"Hello Hello Hello... What is Going on Here Then?" One of the abiding memories that most of us seem to keep about where we lived many years ago is that of the local policeman. On our estates in the early days the local bobby was regarded with some degree of awe by most youngsters, mind you though, he was approachable, but however, not a "soft touch". He certainly commanded a great deal of respect from the community he served.

That's not to say that the present day policemen are not respected; they are but their job has changed somewhat over the years and they now have some much more difficult contemporary problems to deal with. There's no doubt that policemen seem to be regarded differently nowadays. Something that has changed in more modern times is the fact that many more local policemen actually lived in the community they served. Police houses were included in the plans when council estates were built and for many years it proved to be a very successful thing to do. It ensured that right from the start, a very positive relationship could be developed between the local bobby and the community. In a very short time the "protector of the law" pushing his twenty eight inch wheel, "sit up and beg" bike became a very familiar sight on our estates.

This kind of beat policing was still carried on well into the 1950's and beyond. Whitehawk, Manor Farm and Moulsecoomb all were policed in this way from the start. In the 1950's one of our policemen was PC Fred Deacon who moved into the police house at the bottom of Manor Road with his family in 1949 and stayed there for six years. He shared the beat at that time with PC Des Woodjetts and PC Roy Storrey. PC Deacon was a policeman for 32 years and in all that time was never late for duty, a dedicated man indeed. His widow told me that she remembers the time that they lived on the Manor Farm estate, six happy years, with great fondness, in particular the friendliness of the local people and how her husband got to know and respect the local, a respect I might add that went both ways.

Over the years before the 50's there were of course other policemen who, not only served, but were also an integral part of the community, when I was a kid PC George Boxall and PC George Oakley are the ones I remember. These predecessors and others of the 1950's coppers and indeed todays' as well, were all dedicated to the people and keeping us all on the straight and narrow in that which is widely regarded as the golden age of real communities. Perhaps it might be as well for those of us that were kids during the war years to forget the odd clip round the ear: WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Written by Fred Netley.