THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE - Findon Policemen fo the Past

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — these Findon Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contain scenes from her home village of Findon,
West Sussex, U.K. Everyday stories about real people.

FINDON POLICEMEN OF THE PAST

Published in the Findon News in October 2006

In August 2006 I was delighted to hear from Colin Linington and he gave me the seed of an idea — to make a section on police constables of the past who served our village.

At the beginning of the twentieth century The Triangle was used as a rendezvous for the local bobby, Bert Warder, and his superior. When Bert was on night duty, it was at this appointed place that he met his sergeant who it is assumed came from Worthing, to exchange notes and receive fresh instructions. Bert lived in the High Street and the arrangement was that they always met around midnight — Bert’s police duties in the village permitting, of course.

For those that do not remember The Triangle at Findon, this was a well-known landmark for years. It was so called because of the clump of trees in the shape of a triangle that divided the ways at the Nepcote Corner. It presented a sharp bend on the main Worthing to Horsham road until in the 1930s it was proposed to put the wheels of progress into action and commence the process of rounding off the area. A stout flint wall about a metre high encompassed The Triangle itself. In the centre flourished trees and sturdy holly bushes.

24th August 2006

Police

I have looked through you site with interest, and must congratulate you on you research efforts.

I thought that I might add a little to it. My Father Henry William Linington was the Village Policeman in Findon from the 26 May 1933 to 14 July 1938.

I attended the village school from about April 1935 until we left to go to Durrington and well remember Mr Thomas, the school dentist and not orgetting the "Nit Nurse".

We lived in the Police House which was on the left hand side of the road going away from Worthing, it was laid back from the road, just after the houses which stand directly on the road (Rose Cottage rings a bell but it may be the wrong one)

I'm afraid that I cannot remember any names or faces only my mothers friend Mrs Short then only the name.

I attach a photo taken in the garden, Mother,Aunt,Father, the dog and I in
the front.

hope this is of interest - Colin Linington

We don't have a village policeman these days........ we are told that we have one....... but he is not resident and we never see him and wouldn't know who he was if we saw him pass by in his car.

25th August 2006

Valerie

Findon Policemen

I remember in the 50`s PC Griffin who had daughters Margaret and Janette. In the early 70`s there was PC Baldwin who had two little boys at the school.

I am sure there are other former Findon people like John and Lawrie who can give many more details.

Pam.

Pam Stepney, Findon Village, West Sussex.

Over straight away to Lawrie in the West Indies....

25th August 2006

Dear Valerie,

Village Bobbies

The village bobby after WWII was Mr. Griffin - a friend of my dads. He was married to a Scottish lady and had two daughters, Margaret and Jeanette. He later worked in the magistrates court.
He carried out his duties on a bicycle (in Findon not the Magistrates Court) .

Later on the next Findon policeman (Mr Bish I think ?) was issued with a Velocette LE, a water cooled horizontally opposed twin motorcycle. This motorcycle was so quiet he could come up behind you without you realising it!

Later on the policeman's residence was transferred to a house in the Quadrangle I think.

The first incumbent after this was a tall young man. My sister has vivid recollections of him chasing an offender through the garden allotments below May Cottage and losing his helmet in the process.

As children the biggest crime we ever committed was to add the words "actual size" to the large picture of a colorado beetle exhibited outside the police house ! For some reason this always amused us greatly !

Lawrie May

Lawrence May, Antigue, West Indies.

I also received the following email from the late Roger Moulds (he sadly died in January 2012)...

27th August 2006

Village Policemen

I remember PC Griffin. Jack Griffin was one of the nicest men that I have known.

I used to cycle into Worthing on Monday and Wednesday evenings, to TS Vanguard, the Worthing Sea Cadet Unit. In the winter I could be cycling home with the batteries in my cycle lights exhausted committing the dreaded offence of 'riding without lights.' Jack Griffin used to stand by the telephone box in Findon Valley on the corner of Downside Avenue. I think he used the phone there to make his duty ring in to the Station. I would come pedalling up the road, and he would step out and stand on the kerbside. Still some hundred yard away, I would jump from my bike and pretend I had walked all the way from Worthing! As I drew level he would say

"Lights gone again, Roger?"

"Yes, Mr Griffin".

'"Alright lad, get on your bike".

I would then mount my bike and he would get on his and ride beside me all the way home to Kingswood. He never admonished me, just made sure that I got home in one piece.

