1979

Born 27 April 1933 Died 13 November 2017 aged 84

Peter Imbert came to national attention in the 1975 Balcombe Street siege when a car chase in central London resulted in four members of the IRA holding two hostages for several days. The terrorists wanted to take the man and woman whose flat they had ended up with to Ireland but Scotland Yard refused. Imbert was chief negotiator.

The son of a farmer, Lord Imbert was educated at a grammar school in Folkestone. After National Service, in the RAF, and he joined the Metropolitan Police in 1953. For the first three years of his service he was stationed at Bow Street, before joining CID and, soon after, Special Branch. This gave him a grounding the intelligence and anti-terrorism, which informed his career.

In 1973 Imbert had been was appointed Deputy Operational Head of the Met’s Anti-Terrorist Squad. During the six-day siege Peter Imbert’s shorthand skills were put to

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good use, and the media, which desperately sought a terrorist-buster, dubbed him “Mr Cool” – the urbane, slightly anonymous figure was a very British police hero.

Imbert’s career accelerated in the late 1970s, taking him from Chief Superintendent to Chief Constable in only four years. After three years as Assistant and then Deputy Chief Constable in Surrey, he became in 1979 the country’s youngest chief officer, at the age of 46, with the Thames Valley force.

Controversially in 1981 he allowed the BBC to film a documentary series on his force. The episode that continues to arouse passions among police and non-police alike featured the heavy-handed treatment of a woman claiming to have been raped. The storm of protest that followed led to a reappraisal of police attitudes and procedures that fully vindicated the Chief Constable’s bravery in allowing cameras to intrude into police work. Imbert’s spirit of openness, though, was bitterly resented within certain police circles, leaving him to explain: ‘‘I think the public are not only entitled, but almost have a duty, to know the difficulties of policing.’’ It was a welcome view at Scotland Yard.

Avuncular and forthright, Imbert joined the Met in 1985 as Deputy Commissioner and proceeded to put a human face on the organisation that it sorely lacked, not least among his colleagues.

By the time he became Commissioner in 1987, the Met had gained a slicker image thanks to his innate talent for PR.

Imbert and his team had an awesome series of serious problems to deal with, all carried out in the full glare of national and international publicity, much of which emanated from the perceived role of Met officers during the miners’ strike, which lasted from 1984 to 1985.

His tenure survived the Broadwater Farm riots, the Wapping dispute, the poll-tax riot, and the failure of Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Yet he emerged unscathed by any of these problems.

Imbert was knighted in 1988. In 1990 he launched his chief legacy, the Plus programme. Whether one sees this as an attempt to improve the service or as an effort to smother criticisms concerning the Met’s lack of accountability is open to debate, what is certain is that no other senior officer has ever implemented such a far-reaching programme of self-assessment. The seminars and in-depth reviews of the Plus programme prompted other forces to face up to their inadequacies and the resulting process of introspection has continued to this day.

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His effect on policing in Britain was complex. He called out the need for an FBI-style national detective agency and also stressed the value of community initiatives. He supported corporal punishment for hooligans, and lent his full weight to specialised units to deal with domestic violence. Lord Imbert will be remembered as a man who opened up police work to the public gaze while retaining his focus on national security. His advocacy of the merits of self-criticism and introspection will be felt for a long time.

Independent Newspaper

ACC Surrey Constabulary

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1977 Surrey Constabulary senior officers at Mount Browne including ACC Peter

Imbert

Peter Imbert, Peter Mathews, Brain Hayes and Ian Kane all to be

Chief Constables

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Off Beat

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ACC Imbert Surrey Constabulary

Commissioner Imbert

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IRA The Times (London, England), Thursday, May 06, 1993

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Lord Lieutenant for London 1998- 2008

Lord Imbert in deep retirement on a visit to Imber Court

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Constables Pay 1958 1960

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Stephen Firman and Dick Leedham B20 Reigate Hill in 1978 or 1979

Reigate Divisional Crime Car, Mk 2 Cortina

Stephen Firman and Dick Leedham

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Dorking Police Station Peter Cole, Steve Firman, WPC Steve Lane and Les Martin 1970s

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All in a day’s work

Steve Firman in a photo taken by SOCO around 1984-85 at the back of Reigate police station. Barry Williams is holding the scull and Steve has a femur. Builders in Reigate had unearthed a very old burial and someone decided to bring all the bones back to the police station. I really can’t remember much more about it but we kept the photos under wraps, as they may have appeared insensitive. The bones were well over 100 years old though!

