The “Bobby in the Birdcage” on Front Street in Hamilton was said for many years to be the most photographed police officer in the World, and was without doubt a popular duty for young single constables during College Weeks!

We have a number of photos of constables directing traffic at the junction of Front Street and Queen Street long before the birdcage existed as can be seen in the first photographs below.   It's more then likely that constables have been directing traffic there since at least the early 1950's as shown in the photo of young constable Douglas "Red" Hebberd who joined the Bermuda Police Force in 1949.

Another young constable, then P.C. Hubert Simmons,  joined the Police Force in 1950 and quickly gained an international reputation for his unique style of directing traffic at Heyl's Corner as can be seen in this article published in the Royal Gazette on 5th August 1951.  Hubert 's photos were flashed around the world and tourists would stop and marvel at his balletic performances.  Unfortunately,  we don't as yet have any photographs of Hubert in action other than this image in the Royal Gazette  even though we are aware that he was also filmed. We are making every effort to locate photos or film of Hubert in action and would greatly appreciate any assistance in this regard. CLICK HERE for the  Hall of Fame article on Hubert Simmons on our website.

We were aware that the then Hamilton City Engineer, Geoffrey "Dickie" Bird, came up with the idea of providing a fully raised platform with a cover over it for constables on point duty.  We were not sure exactly when the "birdcage" was  installed  so we contacted Dickie's wife, Jean,  who recalls that it was his idea to build a structure that would give both shade and shelter to the police officers directing traffic at Heyl's Corner.   Jean says that once he had designed the structure it took just a couple of weeks at most to construct.  We were later able to confirm that it was installed in 1962.

This was completed in August 1962, and could there ever have been any doubt about what it should be called!   Naturally, it immediately became known as the "birdcage", and all of us who have performed traffic duty in it are eternally grateful to Dickie Bird because it made directing traffic there so much more comfortable, especially during College Weeks!

It was badly damaged some time later and a strengthened replacement  took several months to build but was no doubt much safer for the constable on duty there. Since then it has been upgraded but its shape and name remain the same.  Sadly,  this icon of Bermuda is hardly used these days despite the fact that it was an extremely popular tourist attraction for decades.

However we know that literally hundreds of Bermuda police officers will have fond memories of directing traffic in the birdcage while being photographed, and we are hoping that many those officers will have photos  in their own collections and will send them to us.

We are starting off with those  we already have in our collection, in no particular order.  If you have one of your own please send it to us at info@expobermuda.com together with information about when it was taken.

EDITORS NOTE -  We recently discovered the photo immediately below which was posted on the "Old Bermuda; Our Island, Our History" website in February 2023.   It was posted by Gerri Crockwell and depicts a police officer standing at Heyl's Corner chatting with a young lady with her pedal cycle and a baby sitting in her cycle basket.  There appears to be another police officer walking away  from the corner, and as you can see, the only vehicles in the photo are pedal cycles and a horse carriage.  It is dated circa 1940's - 1950's.    There is a comment on the "Old Bermuda" website from Wendi Fiedler-Nixon who is the daughter of the Late former Superintendent Joseph Nixon, who believes the officer next to the "Keep Left" sign could well be her father  because of hos height and the way he is standing.  Joe Nixon joined the Bermuda Police in July 1946 and served until his retirement in July 1974.  Our records indicate that his first posting as a young constable was to Hamilton Police Station.  It's possible that this photo of Heyl's Corner may have been taken just before motor cars were permitted on the Island,  but in any event it is certainly the oldest photograph we have so far of a "Bobby at Heyl's Corner"!

A "Bobby" standing at Heyl's Corner dated circa 1940's - 1950''s

P.C. John Francis (Ian "Crash") Kane directing traffic at the 

Front Street, Hamilton 1964.  P.C. Alex Forbes directs traffic in the birdcage

 P.C. Terry Heathcoate in the birdcage at Heyl's Corner  circa 1965.

 

 In May this year (2013) we posted a “Who, Where and When” photo of a lovely young 5 year old girl that had previously been published in the Summer 1965 edition of the Bermuda Police Magazine, and we asked our readers if they could identify the young lady. CLICK HERE for the photo.

We quickly received a response from Kate Sheehy in Texas who recognized our 'pin-up girl' as her sister Maureen. Kate and Maureen, and their brother Michael, were the children of then Detective Chief Inspector John Joe Sheehy, and his wife Joan. CLICK HERE for an article in our Keeping in Touch column dated 28^th May.

Our correspondence set in motion a chain of events leading to a very special event held here in Bermuda on Tuesday 23^rd July.

Kate advised us that her parents had passed away in Texas, Joan in 1997 and John Joe two years later in 1997. Before he died her father had requested that his ashes and those of his wife Joan, be buried in the Police Cemetery at Prospect. John Joe, who had retired as D/Supt in 1985, had even contacted the then Commissioner of Police seeking permission for his request which was granted.

However, time passed and the family had not had an opportunity to return to Bermuda to carry our their parents wishes.

But the appearance of Maureen’s pin-up photo on our website stirred the family into action, and Kate wrote to ask if it would still be possible to have their parents ashes buried here. Commissioner Michael DeSilva was approached and immediately gave his approval and also kindly offered Police assistance in carrying our John Joe’s wishes.

