PW_04_2017

IPA News

The boys in Blue - and Green! Historical paintings by Alan D. Mounce

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.

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.

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. 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

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.

POLICE WORLD Vol 62 No. 4, 2017

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