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Police Constable Francis John Fielding Surrey Constabulary

From Jan Parker whose great uncle was Francis John Fielding who was born in 1893 and died in 1971. The World War One enlistment papers show he was already a serving officer in the Surrey Constabulary in 1918 when he was called up to the Coldstream Guards (no 24872) when he was living at 51 Wendover Road, Egham/Chertsey. From electoral rolls Jan Parker can see he lived in these places, with his wife Bertha: 1918 - 1926 - Wendover Road, Egham/Chertsey 1927 - 1929 - Selwyn Road, Chertsey 1930 - 1933 - Police Station, Cobham 1934 - 1937 - Police Cottage, Connaught Road, Woking 1938 -1945 - Police House, Peasmarsh, Guildford. My Great Grandfather - Patrick James Mangan was in the Met. and dismissed in 1919 as a striker - and jailed for assaulting a non-striking colleague - but that's another story !

The wedding photo was taken in 1917 and Francis is the last one on the right

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PC Francis Fielding and Mrs Fielding with son - not sure when it was taken –

but thought to be about 1926/27 – their son was born in 1922 and looks to be no more than 5 years of age

Called up in 1918

The following is from the Surrey Advertiser 27 April 1918, a page of horrific news of death and destruction to Surrey young men caught up in the war. The press cutting below includes the last members of the Surrey Constabulary to be called.

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The names from above are: Police Constables Bord, C Ellis, Rose, Edwards, Smeed, Wilkinson, Freeland, Turner, Fielding, Norgate, Lewis, Bishop, Hainsworth, A Ellis called to the Colours in April 1918.

There is no record that the above failed to return.

Surrey officer serving in the First World War

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Surrey Constabulary Officers serving 1918?

If you have any information relating to any of these men, or other casualties,

Surrey History Centre and the Editor would like to hear from you.1 Surname

First Names

Rank

Military Corps

Remarks Bridger Wilfred Lance Corporal Military Foot Police Budd Arthur Lance Corporal Military Foot Police Gater Watford Estough Lance Corporal Military Foot Police Gibson Sergeant. Major Military Police Reg Hollis Gibson 1501 MPSC? Marshall John Charles Lance Corporal Military Foot Police Policeman from Rowledge, born 1885.

Service papers survive, 27 pages. Gassed April 1918

Peet George Lance Corporal Military Mounted Police Policeman from Guildford, born 1889. Service papers survive 19 pages. Served in Surrey Police 24 May 1909 to 20 July 1915

Runnegar Thomas James Lance Corporal Military Mounted Police Based in Caterham in 1915 awarded MM Ryall Frederick Arthur Lance Corporal Military Foot Police Smithers Noah Lance Corporal Military Foot Police Son of Mrs. Smithers, of Green Side, Ripley,

Surrey. Born 1886. Police Constable living in Stroude, Virginia Water in 1911. Died of Wounds 21 May 1916

Tanner Ernest Lance Corporal Military Mounted Police Tassell Arthur Henry Corporal Military Mounted Police Policeman from Chertsey, born 1889.

Service papers survive 29 pages West Walter Henry Lance Corporal Military Mounted Police

1Source for Surrey Police WW1: Surrey History Centre Reference: 9152/1/5/4,September1915

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L/Cpl Bridger L/Cpl Budd L/Cpl Gater Serg /Maj Gibson

L/Cpl Marshall L/Cpl Peet L/Cpl Runnegar MM L/Cpl Ryall

L/Cpl Smithers L/Cpl Tanner L/Cpl Tassell L/Cpl West At the outbreak of the First World War a large number of the men from the police forces of Surrey were called to serve with the military. Sixteen men were wounded with three being permanently incapacitated. Eighteen officers lost their lives in the conflict. Three men who survived were decorated during their service:

