NARPO - CARDIFF BRANCH
Of Service - To Those Who Served
CLICKING ON THE TEXT BELOW WILL START THE THIN BLUE LINE VIDEO FROM YOU TUBE
BRANCH ARCHIVE
The decision to set up the Branch Archive has been taken in order that members will be able to locate items of interest that were previously published. But due to the amount of material that is located within the website were often quite hard to locate.
Items such as old photographs, stories etc will be removed from their current locations and will be available to view here. The creation of the archive will be quite time consuming and we ask that members please bare with us whilst the work is being undertaken.
St. DAVID's DAY AT THE HILTON
A very enjoyable and successful St. David’s Day lunch was held at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff. As usual all the available seats were taken.
The event was also used to mark the retirement of Alan Greaves as the secretary to the Cardiff Branch after over 20 years service. As Alan once said, he only took over the post as a temporary measure until the following AGM.
Alan was presented with a whisky glass engraved with his initials, a bottle of Welsh whisky and a voucher for a meal. His wise counsel and expert knowledge on many issues will be missed.
David A’Herne Chairman.
Images are of Mr. Alan Greaves with the Chairman Mr. Dave A'herne and Vice Chairman Mr. Howard Davies. Alan's wife Trish also received flowers in recognition of the assistance she has provided to Alan during his term in office
CCP PATROL CAR
We are most grateful to Mr Ross Mather for allowing us to use the image above. It shows an officer and vehicle of the former Cardiff City Police.The officer apparently looks like the late Sam Hooper before his promotion to Sergeant.
The image being taken in the late fifties on the "Motor Patrol " car park, which later became the new CCP HQ. more commonly known as Cardiff Central Police Station
CONGRATULATIONS
On behalf of the officers, committee, branch and national NARPO members we congratulate:
Christine Maddocks
On her receiving a certificate from the Alzheimers Society for being a finalist in the Outstanding Achievement category of the Dementia Hero Awards 2021.
Christine's comment:
'I was thrilled to be nominated let alone to be a finalist. The amazing Paul Harvey the amazing pianist won. Many congratulations to him.
'05/2021
CONGRATULATIONS !!!
We were all delighted when Stan Morgan reached his 100th birthday last month. We were able to make sure that he received a bottle of his favourite tipple ( Jack Daniels Honey ) on the day.
Once the covid rules were relaxed and we were all jabbed up, Vice Chairman Howard Davies and Secretary Alan Greaves visited Stan with his son John ( retired Temporary Detective Chief Inspector).
The photograph shows Howard with Stan and John outside Stan's home - Stan is the one in the middle.
Stan joined Cardiff City Police in 1946 straight from the R.A.F. after six years military service. He retired from the police in 1976 and has been a N.A.R.P.O. member for 45 years.
John retired with 30 years service some
20 years ago.
Image courtesy Mr Alan Greaves
Simon Insole Memorial Plaque
Many of our members will have known and worked with Simon, some may not have had that privilege.
Some members may have previously seen this plaque in situ at Cardiff Stadium or on other social media / websites.
We are most grateful to Sue Bishop for allowing us use of the image, which has been placed here for those who have never seen it previously. Long may he live in the hearts and minds of all that knew
NARPO GOLF TOURNAMENT 2021
Following the relaxation of some COVID rules the SWANSEA Branch reinstated their annual Golf tournament. Which was once again opened up to members of the Cardiff branch. The tournament was a great success and we are fortunate that retired officer and professional photographer Dan Minto was able to attend and record some images of the event.
These have been placed in the album below, to view the image full scree simply click on the thumbnail image. PLEASE NOTE there are a large number of images in the gallery so it might take a little bit longer to load.Should anyone wish to purchase any of the images please make direct contact with Mr Dan Minto, please respect his generosity in allowing us access to the images s and don't simply download an image from this site.
09/2021
WILLIAM 'BILLY' SPILLER
We are fortunate to count amongst our regular contributors Mr. Gareth Madge of the South Wales Police Heritage Centre.
