Which Division? - Western

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Which Division is this?   Western

As we stated, there was no prize for guessing which Division this was -  Western Division taken in front of Somerset Police Station. We initially gave the approximate date as  1972-1973 but as a result of further investigation, incuding an email from an old friend of Damian Willcocks' in the Staffordshire Police,  we are now sure that the earliest date for the photo must be early or mid 1974.  From the input received both from our comments section  and from Mike Phillips we believe we can correctly identify everyone except the guy standing between Foster Burke and Ryvan Campbell.  See caption below the photo.

Western Division - 1972 or 1973 
Back Rows (l-r)  Dai James, Damian Willcocks, Colin Hopkins, Mike Scully, Ben Linton, Ishmael Daniels, Peter Counsell & Alan Barker
4th Row -  Dave Barber, Chris Bowerman, Keith Melville, Foster Burke, Not yet identified, Ryvan Campbell, Clyde "Tango" Burgess
3rd Row  -  Bill Buchanan, Mike Phillips, Harry Mesham, Keith Bird, Dick Naylor, Howard Dill
2nd Row  -  Louis Griffiths, Sgts. Neville Phllips, Mike Richards and J.T. Simmons,   John Eve
Front Row  -  COP L.M. "Nobby" Clark,  Inspector Hilton Wingood, and Superintendent Fred "Penny" Bean
 
Editors note -  We made real progress  on identifying everyone in this photograph after receiving an email from Ann Phillips on behalf of Mike on 24th October advising that Mike believes the three men to his right (when looking at the photo) are Harry Mesham, Keith Bird and Dick Naylor.  Mike has also identified the guy to the immediate right Foster Burke as Ryvan Campbell. .
 
In order to assist in picking people out we included this blow up of the officers in the middle of the group.  We are still wanting to confirm the identity of the constable standing between Foster Burke and Ryvan Campbell (the guy with the ginger moustache).  Sadly,  we are aware that at least 4 of these former colleagues are no longer with us -  "Nobby" Clark,  Neville Phillips, Ben Linton, and Damian Willcocks.
 
We would be pleased to hear from anyone else in the photograph as to where you are and what you are doing these days.  We can advise that the following are still here in Bermuda  -  "Penny" Bean, "Jellybean" Wingood, Dave Barber, JT Simmons,  Mike "Dagwood" Rickards, Mike Phillips, Howard Dill, Pete Counsell,  Dai James, and Louis Griffiths.
 
 
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Comments  

#17 John Latoszek 2014-12-29 14:38
I can add some additional information to the mystery. I worked a number of shifts with Byron Lewis on B Watch in Hamilton in 1975. I also was in the October 23rd 1973 recruit arrivals from England that went through training. Harry Mesham. John McKay, John Stewart and Mick Scully were all part of that October 73 Training School group. So the photograph would not be from 1973 and is probably from 1975. Both John McKay and John Stewart had left the BPF by that time. I do believe that the unknown is Byron Lewis. Byron served in the Military in Ireland prior to joining the BPF, regards

Editors note - Great information John. Can we have any other comments?
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#16 Chris Bowerman 2014-11-26 18:22
When John arrived at Eastern his top lip was bald ,and in my original post to the site I did comment he was not there.
However, in another photo of a smaller group I am pretty certain he is present with the tash , and ,have some slight recall of him being ribbed by his mate John Stewart about it.
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#15 Davie Kerr 2014-11-26 15:03
I seem to recall John Mackay having much darker hair and no tash, but I'm open to correction.

I also seem to recall that he was nicknamed "Blue John" because he had an adverse reaction to cold water!
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#14 Chris Bowerman 2014-11-26 10:50
the unidentified man with the moustache could be John Mackay.he joined with Mike Skully and the raw recruit intake in 73/4 and was posted to Somerset.

Editors note - Thanks Chris. Will try to ontain a photo of John from his file at Police HQ for comparison. Can anyone else confirm if this is John Mackay?
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#13 Paul Singh 2014-10-09 22:23
The person between Foster Burke and Ryvan Campbell could be Dave "Rookie" Adams- He went to Rhodesia as an Inspector- He had freckles on his face and now resides in the UK- I arrived in Bermuda on April 1972- He played cards with us at the Prison 0fficers club I think!!!
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#12 Davie Kerr 2014-10-08 15:59
Roger, I've just been looking at a copy of the Centennial Boxing programme and I note that a B. Lewis fought in 1975. This would tie in with Byron Lewis's service dates, and the faces are very similar, so I still go for Byron Lewis being our "missing link"! I lay no claim to 100% infallibility, butI have no recollection of any Adair, Bob or otherwise, ever having been in the Bermuda Police.
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#11 Davie Kerr 2014-09-28 14:58
I can confirm it's definitely not Gwynfryn Lewis either. Gwyn was actually a very unusual character in that he was a Welshman who left Bermuda to join the RUC!
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#10 Davie Kerr 2014-08-27 15:58
Roger, re your "Missing Man", for some strange reason the name Byron Lewis (181, I think) has just popped into my mind: could it be him (or, to be strictly grammatically correct, he)?

Editors note - Davie, I think you drew a blank on this one. Byron Lewis served from 4th March 1975 to 5th January 1976 so I think he is too late to be in this photo unless we have the dates way off. We did have two Lewis's serving at around this time. Gwynfryn Lewis was in the Force from 1970-1974, and Lyndon Lewis served from 1973 - 1979. It is definitely not Lyndon.
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#9 Rick Hill 2014-03-01 08:57
Roger, I found your website by doing a Google search for 'Bermuda Police'. It was prompted by a discussion on another police website regarding Damian and his brother, Aiden, who was also a Staffordshire Police Officer. If you would like to e-mail me, I will give you the details.

Editors note - Many thanks Rick. Will email you directly.
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#8 Rick Hill 2014-02-28 11:53
I agree with Chris Bowerman that this photo would have been taken in 1974, or later. The late Damian Willcocks is shown and he and I were working together at Staffordshire Police Traffic in 1973. I seem to remember that he left for Bermuda in late 1973. This is confirmed by another article on your website which shows him arriving with a group of other UK officers in October 1973.

Editors note - Many thanks for your email Rick. You are absolutely correct re Damian coming to Bermuda in 1973. He joined the Bermuda Police on 3rd October 1973 and was transferred to Western Division, Somerset in late October 1973. As a matter of interest, I too served in the Staffordshire County Police in Bilston (when it was still a part of Staffordshire) and came out to Bermuda in 1964. I well remember Damian's arrival because he came from Tunstall just a few miles from my home town of Biddulph, also in Stoke-on-Trent. He often visited my home and always seemed happy to be here in Bermuda, but sadly, Damian had some major health issues while in Bermuda, and I brought him back to his mother's home and urged his family to make sure he received proper treatment. But that is another story.

Rick, I would be interested to know how you discovered our website. In any event it's great to hear from you.

Regarding the date of this photograph, I have checked Mike Scully's record and see that he also arrived in Bermuda in October 1973 and was posted to Western Division in January 1974, so this photo was definitiely taken in early or mid 1974. I will amend the dates accordingly.
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