Walter Tuppen – Distinguished Conduct Medal Thomas Runnegar – Military Medal

Gunner Henry Brand, PC Egham – Military Medal Harry Feasey Distinguished Conduct Medal (Joined post war)

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These are men returning from First World War – possibly Woking

These men would have been the friends and Colleagues of PC Fielding

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Chertsey Division 1926 including Chief Constable Captain Sant and Superintendent Dawes

PC Fielding is probably in the picture

From Surrey History Centre

An example of what they have available

Arthur Tassell Date of Birth: --/--/1889 Army Military Mounted Police Corporal Service Number: P1941

Service Record: Member of Surrey Constabulary. Number of appointment 1548 Enlisted 28 July 1915, discharged 27 August 1919

Other Sources: From Surrey Constabulary records held at Surrey History Centre SHC

REF: 9152. Policeman from Chertsey Service papers survive 29 pages

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Cobham Police Station where the Fielding family lived

PC Allen Mason

PC Allen Mason was like PC Fielding stationed at Cobham though by the time he joined none of Mason’s contemporaries would have been working. Allen Mason was badly beaten in July 1859 whilst trying to arrest a deserter in Cobham. He lingered on, dying in December 1859 leaving a young widow and two small children.

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Police Constable 65 Allen Mason of the Surrey Constabulary2

Allen Mason was a Surrey man, born at Chertsey in 1830. He lived in Eastworth Road with his parents, Francis and Sarah, brother Henry and sister Eliza, and worked as a labourer. He obviously had ambitions for more, and joined the Metropolitan Police in March 1851 but left after only a month. He returned to Chertsey, labouring for the well-known Locke-King family. Eighteen months later, on 3rd October 1852, he married Ann Turner at St. Paul’s church, Addlestone. They were single, he 22, she 24. Allen had lived at Addlestone Moor and Ann’s home was in Addlestone village, although she was in service to the Liberty family who ran the nearby Ham Moor Saw Mills. He had married the girl next door, for the 1841 census shows the Turners and the Masons as neighbours, including Allen Mason, then 11, and Ann Turner, 13. Perhaps spurred on by his new responsibilities he again applied to join the police, this time to the Surrey Constabulary. The force had been formed only in 1851 and offered opportunities for the ambitious, and a way of life for Allen very different from that of a labourer in a country town. His application was successful and he was appointed on 21st February 1853, 24 years old, 5’9” tall, and was allocated collar number 65. The collar number was so called because in the days of high “choke collars” that is where officers’ numbers were worn, but the term is still used today even though these numbers have long since migrated to the shoulders. Allen was sworn in at the Guildford Bench, just as in modern times recruits stood in Number One Court (the old Quarter Sessions Court) in Guildford High Street, “under the clock”. He was appointed as a 4th Class constable on sixteen shillings a week and posted to Merstham. All new entrants were enrolled at this level, and there were four grades of constable, no sergeants and with Inspector’s rank following that. He gained 3rd Class, but in 1853 (only ten months after appointment) he was disciplined, lost his 3rd class and was fined five shillings (a third of his weekly wage) for failing to make a conference point. This apparently trivial offence was not so innocuous as it might appear. Missing a point immediately aroused fears for the officer’s safety and, in addition, he could not be given work or messages, nor be met by his Inspector or Superintendent. Discipline in the force was enforced rigidly and few officers escaped a disciplinary hearing. In addition to the fine, Allen was moved to Nutfield – of all days on Christmas Day 1853. He now had to restore his reputation and make progress through the grades. His postings were extraordinary, but certainly not unusual. After Merstham and

