Friday 31 January 2020

Death of a retired Police Officer : PC 1639 Alan Reed

It is with regret that we have to announce the death of a retired Police Officer : PC 1639 Alan Reed, who passed away on the 17th January 2020. He was aged 81 years.
He leaves a widow Ann, daughter - Andrea and granddaughter – Frances.
Alan joined Durham Police as a Cadet before being called up for National Service (Military Police), he was appointed Constable approx.1958 and served at British West Hartlepool, Old Hartlepool, CID, Kelloe (Village Bobby), Traffic Patrols, Consett, Lanchester (Village Bobby) and he retired from Durham Constabulary as the Crown Court Officer in Durham on the 31st January 1988.
The funeral service will be taking place on the 4th February 2020 at 15.30pm at Mountsett Crematorium, refreshments will follow at Lanchester Club.  The funeral service is not private.
Donations in lieu of flowers to Willow Burn Hospice.
Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

Wednesday 29 January 2020

Death of a retired Police Officer : Inspector 1420 Alan Kingston

It is with regret that we have to inform you of the death of a retired Police Officer : Inspector 1420 Alan Kingston, who passed away on Sunday 26th January 2020 following a short illness, aged 76 years.
Alan joined Durham (County) Constabulary as a Police Cadet in 1960 and was
appointed Police Constable 1420 in 1962 and posted to Hartlepool. In 1964 he moved to
Durham Division working in the City and Nevilles Cross Section before transferring to HQ
Administration where he worked in recruitment and accident prevention. On promotion to
Sergeant he was posted to Durham City and between 1974 and 1976 was seconded as an
Instructor to the District Police Training Centre, Dishforth. On returning to Force he policed
Bowburn and Framwellgate Sections before transferring to the Traffic Dept where he was
promoted Inspector. He subsequently returned to a Training role at HQ providing support to
the newly created overseas training programme where he was closely involved in the
training of senior police officers from Qatar. Alan returned to HQ Operations Dept where he
subsequently took up duties responsible for the Force emergency planning. He retired in
February 1997.
He leaves a widow, Barbara who he married in 1964, son Michael, daughter-in-law Marie and
granddaughter Sarah.
The funeral, which is not private, is at Durham Crematorium 13:30hrs on Friday 7th February 2020 and afterwards at the Honest Lawyer, Croxdale.
Family flowers only.
Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time

Monday 27 January 2020

A trip down memory lane

A lovely family portrait of Eric & Kath (O’Connor) Brown who met( & married) whilst serving at Seaham in the mid 70’s.

Also in the picture is Kathy’s dad, PC Hugh O’Connor who joined Durham Constabulary after serving as a commando in the army. Hugh was stationed at Hartlepool & stayed there when the amalgamation took place in 1974 subsequently serving with Cleveland till his retirement. Kathy sadly passed away on the 3rd January 2020.

The photo is now in the ‘Those Were The (Durham NARPO) Days…’ photo album on this webiste (Many Thanks to Eric and their children Sean, Erica & Siobhan for allowing us to use the photo)

Death of a retired Police Officer : Det. Supt. Brian Hunter Turner

It is with regret that we have to inform you of the death of a retired Police Officer :  Det. Supt. Brian Hunter Turner,  85 years, who died on the 20th January, 2020 at Darlington Memorial Hospital.(after a long illness)
He leaves a widow Doris and two married daughters, Deborah and Fiona and he was the loving grandfather of four grand children and one great grandchild.
Brian became a Police Cadet with Durham Constabulary in 1950, serving with the H.Q. Traffic Department, Aycliffe Village.
In 1951, he became the first serving police cadet in England to receive a Judges commendation at High Court Assize for his part in the arrest and conviction of two men who had attacked and robbed a nurse at Dryburn Hospital. He also received a Chief Constable’s Commendation for his actions.
He did National Service in the Royal Military Police and posted to the Suez Canal Zone , saw active service and selected for 615 Special Mobile Provost Section -Bodyguard & Escort to the General Officer Commanding British Armed Services in the Middle East discharged with “Exemplary Service”
He joined Durham County Constabulary in 1957 initially stationed at Jarrow; He later served at Stockton, then Crime Cars, Motor Patrols. And then C.I.D.
1965 promoted to Traffic Sergeant and then Detective Sergeant. Brian was promoted to Inspector (Staff Officer at Police College Dishforth until 1972),  before returning to Darlington as D/Insp..
1978 promoted to Chief Inspector Traffic (South) and then DCI at Bishop Auckland and then Detective Superintendent in 1982 at Headquarters, Aykley Heads.
Brian retired from Durham Constabulary in 1985 and then joined The Gaming Board for Great Britain, becoming Gaming Inspector for Tyne to Humber area. In 1998., he received a commendation from the Chief Constable of Humberside  Police for his work in connection with Gaming activities.