My parents became involved in running a fete which they called 'Country Fair.' It took place at the Village Hall, and consisted of a fete with a dance in the Hall in the evening. A licence was applied for to have a bar during the dance. My father saw Mr Griffin and told him about the dance and that we expected to finish at midnight, but that the licence was timed to expire at 11pm. My father said he hoped that they would be able to close the bar by that time, but people might still be drinking. Mr Griffin said '

"Ah, there now, I find I have something to do at the other end of the Village, so I won't be around at that time!'"

In 1956 I was walking through the Worthing Arcade in the evening when I found a man breaking into a jewellers shop. I managed to grab hold of him and with the help of another chap we detained the man until the Police arrived.

One of them was Jack Griffin who by then had been promoted to Sergeant and transferred to Worthing. When the Police appeared, the prisoner, who had been quiet up to then apart from pleading with us to let him go, became extremely violent. Gradually he was overcome and loaded into the back of a Police van with Jack sitting on him. I got into the van as well, and off we went to the Police Station. Jack asked me what I was doing now. I told him I had just finished my National Service and was contemplating joining the Police.

"Go up to London, Roger, It's dead man's shoes down here boy". He said.

So I applied for the Met., and when I went for my interview, Jack had seen to it that details of my citizen's arrest had been sent to the recruiters in London.

I can't remember the name of the PC who replaced Jack. But I met him in the village one night while I was home on week-end leave from Hendon Police College. It was a very quiet summer's evening, just getting dark. I was walking down from the A24 towards the Square. There was a field entrance on the left hand side, and out of the gloom I heard a voice say —

"Good Evening, Roger".

I peered into the gateway and saw the PC standing there, wearing his old fashioned police cape. I started to answer and he said —

"Shush I'm waiting for someone".

I crept into the gateway beside him. He said —

"I'm waiting for a jockey lad, I saw him last night riding his bike without lights. I called out 'Where's your lights?' — and he shouted back .....'Bugger off' to me".

We stood there for a few minutes more, then in the still of the evening we could hear the swish of tyres coming along the road. It was the offending jockey lad. As he drew level, the PC sprang out, spreading his arms like a great bat and shouted

"What do you mean Bugger Off?"

The jockey lad was so surprised, he wobbled wildly and then fell off his bike, jumped up and ran away down the road as fast as he could. The PC picked up the bike and threw it over the hedge into the field.

"There" he said, '"Honour satisfied, I think".

Roger Moulds, Landrindod Wells, Powys, Wales.

Super stories, Roger. Thank you.

11th October 2006

Findon Village Policemen of the Past

Jennifer (Mitchell) Wakeford very kindly sent me a printout of your website article about Findon's policemen of the past. I was touched to see my father so fondly remembered, especially by Roger Moulds.

We came to the Findon police house in 1943 when I was a fortnight old and my sister, Margaret, four and a half. Opposite our house was the British Legion,surrounded by a farmyard and fields. Our front garden had a steep bank down onto the road and it was from here that I watched, through the chestnut fencing, flocks of sheep being driven to the sheep fair every September. My father had to check lorries leaving the fair to make sure sheep were not over-crowded.

He had also to regulate traffic of all kinds in and out of farms when there were outbreaks of foot-and-mouth, making sure the disinfectant baths were maintained and warning notices posted.

The policeman before my father in Findon was, I think, Mr Sopp, and the one that followed us was Jack Drake. When we moved to Worthing, on my father being made a sergeant, I continued to attend school in Findon, coming up every day on the number 5 bus.

I have returned several times to Findon since we left and find it very changed from the sleepy village I knew in the '40s and '50s. However, my mind's eye sees it as it was then and that can never change.

Jeannette (Griffin) Millington, Littlehampton, West Sussex.

I read with interest your articles on past Findon Bobbies.

My parents moved to the Black Horse from Lancashire in 1953 and I can remember attending the Youth Club (Opposite the old Police House) in what I think was the British Legion building next to Shorts Farm. This was approximately the southern corner of Lime Road.

The Youth Club at the time was run (I think) by P.C. George Leeson, who also used to keep his eye on the lorries and vans whose drivers used to frequent the Transport Cafe which was situated just north of the youth club.

Later, probably the late fifties the Youth Club moved into what is now the skittle alley at the Black Horse.This was by now a redundant cafe my mother having moved the tea sales into the bar.

P.C. Leeson was now moved on and P.C. Colin Bish took over running of the youth club and I seem to remember he was a model aeroplane enthusiast and formed a club in the same area as the youth club naming it The Worthing Bald Eagles Aero Club (with a chap called Ron Bayliss).