2 Chris Atkins 1 Jan 2012 to the author

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Nutfield he was moved to Wrecclesham, Farnham, Millbridge, Egham and Cobham, sometimes only three or four months between moves, although on his later postings he stayed two years at Egham and Cobham. It was policy to make these changes because the Chief Constable was keen to ensure officers did not get too close to their communities; that must certainly have been the case. Throughout this whirlwind of moves Allen’s progress was restored. He regained his 3rd Class, went on to 2nd and finally 1st Class Constable in 1856, the highest rank below Inspector, and in November that year he took up his final posting in Cobham, described variously as Church Cobham or Fairmile. We are able to see something of his family life. Police records show that he had two children when he joined, which we know were Ann and Allen – named after their parents. In addition they later had Alice, born at Farnham in 1855 (but christened at Chertsey where her grandparents still lived) and finally Agnes, born at Cobham in 1858. Sadly, little Alice died in 1859, not then four. A few months later further tragedy followed when Allen was badly assaulted in July while arresting a deserter. Nothing is known of the arrest, the injuries Allen sustained, nor what happened to the deserter. What is known is that Allen died later that year on 29th December 1859. The cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel in his lungs, the result it was concluded of the violent assault he had suffered.

PC Mason was buried in Cobham churchyard; a record of inscriptions legible in 1938 says this: “Wooden bed-head. Allan Mason, police constable of the Surrey Constabulary, died 29 December 1859 aged 30, borne to his grave by his brother constables. Near this spot lies Alice M. his daughter died 11 March 1859 aged 3 years and 11 months.”3

Newspaper report: "Death of a Policeman. A policeman of the Surrey Constabulary, named Allan Mason, who had been stationed at Cobham for some years, and greatly respected both by the inhabitants and the members of the force, died on Dec 29th, he having broken a blood vessel in the lungs some short period before. In July last he was violently assaulted by a deserter, and this is presumed to have brought on his illness. He was interred this day, Saturday, and followed to the grave by a number of his late brother officers, whose feelings evidenced they had lost a friend and a brother to whom they were sincerely attached."4

3DrDavidTaylor,MAFSACobhamvillagehistoriantoauthor 4 1860 7 January Surrey Comet

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Force records for Epiphany Quarter Session 1859: "I regret to have to report the death of Police Constable Allen Mason, an old and efficient officer of this Force, which took place on 29th ultimo. The deceased had a ruptured blood vessel a few weeks ago, and attributed his previous reduced state of health to a violent assault committed upon him by a Deserter in July last...." 5

1861 census shows his widow living at Jester (?) Hill, Cobham with her parents and her 2 children.

Not long before Mason died he was involved in the detection and arrest of a local man for false pretences. 1859 July 30: Kingston County Bench: William Miller obtained a hoe under false pretences. The prisoner borrowed some tools then sold them. PC65 Allen Mason Surrey Constabulary found the prisoner in the taproom of The George at Cobham and was eventually sent for trial. 6

Surrey Comet 30 July 1859

5 1860 January 7: The Surrey Comet 61859July30SurreyComet

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Deserters

PC Mason’s death was directly related to the injuries he received whilst arresting a deserter. It may be that the injuries exacerbated an existing medical problem but there is no doubt that the arrest and death were related. The detention of deserters by police was a regular and significant part of the work of officers in the west and north of the county, including Guildford. Just one of numerous examples:

1856 August 16: Egham: James Healey and James McNaughton deserters from 19th and 82 Regiments of Foot at Aldershot apprehended by a police officer taken before the court and committed to Horsemonger Lane Gaol.7

The newspaper reporting this particular arrest comments:

The numbers of deserters apprehended by the police is said to be surprising much more so the numbers who escape detection. One of these men stated 130 men were absent from his regiment without leave at the time he left.8

Patrolling police officers were constantly subjected to the threat of and actual violence mostly associated with drink. So little has changed! 7 1856 August 16: Windsor and Eton Express, Berk, Bucks and Middlesex Journal and West Surrey Gazette 8 1856 August 16: Windsor and Eton Express, Berk, Bucks and Middlesex Journal and West Surrey Gazette

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Some cases dealt with by PC Mason

1856 21 October: Surrey Michaelmas Session: Thomas Holmes, labourer was charged with stealing at Farnham a watch the property of Robert Howlett. The prosecutor was in the Princess Royal public house at Farnham on 23 September with his watch in his pocket and went to sleep and when he woke it was gone. The loss was reported to PC A. Mason, Surrey Constabulary, who accompanied him to the prisoner’s lodgings where the watch was found under a pillow on the bed after a violent struggle with the prisoner. The jury immediately found him guilty and he was sentenced to four years penal servitude. 9