We have received a number of articles and booklets written by Mr Madge and other members of the Heritage Centre Staff.We are most grateful for the centre providing us with a copy of their latest historical booklet 'Billy Spiller Policeman and Sportsman'.
It does make very interest reading of times long since past.To view the booklet please click on its title below
'Billy Spiller Policeman and Sportsman'.
RUGBY HISTORY
We are grateful to Mr Allan Evans for providing us with some details of a Rugby Match that took place in 1979 at Pontypool Park where where Birmingham played Pontypool on Friday 13th April.
The scrum half playing for Pontypool on that illustrious day was our very own Terry LeeThe final score was Pontypool 92 Birmingham 0.
Allan is not sure how many tries / points Terry scored perhaps he or some of his colleagues can update us. The small gallery below are images taken from the program
THE DEMISE OF WATERTON CROSS
We are grateful to our member John Jones for bringing this article to our attention:
Today in the Wales online there was an article about the demise of Waterton Cross that was used by Wales Rugby Team for training. It also showed photo of South Wales Rugby team including Steve Cotterell. Thought you might be interested to feature
Cheers
John Jones
For those of us who did not see the article please copy the link below into your web browser
NATIONAL SPORTING HERITAGE
The 30th September 2020 was the National Sporting Heritage day. We are most grateful to Mr Gareth Madge and the team from the South Wales Police Heritage Centre for supplying us with the following links and documents in relation to some of the bygone achievemnts of officers from the forces that eventually became the South Wales Police of today.Please click on the links to view the relevant items:
To View a short video compilation click on this link: https://youtu.be/5ei0IDUkyyI
To view an artice about some of the Sporting Heritage Moments CLICK HERE
MORE CCP SPORTING IMAGES FROM BYE GONE DAYS
Following on from the Cardiff City Police cadets image. We are again most grateful to Mr Terry Townend of NARPO Swansea for supplying us with the following images that he has scanned from a book he recently acquired.
The images have been placed in a gallery for ease of publication simply double click on the image to enlarge it.
09/2020
WHERE WERE YOU IN 1965 - 66 ???
If you were in the Cardiff City Police cadets, then there is a strong possibility you are in the picture below.
Our grateful thanks goes to Mr Terry Townend (NARPO SWANSEA) who found this image in a book he recently acquired09/2020
JED PRINTS & NEW HOME
We are pleased to announce that the three 'Jed Prints' that were recently donated to the branch by our member Mr Roger Totman have now been found a new home at the Cardiff Bay Police Station. The article below appears in issue 100 (November 2019) NARPO News magazine.
A PHOTO FROM DOWN UNDER
The below photograph has been received via Peter Bassett from Glyn Northcott Who is now living in Melbourne, Australia. This photograph was taken in 1985 prior to Glyn leaving ‘D’ relief in Canton for Australia. Unfortunately he returned a year later when he was then posted to ‘D’ relief in Central. He knows all of the names of everyone in the photograph but thought that it would be good to go onto the NARPO web site and see if anyone can recognise any. A few of them are no longer with us but still good memories.
Left - Right: Kevin Davies, Wynne Lewis, Dick Lloyd Hughes, Gareth Hayes, Ryland Kiff, Pat Pitrola, Steve Soden, Roger Hampton
Seated: Sgt Eddie Fitsall, Brian Tucker, Insp RAGs Morgan, Glyn Northcott, Malcolm Bryn and
Sgt Alan Parry Jones.
POLICING HISTORY - WALES
For those of our members who have an interest in the History of Policing especially within Wales the name Ross Mather will be known to many of you, and likewise so will the fact that he runs and operates a number of Facebook pages dedicated to the subject.
For those of you who may not have heard of Ross or his work then please read on especially if you have items that you think Ross maybe interested in adding to the collections.