A scout group from Boreham Wood were camping by Tolmare Farm and P.C. Bish invited them down to the youth club for an evening of darts, table tennis and billiards. Later tht week the scout group raided our club but really did not do too much damage. However, P.C. Bish knowing where they were camping arranged for us all to meet at the club one night with blackened faces. We walked via Church Drive, across the cricket pitch passed Tolmare Pond (yes, there used to be one) and on to raid the said scouts by letting all their guy ropes down ending up all sitting round the camp fire including P.C. Bish.

Summerfield Hosue, off Nepcote Lane, used to be owned by a man called Commander Pugh who I think owned Atco Lawnmowers. He used to let us play cricket on his front lawn (which is now where bungalows are) but later in the day we used to go back and scrump his apples only to get caught by P.C. Bish and get a clip around the ear.

Talking to Keith Groves last week he also remembers a P.C. Drake but does not recall how long he stayed for.

Then came David Joy who nobody, as far as I know, took a liking to. I think at this time the youth club folded. I remember a snowy night and P.C. Joy was sitting on his Velocette motorbike next to the butchers, several of Ryan Price's stable lads came out of the Village House and pelted him with snowballs. Happy days.

Barry Butterfield, Pulborough, West Sussex.

19th December 2006

Dear Valerie,

I have been reading with interest about Findon's Policemen.

I was as a child living at Rose Cottage 2 doors from the Police House now Daisy Cottage in Constable Linnington's time and remember my brother and I going to tea on one of Colin's birthdays.

The family were the proud owners of an Austin 7. On a Bank Holiday I was invited to go with them to Worthing to see The Parade. It is the first ride I remember in a private car and to me I was riding in a Golden Coach never to be forgotten.

Constable Mildenhall following the Linningtons it was the early part of the war that I went to sit with his wife the evenings her husband was on night duty and she was frightened to be on her own.

To Rose Cottage the Police House was luxury they had a bath in the kitchen with a wooden top that dropped down on it when not in use not a tin bath brought in on bath nights once a week. I kept in touch with the Mildenhalls when they moved first to Heene Road and then to Selsey in my teenage years.

Yours sincerely,

Gladys (Lambourne), Findon Village, West Sussex.

FROM DAVID LAINE..... FINDON RESIDENT FROM 1968 - 2001... he has fond memories of Findon and the people. His children grew up here and he says that he made many friends over the 33 years he lived in Homewood. This website appears to be handy for a bit of nostalgia.

"Village Bobbies.....I remember PC Joy (we called him 'Oh be Joyful' because he never was). My brother and I once saw him trying to chase a speeding motorist on the dual- carriageway by the Black Horse on his LE Velocette.

To cut a long story short he ended up in the bushes in the central reservation, much to our amusement. I hasten to add the only damage was to his pride. David Laine, Newton Abbot, Devon" .

JOHN GREVES FROM WALTON-ON-THAMES EMAILS "Findon By-pass Speeding....Two local characters were often in trouble - Ken Rudd and Mike Wilcock - guess PC Joy did have a problem keeping up with a Jag or "Spitfire Special" - open road - no traffic - where else? Worthing's squad car was a Riley with a bell on the front .......... Keystone Cops! John . P.S. Keystone Cops. Riley Pathfinder.

15th September 2007

Dear Valerie.....

I was the Durrington Police Officer from 1964 to 1969. During which time my patch was linked up with Findon and Sompting (later to include the village of Ferring when the Mini Vans were introduced over the Velocette motor cycles).

The Findon incumbant was PC Dave Joy and I was acutely aware that he was not liked in the village. That also went for many of his colleagues too. Some of his exploits were legendry including fights with the Stable Lads on the lawn to the Police Cottage. PC Joy had a sister who was married to an "Ossie" Slater, a gamekeeper on the Castle Goring Estate at nearby Clapham.

PC Joy was "moved on" and was replaced by PC Jim Lewis, a large kindly Irishman and had also seen service in The Kenyan Police. His wife was Oonagh and they had two children whilst at the cottage, Alison and Nigel . Jim was well respected in the village and amongst his colleagues. My family became very close to the Lewis's and our respective children grew up together and remain good friends to this day.

The supervising Sergeant , for the three villages, was Tom Wright and between the three of us designed a one way traffic system around the village to cope with the ever increasing numbers of vehicles at the Findon Sheep Fair.

It was a sad day for all when PC Lewis left the village on a well deserved promotion. He later retired as a Chief Inspector at Worthing.

PC Lewis was replaced by PC Ian Baldwin and it was shortly after this in early 1969, I was transferred to Rudgwick Village.

Hope this sheds some light from the mid to late 60's re Policing.

Kind regards John Pears.

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A Nurse Remembers.

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