1858 29 May: Epsom County Bench: Sarah Elizabeth May was charged with breaking several windows in the dwelling house of Mr George Brown at Cobham. Mr Brown is the overseer for Cobham and was approached by the defendant and a man for relief, which he refused and she broke two of her windows. PC 65 Mason was called to the house at half past seven in the evening to remove the prisoner and her two companions. The officer persuaded them to leave but he heard a sound of breaking glass and went and found he prisoner. On the way to the Station house she showed the officer several stones and said she wished she had broken more than she had. She told the court she had done it because she wanted to go to prison. Sent to the House of Correction for two months with hard labour. 10

PC Mason’s working life

The population of the county of Surrey to be policed by the Surrey Constabulary in 1851 was 108,792 and there would have been little changed at the time of PC Maso’s death. Hi working life was harsh. There was no formal training and much must have been down to the experience of the superintendents and inspectors who would ensure there was some form of instruction and briefing as to the role and activity of policing.

Walking twenty miles a day, often in the dark, and it was very dark, split shifts, little sleep, mud in the winter dust in the summer walking the country lanes and roads that were little more than modern bridleways rutted by carriages and carts, torn up by horses hooves.

Clothing that was unfit for purpose and no equipment beyond handcuffs, a truncheon, initially a rattle and later a whistle and the pocket note book.

Every move covered by a general order, every breach threatens the loss of your job and home.

9 1856 October 21: The Sussex Advertiser, Surrey Gazette 10185829May:SurreyComet

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Living in the community but never a part of it –treated with respect but always at a distance

These were tough, strong, fit men, brave and stoical and in as time went on in most cases reliable being a central figure in the rural community alongside the vicar and doctor with whom they would have worked and knew well but in no way treated by them as an equal.

In the counties officers were provided with a cottage where they had to stay when off duty unable to leave without permission; no days off; split shifts encompassing usually five hours every night giving endless problems to wives trying to keep the children quiet;

10 days leave a year but no money to go away; normally this was without pay!11 In 189312 the number of days leave was extended from 10 to 14 – that is 42 years without a change.

Social isolation;

Life in the garden to provide food to supplement the pay;

Frequent house moves so the officer did not become too familiar with his locals – leading to touting for references from vicars to the chief constable to be allowed to stay.

These constables walked a tightrope avoiding discipline, trying not to move house again, ensuring subservience but no failing to do their duty.

Pay slightly above the level of an unskilled agricultural labourer for which he worked 7 days a week for 10-12 hours usually in two shifts the longer up to 7 hours at night

Not allowed to vote until 1887 in Parliamentary elections 1893 local elections

Pension: 1829 -1890 there was no absolute entitlement to a pension at the minimum age of 60 the award being at the complete discretion of the police authority whether to pay and what amount 13

Act of 1840 had obliged justices to maintain a superannuation fund supported by 6d a week stoppages and other sources such as fines.

The wife of a policeman who died in service might be granted up to two thirds of a year’s pay provided he had been in the superannuation fund for three years.

11 A History of Police in England and Wales TA Critchley 1967 page 151 12 A History of Police in England and Wales TA Critchley 1967 page 166 13 A History of Police in England and Wales TA Critchley 1967 page 168

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The Village Constable

The village constable was in an uneasy position in the community for while he was notionally the equal protector of all citizens’ rights and property; he was seen as the representative of the landowner. George Sturt wrote about The Bourne in Surrey:

There is probably no lonelier man in the parish than the constable. One hears him mentioned in the same accents of grudging caution which the villagers use in speaking of unfriendly property-owners, as though he belonged to that alien caste. The cottagers feel they themselves are the people whom he has stationed in the valley to watch.” The conviction that there was one law for the rich and another for the poor was deeply ingrained. The village policeman rarely had to deal with serious crime although rape and murder were not unknown, they were more likely to have to cope with poachers, fowl stealing, a fight in the pub, neighbourly disputes, with the occasional petty theft. Ricks were fired by arsonists or by itinerants with a grudge and animal maiming was not uncommon. The Victorian version of anti-social behaviour was ever present with drunken louts letting animals from fields, the breaking of fences or even the pulling down of dry walls. “Beer, that filthy beer is the root of the evil”.14