Now retired Ross had 30 years operational service police officer with the South Wales Police. Joining the former Glamorgan Constabulary as a Cadet and becoming one of last Constables attested into that force before amalgamation and formation of South Wales Constabulary.
An avid collector of Welsh police memorabilia for several decades. Former Curator / Custodian of South Wales Police Museum, Police Headquarters, Bridgend - (2010 - 2013). Ross totally revamped the museum, which had been closed for a number of years sowing the seeds for the force to further develop into a popular visitor experience and not insignificant educational resource.
Ross now operates Virtual Museum of Police In Wales on Facebook and also operates a website www.britishpolicehelmet.co.uk on which much of his colection (not all) is viewable. More of his collection can be viewed via the website www.peoplescollection.wales
The gallery of images below show items that have recently been donated to Ross for inclusion in the collection
'The items that were owned by the late John Webley. John was a Detective Sergeant in the Cardiff City Police and later South Wales Police.
Items show a mounted police truncheon complete with leather saddle scabbard, two pair of handcuffs, ratchet (Cardiff) and Victorian era pair which are stamped 'Glamorgan Constabulary'.
SWP - 50th Anniversary
1st June 2019 saw the 50th anniversary of the formation of what is now known as South Wales Police, formerly South Wales Constabulary.
The Force was created by the amalgamation of the police forces of Cardiff, Glamorgan Merthyr and Swansea. As part of the 50th Anniversary the force hosted a civic event at Police Headquarters, Bridgend some images of which can be seen in the gallery below (images copyright of South Wales Police).
The force have also created a video please click on the link below to view and also create a booklet, an 'on line version of which is also available by clicking on the elevant link below.
To view the Video 50th Anniversary - Recollections please copy this link to your web browser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb5WIwXz9DQ or
PLEASE CLICK HERE
To Read / Download a copy of the 50th Anniversary booklet
PLEASE NOTE THE BOOKLET IS A LARGE FILE AND MIGHT TAKE A BIT OF TIME TO OPEN
PLEASE CLICK HERE
'Night at the Museum' Charity Ball Update
I am hoping that I am speaking for all of us who were able to attend the 'Night at the Museum' Charity Ball in saying that the evening was excellent and very well organised.
For the foodies amongst us the menu was:
Welsh rarebit focaccia with mixed leaf salad & balsamic glaze
Roast chicken breast topped with leek and wholegrain mustard saucewith season vegetables
Lemon mousse with chocolate pencil and shortbread
During the evening there was a raffle of 25 prizes some of which were highly collectable items, followed by an auction of 2 tickets for the Wales -v- Soctland (Six Nations Game) to be held at the Principality Stadium on March 14th 2020.
The raffle, auction and donations raised in excess of £4,500 for the chosen charity Velindre Cancer Care. The entertainment for the evening was provided by way of a live band 'Los Devitos' and a disco.
For those of us who can recall those wonderful days of the 'Police Ball' held at City Hall, mention was made during the evening that as this event had been such a success in relation to the 50th Anniversary of the forming of South Wales Police. The Eastern BCU are looking to returning to the days of an 'Annual Police Ball' commencing in 2020. So remember to keep an eye on our website for future announcements.
The gallery below shows some images taken on the night. Please click on the image to enlarge
ATTENTION CARDIFF CITY OFFICERS - DO YOU RECOGNISE THE CAR?
We have again been contacted by Karl Dillon who is a retired GMP officer but has a passion for old Police related vehicles and their history. Karl has been advised that the Mark 3 Ford Zephyr 6 Estate car in this photograph was once in the service of Cardiff City Police. The vehicle reg No is FKG802CIf you have any information about the history of this car, perhaps you drove it etc please send the information to the webmaster via the e-mail template on the contact us page of the website and it will be passed onto Karl.