The funeral service will be taking place on the 11th February 2020 at 13.00pm at All Saints Church, Blackwell, Darlington.
Donations have been requested in lieu of flowers to Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

Friday 17 January 2020

Death of a retired Police Officer : PW Kathleen Mary (Kathy) Brown (nee O’Connor)

It is with regret that we have to announce the death of a retired Police Officer : PW Kathleen Mary (Kathy) Brown, who passed away on the 3rd January 2020. She was aged 65 years.
Kathy joined Durham Constabulary in 1975 and retired in 1983
Kathy leaves a widower, Eric  who is also a retired Durham Police officer, a son Sean & daughters Erica & Siobhan
Kathy & Eric met whilst stationed at Seaham Harbour , married in 1980 and lived for some time at Murton. Eric subsequently transferred and retired from Derwentside
The funeral service will be taking place on the 21st January 2020 at 2.30pm at Birtley Crematorium.  The funeral service is not private.
  Donations have being requested in lieu of flowers to the Salvation Army and Marie Curie.
  Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

Death of a retired Police Officer : PC Frank Hope (Ex Durham & N/Yorks)

It is with regret that we have to inform you of the death of a retired Police Officer :  PC Frank Hope, aged 90 years who died on Saturday 11th January, 2020.
Frank had joined Durham Constabulary in 1951 and transferred to the West Yorkshire Constabulary in 1967.
He lived in Harrogate with his wife and family and joined the newly formed North Yorkshire Police, which included Harrogate, in 1974.
Frank and a colleague were both badly injured in a road accident one New Year’s Eve and he retired from the police in December 1977.
In retirement Frank lived contentedly in Shadforth, County Durham for many years. In recent times he moved to Sedgefield to live with family members.
After a brief spell in hospital being treated for cancer he returned home to spend his final few weeks living with his family.
The funeral service will be at St Cuthbert’s Church, Shadforth, Co Durham, at 1pm on Wednesday, 29th January, 2020.
A service will follow at 2pm at Durham Crematorium.
Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

Tuesday 14 January 2020

Death of a retired Police Officer : Ch/Insp. Alan Rutherford (Ex Durham)

It is with regret that we have to inform you of the death of a retired Police Officer : Ch/Insp. Alan Rutherford (Ex Durham)
Alan died on the 30th December, 2019 aged 85 years.
Alan began his career in the police service with Durham County Constabulary where, for a number of years, he was a member of the serious incident squad.
On promotion to uniformed sergeant, he was posted to Spout Lane, Washington.
Following amalgamation, Alan served as an inspector at Sunderland. He retired in the rank of chief inspector from Wallsend in 1985 to live in the Washington area.
His funeral will be held at 1pm on Friday, 17th January, 2020 at Sunderland Crematorium.

Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

Annual Subscription Remind and Request.

NARPO Membership Subscriptions are due on 1st January each year, however, those who pay their subscription by Direct Deduction from their pension will have the deduction taken from their May pension payment.
There is still a number of our full members, widow(er) members and additional members who pay their annual subscription by either cash or cheque.  We would urge anyone paying in this way to consider paying by BACS transfer, an electronic transfer of your subscription directly into the account of your Durham NARPO Branch.  This is not a Direct Debit scheme but a transfer of funds, actioned annually by the member.
All you need to carry out the BACS transfer is the Sort Code and Account Number of the Durham NARPO Branch.  If you contact either Susan Knaggs on 0191 388 4052 or susan0095@gmail.com or Ray Jones on 01325 327165 or rayjones2341@gmail.com we will provided you with these details.

