NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED POLICE OFFICERS NORTH SUSSEX BRANCH AUGUST 2011 OBITUARIES

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1 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED POLICE OFFICERS NORTH SUSSEX BRANCH AUGUST 2011 OBITUARIES I regret to have to inform you of the death of the following former Sussex Police Officers: Les Tancock, aged 78 years died peacefully at home on Sunday 5th June Les retired in the rank of Sergeant at Crawley. Letters of condolence or donations to the family charity, Primary Immune Association may be sent via The Martins Funeral Directors, 38 Broadfield Barton, Broadfield, Crawley RH11 9BA, Tel. No Peter Gray a North Sussex Branch member, passed away unexpectedly in East Surrey Hospital on Wednesday 22 June 2011 after a short illness. Peter is survived by his wife Stella, three daughters and four grandchildren. Peter joined the then West Sussex Constabulary in 1966 and served in Worthing Patrol and Worthing CID, Special Branch at Crawley and Gatwick, SO11 at NSY, Uniform Inspector at Crawley and Horsham retiring after 25 years of service. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1975 and Inspector in Please send any cards or letters of condolence via the Funeral Directors, Freeman Brothers, 9 North Parade, Horsham, RH12 2BP, Telephone Any donations in memory of Peter can be made to the RNLI, Littlehampton c/o Freeman Brothers. Michael Francis Ames died on Saturday 24th June No further details are available William (Bill) Bevan who sadly died on 29th June aged 99 years just 7 months short of his 100th birthday. Bill retired in the rank of Inspector at Crawley. Donations may be made to St Catherine's Hospice Crawley c/o funeral directors, Chappel and Sons, 8 Grand Parade, High Street Crawley. Derek William Charles RAY who died on 1st July Derek retired from Sussex Police on 29th October 1991 in the rank of Inspector. He was living in Cardiganshire at the time of his death. 1

2 John Minall age 61yrs who died in a London Hospital on 21st July John fell ill with a tumour at the base of his spine shortly after his retirement in 2001 and has had a rough undulating ride since. John served on Brighton Traffic, T2 motorcycle team, Polegate Traffic and East Area Traffic Management. Leslie Victor Arthur Young aged 89 years who died on 26 July He is survived by his widow Barbara. Leslie retired in July He served mainly in the East of the County and was well known as the Guestling Bobby for many years. The funeral has taken place on 5 August. Anthony (Tony) Charles Thomas aged 72 years who died suddenly and unexpectedly on 1 August Tony retired in April 1994 in the rank of Inspector having served most of his service in the North of the County. Tony is survived by his widow Elaine. The funeral takes place at 11.30am on Wednesday 10 August 2011 at Surrey/Sussex Crematorium, Crawley. EAST SUSSEX CONSTABULARY REUNION DINNER Saturday 1st September hours hours Barnsgate Manor Herons Ghyll Nr Uckfield East Sussex TN22 4DB Details of cost will be circulated nearer the date. ANNUAL BURNS NIGHT SUPPER The 2012 Annual Branch Burns Night Supper and Branch Twenty First Birthday Party will be held at The Hickstead Hotel on Saturday 28 January A great opportunity to meet old friends and join in two celebrations. The cost for the 2012 event will be per head which is no increase on last year, and includes a five course dinner, slice of birthday cake, commemorative miniature bottle of Whisky, entertainment and the provision of three bottles of wine per table. Tables will be arranged to seat ten at each so if you are coming as a group let me know. 2

3 Please note that we only have a limited number of places so an early call will secure your place. Tickets can be obtained from Colin Moules who can be contacted on or c.moules@blueyonder.co.uk Lastly, accommodation, as with this year, rooms will be available at the Hotel at for a double room with breakfast. Single rooms are also available. To make a reservation please contact the hotel direct on GOLF For many years, the Sussex Police Golf Society has provided competition for its members. Upon retirement golfers could still compete but, as police officers started to look ever younger, the prospect of 36 holes around a downland course started to lose its appeal! In 2012 it is the intention of the Society to hold a Senior Open for all employees, past and present, of Sussex Police who are 50 or over on the 10th of August The event will be an 18 hole stableford completion played at Singing Hills Golf Course ( on the 10th of August Players with an Active club handicap will compete for the cup and the honour of being the first Senior Open Champion. Players without an Active handicap will play for the All Comers prize! Full details of this event will be circulated during the Spring of 2012; to ensure you do not miss the circulation then please Peter Hawkes at prh@wkes.co WORTHING GRASSHOPPERS BOWLING CLUB A message to all current or potential bowlers out there male and female. Our bowling club, founded in 1968 primarily for retired police officers, is on a mission to recruit new members, from both existing players perhaps with other clubs, or to encourage new members to join. Our membership is open to serving or retired police officers or friends of members, or to persons with some police connection e.g. civilian staff or wives/husbands of serving or retired officers. We play about 40 matches a season all friendlies, refreshments are provided at the conclusion of each match usually with a hot meal or buffet. The majority of our matches are played on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with only a few at weekends. Our annual subscription is currently 60 (but nothing to pay for the rest of this season) with a match fee of Home matches are played at Worthing Pavilion Bowling Club the finest greens in the locality. So if anyone is interested in joining our club, please contact our secretary Les Mann on , or myself Reg Read. If you have never played the game before but show an interest, help and advice is at hand. Reg Read, Chairman, Worthing Grasshoppers Bowling Club or reg.read@sky.com 3

