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Section UK Members Phillip Powell & Vivienne Catherall-Powell first met Hans & Frieda Schurr from Passau,
Bavaria via the Travel Form Scheme, when in 1986 they responded to a hosting request. The Schurrs, along
with their fifteen-year-old son, stayed with them at their home in London. Phillip and Vivienne talk about
that friendship.
Help from Sally Satnav
Having joined the IPA in August 2014 under the free entry programme, Rosy Halsall and her husband
thought an approach to Section Austria would be a way of making friends with police families.
This is how their first encounter went.
My husband and I are both retired
Merseyside Police officers and we
have been visiting Austria for the past
nineteen years, so it seemed obvious to approach
the Tirol Region of the Austrian IPA in anticipation
of our next visit.
I duly filled out the form and sent it off, having
no idea what to expect. I received a prompt reply
acknowledging my request; then heard nothing
more and before I knew it, the July trip was
upon us.
When we arrived in Waidring, which isn’t far
from Kitzbuhel. I received an email from Oberst
(Colonel) Peter Kern, Chair of Tirol Region, inviting
us to tour the police training centre. We arranged
a day and then off we went!
The location is quite remote and I had to rely
on my brilliant new TomTom (nicknamed Sally
SatNav) to get us there. Leaving the autobahn
on to remote and winding roads got me a little
worried as I couldn’t imagine there would be
police training centre anywhere near where we
were driving.
How wrong I was! We rounded a bend in the
road and ‘Sally’ told us we had ‘reached our
destination’. Had we? There were no signs,
barriers or guard house – just an expanse of
grass, a small white chapel, and a statue of what
appeared to be a medieval knight.
A young man in an office saw us, spoke to us in
excellent English, and we waited for Peter, who
arrived a few minutes later.
We received an extremely warm welcome and
once pleasantries were exchanged, he took
us both up to his office. We chatted for a short
while, but it was clear he was very busy and he
apologised because his ‘boss’ was due any time.
He gave us a short tour of the classrooms and we
discussed various aspects of training for the new
officers. We were amazed at how intensive the
instruction is and how different it is in relation to
how officers are now trained in the UK. We then
met Peter’s deputy, Walter Schlauer, who had
brought the Head of Training, Brigadier General
Thomas Schlesinger, who is based in Vienna.
Introductions were made and then we all went
outside to have photos taken and exchange
friendship gifts.
I gave Peter a glass trophy, inscribed with the IPA
logo and the names of both IPA sections, UK and
Austria. In return we were given Tirol pennants
and to my delight, the most beautiful glass
obelisk, etched with the IPA name and Section.
We all went out to the lawn, with the knight and
the chapel in the background. My husband spent
some time talking to Thomas, learning about the
various training centres that he oversees and
I chatted with Walter about his regular visits to
Scotland and arranged to keep in touch.
With that, it was time to take our leave. We said
our goodbyes and thanked them all for such an
interesting and informative visit. We promised to
let Peter know our dates for next year, with a view
to meeting up again.
We could not have been made more welcome
and I hope that this experience is a taste of
things to come on future trips.
Rose Halsall, Cheshire Branch
Bavaria to Birmingham:
An IPA Friendship
Our friends Hans and Frieda made a third visit
to stay with us in July 2015, this time to our
apartment in Birmingham. They only came for
a short visit of four days but in that time we managed
to take them to visit two National Trust properties in
the West Midlands, a trip to Worcester around the
shops there and to the cathedral, as well as a trip into
Birmingham to visit the Art Gallery and enjoy a lunch at
a tapas restaurant and a visit to the Jacobean mansion,
Aston Hall. On their last day, on the morning before their
flight home, we visited nearby Winterbourne Gardens,
owned by the University of Birmingham, which as well as
having splendid gardens, there is also an Arts and Crafts
house and tea shop.
Since 1986 we have made two trips to Germany to stay
with Hans and Frieda, one to their home in Passau
and the other when we all stayed in an IPA house
in Berlin and then travelled to their holiday home
on the Island of Rugen. They also made a second
trip to see us in London a few years ago.
The IPA has been responsible for our friendship for
the last twenty-nine years and we urge others to
take advantage of the Travel Form Scheme when
going abroad.
Phillip Powell & Vivienne Catherall-Powell
London South Branch
For more information about the IPA Travel scheme,
visit:
Walter, Thomas, Bryan, Rose and Peter
Phillip, Vivienne, Frieda and Hans in 2015
13 POLICE WORLD Vol 60 No. 4, 2015
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