Uniform

The uniform consisted of a swallowtail coat of dark blue cloth, a well-glazed “stove pipe” top hat with white duck trousers in the summer and blue serge in the winter. Issued oil skin cape, truncheon, handcuffs, rattle

The equipment and uniform varied little; in the 1864 the helmet replaced the top hat, the whistle for the rattle in about 1884

The rattle was frequently carried in the breast pocket over the heart to protect against knife attacks. In several recorded incidents the life of a Peeler was saved when the rattle deflected a blade.15

Cobham Churchyard

He was buried in Cobham churchyard in the New Year, on 7th January 1860, beside daughter Alice. An inscription on a headboard, now lost, recorded that:

14 “Victorian Village Life” Albion 1993 Neil Phillip page 112 15 Quoted in The Victorian Policeman by Simon Dell A Shire Book 2004 page 21

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“Allan Mason, police constable of the Surrey Constabulary, died 19 December 1859, aged 30, borne to his grave by his brother constables. Near this spot lies Alice

Mason, his daughter, died 11 March 1859, aged 3 years and 11 months”

No newspaper records about the attack have been found but the Surrey Comet did report his death in the edition of 7th January 1860: “Death of a Policeman – A policeman of the Surrey Constabulary Allan Mason, who had been stationed at Cobham for some years, and was greatly respected both by the inhabitants and the members of the force, died on December 29th, having broken a blood vessel in his lungs some short period before. In July last he was violently assaulted by a deserter, and this is presumed to have brought on the illness. He was interred this day, Saturday, and followed to his grave by a number of his late brother officers whose feelings evidenced they had lost a friend and a brother to whom they were sincerely attached.” Allen’s death was reported to the next Epiphany sitting of the Quarter Sessions. The Sessions were told that he had died of a ruptured blood vessel a few weeks before, and that his previous reduced state of health was attributed to a violent assault committed upon him by a deserter in July. The terrible loss, of course, left Ann a widow to care for her three children, Ann, aged 8, Allan 7, and Agnes one year, and Ann needed urgent help. The Quarter Sessions had the power to grant her up to two thirds (£35) of Allen’s annual pay and the Chief Constable at the Epiphany sitting on 7th January 1860 proposed that they did so. He added that Police constable Mason had six years service, and “ died in consequence of injuries he had received in the performance of his duties in July” (1859). “He had been very steady while in the force and had left a widow and three children unprovided for.” On 26th January the Police Committee, with commendable swiftness and less than a month after Allen’s funeral, agreed that Ann be given £35 as a grant. It was not a pension because widows’ pensions for officers killed on duty would not to be introduced for another thirty years. Ann later married a Cobham man, James Johnson. He, too, subsequently joined the police, serving as a constable in both Kent and London until he retired on pension. He and Ann had a further four children, and she died in the early 1900’s.

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Chief Constable’s report to the Police Authority reported 7 January 1860 16

16 West Sussex Times 7 January 1860

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Superintendent Ernest Boshier KPM for Meritorious Service

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PSU Deployments

Dorking at Greenham Common

Mark Carling, Me (Tom Burrell) Mick Selcon, Roy Harrison on stndby

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Caterham on the NUM at Proteus

Guildford PSU Worplesdon Murder Inspector May

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A Division off to Toxteth

Woking on a training day

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Stonehenge

Training at Longmore in the military FIBILA (Fighting in a built up area

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Surrey Constabulary Public Order training

Known as NATO helmets first issued in an emergency for urban riots in 1981

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Reigate Borough Police Special Constabulary 1936

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BOOK REVIEWS

Escorting the Monarch Hardcover – 30 Oct 2017

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Why I Wrote 'Escorting The Monarch' As Told By Author,

