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The boys in Blue
-
and Green!
Historical paintings by Alan D. Mounce
One could say that painting has been in Alan’s blood since he was a
pupil at the Russell School near Addington in Surrey. His interest in
painting was stimulated and nurtured by his then art master being a
man of enlightenment and encouragement so much so that Alan went
on to win the Balfour Prize for Art in 1950!
Finally leaving school in 1953 he and his family left their home in
Farnham, Surrey moving to Northern Ireland due to his late father’s
business commitments. There he studied commercial art but found the
subject was not for him. 1957 saw Alan join the RUC and later in 1965
he became a member of the IPA. During the early days of the ‘Troubles’
he took on the position of regional chairman and later the editorship of
the regional magazine,
Ulsterview
until the demise of all the regional
magazines. At the NEC meeting in Buxton in 1978 he was made a life
member of the Association.
During those times Alan took a great interest in Irish police uniforms
under the Crown from the late 1700s to the present day. To date he has
painted a multitude of images with the majority being of, as you can well
imagine, those of the RUC! Included in his paintings was a set of vintage
uniforms of Scotland’s police forces. These he presented to the Scottish
Police Federation at their office in Glasgow.
Now long since retired he enjoys his bowls and membership of his local
PROBUS fellowship and while he still paints now and again (his eyes are
not what they used to be) he always looks forward to the next edition of
Police World. Now in his 80s he lives quietly with his wife, Emily and a
small circle of friends and family.
Visit to
Middleton Hall
and the
Peel Museum
Clive Wood
, Vice President (Responsible for the professional portfolio)
Members of the Leicestershire branch recently took advantage of
a break in the rain to visit Middleton Hall near Tamworth. Having
arranged a private tour members were shown around the 42 acre park
and gardens which includes a nature trail and the largest man-made
lake in Warwickshire.
We were met by our guide Julie who gave us tea and coffee with biscuits
to refresh us after the drive. She was extremely knowledgeable about the
hall which is grade 2 listed and has architecture dating back to 1285.
At the end of the tour we took the opportunity for lunch in the nearby
courtyard retail centre with coffee shop.
We then went back into the hall to visit the Peel Museum the main
reason for our visit. Unfortunately the curator who had previously agreed
to provide some detail was unavailable but this did not dampen our
spirits as we spent a considerable amount of time looking at the various
artefacts on display.
Following this and to give us strength for the journey home members had
afternoon tea or an ice cream with a flake back over in the coffee shop
area. We also visited the selection of shops.
New VP Clive Wood a member of the Leicestershire branch was
particularly interested in the cheese and ale barn. He was delighted
inside to find a selection of Clive’s wines locally produced English wine
with flavours which included Tayberry , blackcurrant, raspberry and
apple and Goooseberry. Unable to decide which to try a half bottle of
each flavour was selected! Other members on the tour were disappointed
to discover there were no Dave’s gins or John’s ales and had to make
alternative purchases
POLICE WORLD
Vol 62 No. 4, 2017
24
IPA News