4 NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM On the 23 rd June 2011, I attended the RAF Police and RAF Police Association annual Remembrance Parade at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire. This National Garden of Remembrance was created in the centre of England in 1997, to remember those who have served and continue to serve the Nation. It is a beautiful area of wooded parkland that has some two hundred dedicated memorials. The focus is not totally military. There is a large area devoted to civilian police officers who have fallen in the line of duty, as well as other areas given over to the Fire & Rescue and Ambulance Services. The centre piece is a huge Armed Forces Memorial, which displays the names of Servicemen and women who have given their lives since the Second World War. On its construction in 2006, fifteen thousand names were carved by computer, with space for a further fifteen thousand. Since then over three hundred additional names have been hand carved on it and further are added on a yearly basis. The 150 acre site is developed over former gravel workings. The site hosts an abundance of wild plants and wildlife within woodland areas, grasslands and wetlands. The site contains a chapel, visitor centre, shop and restaurant. The Centre can provide themed tours for visitors together with a road train and electric buggies for those who may find walking difficult. It is a truly beautiful, peaceful and incredibly moving place to visit. If you are ever up that way and have a day spare it is well worth the visit. Admission is free, although donations are welcome and there is a pay and display car park at 3 per-day. Group photo featuring two Sussex NARPO members Dave Hilton and Eric Harrison. Information about Membership of RAF Police Association, South Downs Branch, can be gained from Eric Harrison, phone It s a very active and friendly group of ex Snowdrops. 4

5 NARPO OFFER NARPO together with Voice Mobile have arranged some exclusive mobile phone packages for members; including free Blackberry and iphone handsets. Voice Mobile is pleased to release our current exclusive police mobile phone offers to NARPO members. Voice Mobile has enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the police that spans over 17 years. Over 70,000 mobile phones have been supplied to police officers and staff during this period. In addition to some unbeatable iphone, BlackBerry and ipad 2 offers and a dedicated police customer service team, Voice Mobile supports the police through different channels. Our selected police charity, The Rupert Fund was set up to support RUC and PSNI police widows. With every 1 donated by one of our customers, Voice Mobile will match that 1. We look forward to hearing from you regarding any of the offers. Remember, if you don t see a phone or tariff that suits you on here, please get in touch and we can put a bespoke package together for you! Interested? Contact: Tel or sales@voice999.co.uk PLEASE QUOTE "NARPO" WHEN CONTACTING VOICE TO BENEFIT FROM THESE OFFERS. THE SECRETARY S BIT NEW MEMBERS A warm welcome is extended to the following who have recently joined our branch: Mike Beard, David Charlton, Lee Puttock, Chris Nelms, Gary Maiden and Neil Buckland. SOCIAL SECRETARY Sadly, Jill Donaldson has given up her position as the branch Social Secretary due to family commitments. She has however agreed to still arrange the Christmas Dinner this year. At the last branch meeting a discussion took place due to complaints about Crawley College as to whether or not we should continue to use this venue for future events. During the discussion it was suggested that we could have two Christmas Dinners, one at the college for those who did like this venue and preferred an early start and finish and another at a different venue for those who did not like the college and maybe preferred a later start. Jill has offered to look into having two venues but it 5

6 would greatly assist if members let me know if they would prefer two options and if they can, suggest a possible second venue. I have written to Jill thanking her for her hard work in arranging social events over the past years. BRANCH WELFARE PROTOCOL Due to the demise of any welfare services for retired officers from Sussex Police, a Draft Branch Welfare protocol has been drawn up. This has been accepted at the last Branch Committee meeting on 25 th July. I have attached this as an annexe to this newsletter and invite members to make any comments or suggestions. I can be contacted on or adam.christie@sky.com. The final result will be put to the next AGM for approval. POLICE CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS Following on from the above item I have attached as a second annex to this newsletter, details of a list of Police Charitable Organisations which are available to assist retired officers or their families. Adam Christie Branch Secretary IN THE CHAIR On Monday 27 June old grumpies got together at the Hornbrook Horsham for a drink and a chat. Not much grumpiness but a whole lot of laughter as members, including one from the USA, reminisced and exchanged memories and updates. The next pencilled in date is Monday 5 September 2011 same grumpy time, same grumpy venue. I am thinking we ought to hold a similar get together in Crawley and/or Haywards Heath if someone can come up with a suitable time, date and a venue that would be willing to take us. Remember this is NOT a formal meeting just old friends getting together for a chat. Branch Visit to Palace of Westminster On Monday 11 July 2011 eight branch members visited the Palace of Westminster and were able to visit both houses of Parliament. The tour was conducted by a serving officer who has worked at the palace for several years and the tour was interspersed with many interesting stories relating to the history of the building. 6

7 Members who visited Palace of Westminster ANNUAL LEAVE I will be away on annual leave from Saturday 13 August until Tuesday 30 August Anything urgent, please contact Adam Christie the Branch Secretary or Colin Moules the Branch Treasurer. FINAL THOUGHT The North Sussex Branch held its first meeting on 15 May 1991 at Crawley Police Station. Whilst we were not officially recognised by NARPO HQ until 1 January 1992, next year, 2012 marks our Twenty First Birthday and in addition to our Burns Night Birthday Party I think we should celebrate the event. I am off on holiday in a few weeks to sunny Crete so I am giving you, the membership some homework whilst I am away. How would you like us to celebrate this important event? Any ideas or comments please contact Adam, Colin or me. The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. Mahatma Ghandi As always the contents and views expressed in this newsletter are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the committee, the branch or its members. In other words the buck stops here Ahmed Ramiz Branch Chairman August 2011 NARPO The Voice of Retired Police Officers 7