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As I wrote last months blog I was saddened
to hear about the death of PC Andrew Harper
(Thames Valley Police). On behalf of the
Association I sent a card of condolence to the
Chief Constable Mr John Campbell QPM asking
for our thoughts to be passed to the family. I
received a very nice acknowledgement with an
assurance that this would be done. As I wrote
this update, a further three men had been
charged. I am sure this has been a challenging
enquiry for the investigation team, and our
thoughts are with them.
Our Secretary General, Steve Bretherton, kindly
represented the Association at the annual Care
of Police Survivors (COPS) event at the National
Memorial Arboretum. I know many of you are
involved with this event, either through NARPO, the
Blue Knights, the Unity Tour cyclists, or for many
personal reasons. It is always a very moving event.
On a lighter note, I enjoyed afternoon tea at a cafe
decorated in the style of the 1940s. The ladies
serving us had hairstyles and dresses to match
the era, and I must thank John Penlington from our
local branch in Leicestershire, for arranging it.
I particularly enjoyed the Spam sandwiches.
Sometime ago, on taking a closer look at our
headquarters at Fox Road in Nottingham, it
struck me that it needed a bit of TLC, so we have
commissioned some work to be done, to ensure
our most significant asset remains just that. Over
the last couple of months it has been really nice
to see the building smartening up.
I recently spent a very pleasant couple of days
with VP Martin Turner, helping to celebrate the
50th anniversary of our International Training
Centre at Castle Gimborn in Germany. I said I
would talk more about Special Interest Groups
(SIG) later, and this event was where I met David
Lewis, the Chair of our Writers SIG, who had
put up a gazebo to raise the profile of the SIG
and a Writers Event being held at Gimborn. If
you fancy becoming a writer, or you just want
to sharpen your skills, get a hold of David or VP
Sean Hannigan, who will be able to give you all of
the details
Now, before I get an opportunity to talk to you
again, it will be our Members Day in December,
when we mark the birthday of our founder, Arthur
Troop. This event will be held at Section UK IPA-
HQ, and is being organised by VP Sean Hannigan.
If you or representatives from your Branch want
to pop in and be involved in what I’m sure will
be an excellent day, please contact Sean. I look
forward to seeing many of you there.
Finally I’m starting to pack my travel toothbrush
to attend World Congress, which this year is
in Croatia. We are giving presentations on the
outcomes of the Young Police Officers Seminar
(YPOS) in Scotland, and also about plans for our
70th anniversary next year: 20 in 2020. It will
be an interesting experience for me, as this year
is an election year with all of the International
Executive Board (IEB) positions up for grabs. I’ll
let you know how that all ends in the next issue.
For now, thank you for your continuing support
for the Association. I am in the process of setting
up a Recruitment & Retention Subcommittee,
as I believe this is our biggest risk. If you have
any thoughts on what I should do, or how that
work might be taken forward, I would be only too
pleased to hear from you.
Yours in friendship,
Clive Wood
President Section UK
Police Roll of Honour Trust Reception
– Sid Mackay, Chair
Dave Lewis, Writers SIG Chair at Gimborn
Gimborn 50th
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Keeping you informed
POLICE WORLD
Vol 64 No.4, 2019