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Summer Times is the Journal of the Old Scarborians Association

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as a communications tech., with active service<br />

in Cyprus, not my choice on ei<strong>the</strong>r count! By<br />

now I was back up to £3 per week! Better still,<br />

I returned to The Y.I.C. at £300.00 per year!<br />

After Suez, Hungary etc. ( and in my case,<br />

little prospect <strong>of</strong> owning a decent sports car‐‐<br />

darn those finances), many, many <strong>of</strong> us voted<br />

with our feet and left for o<strong>the</strong>r shores. Mal‐<br />

colm Storry & I sailed toge<strong>the</strong>r to Canada, to<br />

be met in Montreal by Bill Potts <strong>the</strong> Junior!<br />

Malcolm returned to <strong>the</strong> U.K. (as we had<br />

originally intended) but somehow I stayed on,<br />

and 46 years later, I settle for frequent v<strong>is</strong>its to<br />

Britain. My wife and I also travel to o<strong>the</strong>r safe<br />

places frequently, so if you ask me at a dinner<br />

or lunch to “drop in”, beware! Even Gary and<br />

June Watson in Dunedin, N.Z. South Island,<br />

greeted us, very warmly, last year!<br />

What else? Ah yes, work and marriage, I did<br />

both. Although insurance was by no means<br />

my intended career, somehow it stuck and<br />

treated me quite well. I knuckled down to <strong>the</strong><br />

exams & became a “Fellow” <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Insurance<br />

Institute quite young—finally spending from<br />

1972 to 1990 with a firm which specialized in<br />

big r<strong>is</strong>ks and Pr<strong>of</strong>essional Liability. I retired<br />

completely in 1995, after five years consulting.<br />

I finally bought a sports car!<br />

Marriage came somewhat later than for most,<br />

at 32, to Sheila Dey <strong>of</strong> Toronto and here we<br />

are relaxing at <strong>the</strong> Wh<strong>is</strong>tler ski resort, 36 years<br />

later, with John and Lyn Webster (February<br />

2002). We have two young people, Andrew,<br />

30, and Margaret, 25. Our home <strong>is</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficially<br />

Nepean (Ottawa), but we now have a toe hold<br />

in Vancouver: better climate!<br />

Some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> buses which serve <strong>the</strong> Wh<strong>is</strong>tler<br />

area carry <strong>the</strong> Plaxtons logo, a nostalgic link<br />

with my wonderful home town.<br />

OLD BILL REMEMBERS<br />

by Brian Eves (1951-58)<br />

My career at SBHS ended on Friday 18 th<br />

July, 1958 and on Monday 21 st July I en‐<br />

23<br />

rolled as a cadet<br />

with <strong>the</strong> Metropoli‐<br />

tan Police Junior<br />

Cadet Force. Over<br />

<strong>the</strong> next 21 months I<br />

was to progress to<br />

<strong>the</strong> dizzy heights <strong>of</strong><br />

Senior Cadet and<br />

pass through <strong>the</strong><br />

training school at Hendon where I was<br />

informed that in 13 weeks I would be<br />

expected to learn enough to equip me for<br />

a 30 year career.<br />

On Monday 2 nd May, 1960, my 19 th birthday, I<br />

was sworn in as a constable by <strong>the</strong> Ass<strong>is</strong>tant<br />

Comm<strong>is</strong>sioner C.I.D. Ass<strong>is</strong>tant Comm<strong>is</strong>sion‐<br />

ers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Metropolitan Police are Justices <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> Peace for <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> admin<strong>is</strong>tering<br />

oaths. I remember taking <strong>the</strong> Constables’ Oath<br />

and an oath <strong>of</strong> allegiance to <strong>the</strong> Queen. The<br />

reason for <strong>the</strong> second oath <strong>is</strong> that all royal<br />

residences are guarded by <strong>the</strong> Metropolitan<br />

Police.<br />

I was posted to Paddington Green Police Sta‐<br />

tion, which had featured in <strong>the</strong> film ‘The Blue<br />

Lamp’, and on my arrival <strong>the</strong>re I was in‐<br />

formed that I would be required to form part<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Div<strong>is</strong>ional Contingent at <strong>the</strong> wedding<br />

<strong>of</strong> H.R.H. The Princess Margaret and Mr.<br />

Anthony Armstrong‐Jones. Th<strong>is</strong> meant that I<br />

only had a couple <strong>of</strong> days to get my No. 1<br />

dress uniform into shape. Th<strong>is</strong> kit, which <strong>is</strong> no<br />

longer used, cons<strong>is</strong>ted <strong>of</strong> a heavy frock coat<br />

with stand up collar and lined with a white<br />

melton blanket, and heavy felt trousers, which<br />

required serious belt and braces to hold <strong>the</strong>m<br />

up. The ensemble was fin<strong>is</strong>hed <strong>of</strong>f with a<br />

wide lea<strong>the</strong>r belt and white gloves.<br />

The great day dawned and I had to parade at<br />

4.30 a.m. Our contingent cons<strong>is</strong>ted <strong>of</strong> 1 In‐<br />

spector, 1 sergeant, and 25 P.C.s. After a short<br />

briefing, during which <strong>the</strong> new boy was allo‐<br />

cated to two older and more experienced<br />

<strong>of</strong>ficers to guide him, we were conveyed to<br />

<strong>the</strong> Mall and posted to part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> proces‐

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