UPDATE 31/01/2017
The following update has been received from Mr. Desmond Lynn:
To confirm that FKG 802C was part of the Cardiff City Police Motor Patrol. The Force took delivery of two Zephyr Estate cars FKG 801C AND FKG 802C. They were bought mainly to carry equipment to patrol and attend RTA's on the newly opened A48 dual carriageway in Cardiff. As a patrol car they were useless,. being automatics and under powered .
They also suffered from brake fade which did not inspire confidence in the crews. As far as I am aware they were not upgraded for Police Traffic Patrol work other than two tone horns and a roof mounted blue light plus radio equipment.
UPDATE 02/02/2017As a result of the update receive from Mr Desmond Lynn which was passed onto Karl Dillon he has also provided us with an image of the other Ford Zephyr mentioned by Des FKG801C.
The photo appears to have been taken on the area of land outside City Hall just before the ramp into the underpass with the Crown Court building in the background.
ATTENTION RETIRED CARDIFF CITY POLICE OFFICERS
HOW GOOD IS YOUR MEMORY DID YOU RIDE THIS???
The year = 1961 (very rare)
The Vehicle = Ariel Leader 250cc two stroke - motorcycle
The Reg No = 508LTG
Our trusted Police related vehicle historian Mr Karl Dillon has come up trumps yet again in locating images of the above named motorcycle, which was apparently used by Cardiff City Police under the Reg No 508LTG. The images show the motorcycle bearing an age related registration number as the original has been sold on by a previous owner.
The motorcycle has had a FULL nut and bolt restoration. including a complete engine rebuild and itt has been rebuilt to as close to the original specification as possible. (radio gear is a mock up and non functional and just for appearance).Originally it would have had panniers. It appears that the Ariel owners club have advised the current owner that there are only 4 examples of Police Ariel Leaders currently known to exist (hence its rarity)
If you know anything more, perhaps you used to ride it, know where in Cardiff it was based etc. Please let the webmaster know and all the information will be passed back to Karl to add to his records
LOOPERS DO IT AGAIN
Congratulations to Paul Phillips on the continued success of the "Loop". This year the "Loopers" collected £3471.00p. That is a grand total of £25,206.00 since its inception.
The successful charities this year were Thyroid Cancer nominated by Paul Wilcockson,
The Wallich Charity nominated by Jeff Barley and RNLI Penarth Lifeboat Station nominated byGerard Peterson.
Each charity received a cheque for £1157.00. A presentation evening was arranged at The Central Bar in Windsor Place as part of the monthly Moday Club meetings. Thank you to all who attended and particularly thank you for the money raised(Steve Cotterell)
Many thanks to Denise Wilcockson and Leighton Love for supplying the images within the gallery. To view the image click on it. To view the rest of the gallery click the show more button
UPDATE - THANK YOU
The below is the content of an e-mail received by Mr Jeff Barley from Mr. Michael Cowley Fundraising & Partnerships Senior Manager at the Wallich Charity. The formal letter of thanks id also attached below for your perusal:
'Hi Jeff,
I just wanted to say thanks again for last night – it was a great evening and really nice to meet all of the ex-police officers. It was lovely to see the great relationship you all have and was a really fun and enjoyable evening.
Thanks as well for your hospitality – I really enjoyed the meal and was taken back by the generosity of the ex-officers in the charitable donation which will make a real difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness in South Wales.
I’ve attached a formal thank you letter which I’d be grateful if you would share with the other members when you get the chance.
Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Best Wishes,
Mike '
To view the letter click on the image below:
IN THE LOOP - PRESENTATION
As the vast majoirty of our members will know our member Paul 'Oddball' Phillips runs 'in-the-loop' which has been going for quite sometime and operates to keep retired officers 'IN THE LOOP' with what is going on. Every year since its inception Paul has raised money via 'Loopers' contributions which has been donated to local charities and organnisations that have been put forward / recommended by the loopers.
This year was no exception and last Friday (29/04/16) saw the presention of some of the cheques to those charities that were nominated this year. The gallery below shows some images taken on the night courtesy of Howard Davies
Please click on the image to view as a larger image
