Officer Ian Kittle - Peel Regional Police

Our good friend and former colleague, Ian Kittle, recently sent us the photo below of the Peel Regional Police Chief, Douglas Burrows, greeting our own Deputy Commissioner of Police, Lennett “Lenny” Edwards in full uniform during a visit DCOP Edwards made to Peel sometime in the 1980’s.   Ian enquired if we might know why DCOP Edwards would have been making his visit to Peel.

The reason for Ian’s enquiry  is that he is now working with other volunteers on the updating of artifacts and photos for the Peel Regional Museum, and while doing so he was very pleasantly surprised to come across this photo of DCOP Edwards who he immediately recognized.  Ian couldn’t find any information as to why DCOP Edwards was visiting Peel, and he wondered if we could publish it here on our website to see if there was a chance any of our members might know the reason for his visit.  In addition to publishing this article  I have also put out an appeal in our “Who, Where and When” column and on our ExPo Facebook page.

My first thought was that Mr. Edwards was an active member of our Police Choir for many years and was it possible that the choir might be on a tour of Canada?  Will be making further enquiries in this regard. 

Ian was also advised that for his records Lennett Maurice “Lenny” Edwards,  JP, OBE, QF, served in the Bermuda Police Service from 1961-1996, rising to the rank of Commissioner of Police, and he sadly passed away on 10th February 2008.

As our ExPo members may be aware, the BPS opened our own Bermuda Police Museum  in October 2019,  currently located at the Senior Officers Mess. This project was, and still is being spearheaded  by Assistant Commissioner Martin Weekes who officially cut the ribbon to open the museum as reported here on our website CLICK HERE to view our article about the event which Mr. Weekes described as a "soft opening" because it was in the very early stages of its development,

Our museum includes a collection of police memorabilia, ranging from original helmets, handcuffs, several old radar “guns”; both old and modern riot equipment; a selection of police truncheons through the ages; an old key to the cells at St. George’s Police Station, and a Morse Code Keyer used by Sgt. Arthur “Pip” Paley during the Second World War. The keyer was kindly donated to the museum by “Pip’s” grandson, Patrick Paley, who also donated the largest truncheon on display which had also been carried by his grandfather.  Also available is  an almost complete collection of the Police Magazines published from 1955 onwards, while some of the most treasured items are the cricket gear, including the cricket bat, used by the Late Inspector Edward "Bosun" Swainson who scored the first century in the annual Cup Match classic in 1937 which have been donated to our museum by the Swainson family. Among the guests invited to the opening was  Mr. Brownlow Place, who stunned those in attendance when he described how he had been present at the Cup Match in 1937 - over 80 years ago - when "Bosun" Swainson made history with his century.  (The remarkable Mr. Place passed away earlier this year (2025) at the age of 107.)

Ian has sent us  several photos of the temporary storage area of photos and items collected by the Peel Police over the years, mainly donated by retired members and bureaus which changed formats as equipment changed. ie: VHS, CDs and DVDs. He explained that they are presently working on photos, negatives, older police reports, manuals and issued equipment.  "Most weeks, a small group of volunteers meet to work on the valuable project starting with a social coffee, some light banter then our mentioned tasks. We are hoping to network with our local archives for professional storage moving forward. "

In corresponding with Ian on this matter I asked him to let me have an update on where he is these days and what he’s been doing since retiring from the Peel Regional Police.  He kindly sent the following:-

"I retired fully from the Peel Regional Police (Ontario Canada) in 2013 after forty two years of policing in England, Bermuda and Canada. 

Sixty was the magic age when it was time to join the normal people, sleeping at night and enjoying the new permanent  holiday. 

We had moved two years before to Palgrave in Ontario, a quiet village about forty five minutes drive north of Toronto. This is an active lifestyle community nestled on a nine hole golf course surrounded by forest and conservation areas. 

My first act of volunteerism was to become a member of my village Rotary Club which was a wonderful experience. I eventually served as  club president and other board positions. 

Linda and I have been fortunate to have all three of our adult children live within 25 minutes drive from us. We have three grandchildren to spoil and entertain. 

I introduced, and with a small committee, run a Bocce Ball  summer league in our community for the last three summers which has been well received. 

Now winter is upon us, we have started an indoor carpet bowling opportunity this year for our residents which is gaining momentum. Who thought that in our golden years we would discover these fun games to challenge ourselves. 

Linda and I ticked off two of our bucket list items in October, 2024. Firstly we went on an Alaskan cruise. Perfect weather for amazing sights!

CLICK HERE  to view our article about Ian's lifestory in the Then and Now"column here on our ExPo website.