Chris Jagger Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of my dad dressed from head to toe in police motorcycle uniform and white crash helmet. I was lucky, unlike my two older brothers, who shared a room at the back of the house looking out over our garden and Groveland’s Park, my room sat above the front door, which meant I had a view over the street. Some mornings I’d wake up very early at the sound of the front door closing, normally around 0500. I’d climb out of bed and sneak a look through the bedroom curtains listening carefully for the sound of the garage door opening. The next thing I’d hear was the sound of my dad’s police motorcycle firing up – a sudden electric whizz shortly followed by smooth burst of power. The bike, a gleaming white BMW boxer, sounded like a cross between a spaceship from one of my brothers Star Trek movies and a purring lion. As my dad rode the bike up the driveway I’d close the gap in the curtains in case he looked up so he wouldn’t catch me watching. He'd then turn left, into the street, facing up hill, and slowly pull away, soon vanishing out of view. It was one of the coolest things ever. But what did he actually do? I'd try and find out by joining the police. Not yet old enough to apply, my first full time job, was that of Aquatic Environmental Marine Specialist. I was the guy who caught your kid’s goldfish at the garden center. When I wasn’t stacking bags of gravel I was scrubbing the tanks and dreaming of motorcycles. At the age of 18 I decided to apply for the police. On return home, dad asked me how I'd got on. “I got nervous, stumbled the interview, and failed the psycho-madness test, so they won’t let me in” – to which my dad replied, “If they had, I would have written a letter of complaint!”. Reassuring. A few months later my luck changed. The Metropolitan Police accepted me as a 999-call handler. As my career progressed, I was lucky to serve overseas, working closely with specialist military and police security teams from all around the world. I found myself comparing them to the SEG - none shared the unique esprit-de-corps of the group, and few were even close to being as professional. I felt compelled to dig deeper and find out how they became the world-class leaders they are today. The SEG have been honing their skills for over 6 decades. Developing an unequivocal team culture dedicated to absolute precision, they hold a reputation for excellence among their piers; delivering their passengers (and cargo) on time, safely, in a great deal of style, and without fuss or mishap. They are neither shaken nor stirred. Their story carries with it a scent of engine oil and polish. Although their work demands exquisitely high levels of presentation there is little room for gloss or glitter. The individuals and property they are charged to protect are assessed by government to require the highest possible levels of protection. The trust bestowed upon them couldn’t be greater.

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From queens, kings, presidents and emperors, to priceless works of art, terrorists and high-risk prisoners, the group escort them all. The skill required to protect them demands a very special sort of team. They lead, others follow. The book is dedicated to all of those who serve, or have served with the group, their families, but especially my dad.

Publisher’s Summary: Escorting the Monarch is as close to an official history of the Metropolitan Police's 'Special Escort Group' (SEG) as one could hope for. You may have seen the team at work; as the combination of motorcycles and cars pass you by, they glide elegantly and seemingly effortlessly through busy traffic. Developing a dedicated and diligent team culture, they are masters of their trade. They hold a well-earned reputation for excellence amongst their peers; delivering their passengers (and cargo) on time, safely, in a great deal of style, and without fuss or mishap. Professional and precise in the execution of their operations, they are neither shaken nor stirred. Although the work of the SEG demands exquisitely high levels of presentation there is little room for gloss or glitter. The individuals and property they are charged to protect are assessed by government to need the highest possible levels of protection. From queens, kings, presidents and emperors, to priceless works of art, terrorists and high risk prisoners, the group escort them all. Written by the son of a retired SEG officer who himself served in the British Government's security and intelligence community, Escorting the Monarch is told, in part, through first hand stories and anecdotes gleaned from former officers of the group. The insights offered are unique, privileged and first of their kind. Chris Jagger unfolds a collection of fascinating and never before told stories built on high profile events, such as the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, and the visit of Nelson Mandela. Now the SEG have honed their skills for over 6 decades. Through a carefully constructed description of a changing security and political environment across the decades, and an insightful analysis of the ingenuity of those who have severed with the SEG, Escorting the Monarch explains the events that made the group who they are today. Review: I rode a Traffic TR6 Trophy Saint (Stop Anything In No Time) as a young man in a constabulary. I was operating in the B and Q League as against PC226 Keith Wilkins from the my Traffic Garage who was definitely Premier League transferring to the Metropolitan Police and the SEG. Keith was in a different league as a motorcyclist to most with very high scores on the various courses of the day. No one was surprised when he was soon a member of the SEG seen by most Traffic officers of the day as an elite corps the best of the best. Many years later I was on a firearm’s operation taking a very dangerous drugs dealer to court from a helicopter landing at Redhill to Southwark Court. We were escorted by the SEG with helicopter over head. Knife through butter is the best term; not stopping, moving from one side of the road to another. It is quite an experience. On the way out of London one Friday night down the A23 towards Croydon there was the usual congestion but not for us. With the woosh and roar of the motorcycle, never stopping and at significant speed we seemed to be back at the airdrome in very short order. The only way to travel in London! Chris Jagger’s book started as a tribute to his father a long-term member of the team but became a tribute to those who served on the SEG from its inception to the 1990s. In 1952 officers were selected for their motorcycle riding ability, temperament, smart appearance and general adaptability, attributes still required of the modern specialist with the SEG. Officers were aligned with the best machines available, regularly