Subscriptions for 2020 are :

Full Member: £21.48
 
Additional Member: £7.00
(Full Member of another Branch)

Widow(er) Member: £5.00

Death of a retired Police Officers wife : Marjorie Little (Widow of PC Albert Rodger Little)

It is with regret that we have to inform you of the death of a retired Police Officers wife : Marjorie Little (Widow of Retired Police Officer – PC Albert Rodger Little, ex Durham Police ), who died 0n December 26th, aged 78 years.
Marjorie was the beloved wife of the late Rodger, dearly loved mam of Linda and Mandy. A dear mother-in-law, grandma and great grandma.
Funeral service and committal to be held at Wear Valley Crematorium, Coundon on Monday January 20th at 12.30p.m.
Will family and friends please meet at the crematorium Family flowers only please, donations in lieu if so desired to Motor Neurone Disease.
Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

Wednesday 8 January 2020

Service of thanksgiving for Ron Hogg

The funeral of Ron Hogg, Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington was held on Tuesday 7th January 2020

Ron lost his battle with Motor Neurone Disease in December, aged 68.

His family were joined by hundreds of colleagues, friends and well-wishers as they said farewell to the father-of-two at a poignant service of thanksgiving at Durham Cathedral.

Ron made his final journey from his home in Newton Aycliffe to Palace Green, in Durham, with a motorcycle escort before being led to the cathedral by four Northumbria Police horses.

The sound of his beloved bagpipes rang out around Palace Green as he was brought into the cathedral on the shoulders of his police officer colleagues.

An address was made by Canon Adrian Gatrill, the senior force chaplain, and there were readings by Chief Constable Jo Farrell and Sweety Sahani, Ron’s principal private secretary.

Ron’s son, Alexander Hogg, also paid an emotional tribute to his father, as did former chief constable Mike Barton who honoured his “far-reaching and illustrious” career in policing, as well as his sense of humour, engagement with the local community and ability to challenge the status quo.

With his voice breaking, he said: “We are the poorer for losing you Ron, but the richer for having been one of your friends.

"The world will miss your compassion, vision and passion. But we will not miss your inspiration, because it will live on.”

The service was followed by a private service at Durham Crematorium for family and close friends.

Photos from the service of thanksgiving can be seen by clicking here

Update for AGM on Monday 13th January

Please let us know, as soon as possible, if you intend coming along to the AGM by contacting either:

Secretary - Stuart Ingram via email at sji1179@btinternet.com or telephone on 01388 814768, or

Chairman - Raymond Jones via email at rayjones2341@gmail.com or telephone on 07535 261063

This will enable us to ensure there will be sufficient seating and buffet refreshment.

It will also allow the Bowling Club to assess the number of staff required to cater for our needs.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Tuesday 7 January 2020

Death of Janet Anderson, wife of retired Police Officer and NARPO member Barry Anderson

It is with regret that we have to inform you of the death of Janet Anderson, wife of retired Police Officer and NARPO member Barry Anderson who died on Tuesday 31st December 2019, aged 60 years.
Janet was the the dearly loved wife of retired , much loved mam, mother-in-law, grandma, sister and aunt.
Janet's funeral service will take place at 1.00pm Thursday 9th January 2020 at St Andrew's Church, St Andrew's Road, Spennymoor DL16 6NE, followed by interment at York Hill Cemetery, Spennymoor.
Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

Monday 6 January 2020

Annual General Meeting of the Durham Branch of NARPO

Date for your Diary…….
Monday 13th January at 1900hrs

The Annual General Meeting of Durham NARPO, with guest speaker from Force Executive, DCC David Orford and a representative from Durham Police Federation
All members welcome to attend and participate
Ideal time to meet your old colleagues and friends.
Please try and see if you can attend, meet / vote for who you want on the committee and see the hard work they are doing throughout the year on your behalf

There is a bar at the premises & light refreshments are provided
The meeting will be held at the Durham Indoor Bowling Centre (behind Abbey Leisure Centre)  Pity Me, Durham, DH1 5GE

Death of one of our widow members : Sybil Amos

It is with regret that we have to inform you of the death of one of our widow members, Sybil Amos, who died in Westfield House Care Home, Lockerbie on Thursday 26th December 2019, aged 94 years.  She was married to the late Derek Amos, a Superintendent at Darlington, who died in service in 1973.
At the end of the war she was a WREN, working with radar and married Derek in 1949.
Sybil was the much loved mother of Christopher, Martin and Mark, mother-in-law to Helen, Julie and Karen and grandmother to 6 grandchildren.
Sybils funeral will take place at 1.00pm Tuesday 7th January 2020 at Rouchan Loch Crematorium, Collin, Dumfies and Galloway DG1 4JF.
Family flowers only, donations in lieu to the British Heart Foundation.
Our thoughts are with the family at this sad time

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