The end result was that Maureen (Sheehy) Brichetto, along with her husband John, and daughter Lordan flew to Bermuda with her parents ashes, and together with her brother Michael, who lives here and works at Flanagan’s on Front Street, arranged a brief ceremony at the Police Cemetery on 23^rd July for burial of their parents ashes, followed by a reception at the Senior Officer’s Mess for friends and colleagues of theirs. Unfortunately, Kate was unable to make the trip but was very involved in organizing the event and was certainly present in spirit.

   Piper- Adrian Stone

     

The Commissioner of Police kindly arranged for a bagpiper to play at the interment which was attended by several dozen friends and former colleagues, including three Commissioners, former members of the Central CID who worked under John Joe, numerous other police officers, and friends and neighbours of the Sheehy family.

Michael welcomed everyone to the ceremony and told those assembled how much it meant to himself and his two sisters to be able to carry out their father’s wishes. Unfortunately, Kate was not able to travel to Bermuda for the occasion but she was certainly there in spirit. The ashes were interred while the piper played an Irish lament – a very moving moment for all present.

The reception at the Senior Officer’s Mess was well attended, and far from being a solemn affair, those present looked back with fond memories, and lots of laughs recalling the times spent with John Joe and Joan.

 The following remarks were made by Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva during the reception"-

“By all accounts John Joe was an Irishman through and through, and a southern Irishman at that, but he took his vows to serve Queen and country very seriously.

John Joe, as he was known by everyone who worked with him, was born in County Cork in 1929, and came to Bermuda to join the Bermuda Police in 1952 at the age of 21. Those who knew him well have no doubt that before leaving County Cork he kissed the Blarney Stone, and for those of you who don’t know the legend, it is said that once you’ve kissed it you’ll never again be lost for words! A great asset for a detective during interrogations!

He spent his first 3 years in uniform in Hamilton and Operations before finding his true calling when he joined CID in January 1955. Apart from a stint in Cycle Squad investigating cycle thefts, he spent the rest of his service in CID rising through the ranks to become Detective Superintendent in charge of CID although he will no doubt best be remembered as “Chief Sheehy” when he was in charge of Central CID for almost 10 years.

If anyone wants to know the depth of his experience in criminal investigations all you need look at is the list of commendations he received during his career. He received no less than 18 commendations (the highest number anyone can ever recall) for crimes ranging for the arrest of a young lady for breaking and entering, to cycle thefts, armed robberies, rapes, murders, and even securing a conviction against an international company for breaching the U.N sanctions on trade with Rhodesia.

John Joe had tremendous skills as a detective and he was more than willing to pass on his knowledge and expertise to all those who served under him in CID - even if they had never kissed the Blarney Stone!

One of his best “catches” occurred when he was patrolling the Coral Beach property in Paget, and he came across a stunningly attractive 24 year old young Canadian by the name of Joan “Joannie” Cosgrave, who had recently arrived from Toronto to work at Coral Beach Club. It must have been love at first sight because the young couple were married in 1959; enjoyed 38 happy years together, and had three children, all born in Bermuda -  Maureen, Kate and Michael.

Amongst those who benefitted from John Joe’s mentoring were Clive Donald and Lenny Edwards who both went on to become Commissioner, Harold Moniz, Wayne Perinchief and Carlton Adams who all rose to become Assistant Commissioners (rumour has it that Carlton can still give a brilliant impression of John Joe when he’s had a couple of drinks!) along with Dudley Swan, Larry Smith, Ed Bailey, Dennis Ramsay, Pat Hamlett, and a host of other former CID officers.

John Joe retired in October 1985 after 33 years of outstanding service. I have been asked by several of those present today if I knew John Joe, and so that you know what I was doing back in October 1985, I had joined the Police Cadets just 3 months earlier!  

The Sheehy family moved away to Texas shortly after his retirement, and sadly, both John Joe and Joan passed away there in the late 1990’s.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to quote the Late Commissioner, Lenny Edwards who paid tribute to John Joe after he passed, describing him as a “tremendous police officer who was often referred to as a Policeman’s policeman.” Lenny said John Joe was always a great resource and was always interested in Lenny getting on, wishing him well, and wanting him, as a born Bermudian, to get to the top.”

Carlton Adams described John Joe as “One of the father’s of criminal investigation in Bermuda, and as a real mentor to a number of officers who rose through the ranks partly because of the experience they gained under his tutelage, including myself.”

It says a great deal for John Joe’s love of Bermuda and the Bermuda Police Service that before he died he expressed the desire to have his ashes, and those of his beloved Joan, brought back to Bermuda for interment at the Police Cemetery here at Prospect.

In fact he had written to the then Commissioner seeking permission for his family to do just that. On receiving this request again just a few weeks ago it was my privilege to confirm this permission. John Joe fully deserved to have his request granted as a mark of respect for his great service to Bermuda and to the Bermuda Police Service.

To Maureen and Michael, and to Kate who was unable to be here today, you have very good reason to be very proud of your father who we all hold in the very highest regard. We trust that your parents will rest in peace right here in Bermuda.”

It should be noted that after just two glasses of wine, Carlton Adams was persuaded to reminisce about working under John Joe, and Michael confirmed that Carlton had both his voice and mannerisms down to perfection!