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modernised and within the book are a number of impressive line drawings of the various motorcycles. The smell of engine oil, polish and no doubt “gunk” used to keep engines clean pervades the whole book. Much of the earlier tactics were a straight lift from the Household Cavalry on ceremonial duty but there any similarity ends. The SEG were a working team with huge responsibility for the protection of their VIP. Starting the run highly polished officers and machines soon evidenced the weather and road conditions! The book follows the decades of the work of the SEG and anyone who was anyone who visited the country appear along with ceremonial for Churchill, Mountbatten and Diana Princess of Wale’s funerals and of course movement of the Royal Family. The role continues to evolve to meet the modern threat not just from the “Mad, Sad and Bad” but the terrorist. The role of the SEG would now better read Special Protection Group but as an historian name changes for me need a great deal of persuading. It is very unusual to find a police history that concentrates on Traffic even though this is a very specialist sub-set of the role. If you are interested in police history, Traffic and motorcyclist this is a combination of a book for you not to miss. For the more general reader it opens doors you never knew were there and is therefore full of interest.

Crime, Clemency and Consequence in Britain 1821 - 1839

• Format: Paperback £10.50 • Pages: 169 pages, 20 illustrations

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• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd • ISBN: 9781473830318

Historians often use court and Home Office records to reconstruct the key events of a crime and perpetrators but through this official documentation yet they are unable to understand the lives of people involved. The documents used to research this book however, reveal in great detail the personal circumstances of the criminal and their families. Tis allows the reader to understand the prisoner as an individual, opening up a level of detail of the crimes committed and the life of what was often the ordinary working man and women. The documents are found in the National Archives and consist of a collection of thousands of petitions from the earlier decades of the 19th century addressed to the Home Office after the prisoner had been convicted. Families, lawyers and local great and good were brought in to formulate a petition to try and reduce the level of the punishment. This is not a petition i.e. a list of signatures but a file of statements and reports setting out the prisoner’s case. The purpose of the book is to bring to life some of the individuals caught in the justice system to show how they responded to the position in which they found themselves. These are cases in which people had much to lose and much to gain. Historians frequently ignore the lives of the “lower classes” but this collection reveals a unique and often unexpected insight into life in 1820s and 1830s Britain. The book is organised by the type of crimes committed with sections on "words from" where the convicted are given their say. The cases are but a small sample of the number of petitions received but they show the dark and troubled lives of so many of the poor. There may be a small sample of the whole but many of the cases are dealt with in some detail. Submitting a petition did sometimes work. One case in Northamptonshire in 1837 a young man destroyed the will of his father as it was being read. He was sentenced to 7 years transportation but after an appeal and support from local people this was reduced to 3 months in the penitentiary. Another man was pardoned so that he could give evidence in a murder trial. An applicant’s petition was almost destroyed when the file was overweight and nobody would pay the excess postage. A further case involving excess postage when the enormous sum of 4s 7p was required by the post office. This was a huge sum of money, about the weekly wage of a farm labourer, for poor people to find or for civil servants in the Home Office to accept when probably there were many petitions arriving every day. Who was there to deal with the constant flow of petitions in addition to many other tasks directed at the Home Office? There were very few Home Office clerks. Four government departments (Colonial Office, Foreign Office, Home Office, India Office) were all housed in the building that now only houses about a 1/3rdof the staff of today’s FCO (Charles Street)