Our ExPo Annual Reception was held at the Police Recreation Club on Saturday 24^th February 2024. Despite appalling weather we had a fairly good turnout. 

The reception was preceded by our AGM and we will likely be publishing the minutes quite soon, but here are several matters that came before the members. 

Update on possible Pension increases  -  Our ExPo President, Cal Smith, gave a brief update on the debate in the House regarding possible increases in our Police pensions.  The Senate has apparently agreed in principle to an increase in our pensions, but the House of Assembly will likely be debating the issue on Friday 1^st March. It’s possible we will be getting an increase but it’s unlikely to be in any way substantial.

New ExPo Committee - The current slate of Committee members had all agreed to stand again, together with Dave Cart offering to stand as Treasurer, and Kevin Christopher kindly agreeing to join the Committee.

The following members were elected:-

Maintaining Website -  One other issue discussed related to the Treasurers report that although the Association tries to break even each year,  there were costs associated with the maintenance of the website which gave us a negative balance for the year.  Roger explained that the usual cost for maintaining the website is $75 per month (plus conversion to Canadian dollars because our webmaster resides in Canada).  There had recently been extra costs for the necessary software and associated work required to install a new system which has now allowed us to publish all the copies of our Police magazines dating back to 1955, in a format that is very easy to read by flipping through the pages of each magazine (see our website Home page  under the heading BPS MAGAZINES.  The website also requires a substantialr update costing a few hundred dollars.

Increasing ExPo Revenue - There was some discussion about how the Association can increase its revenue, including selling sponsorship on the website, and also increasing the number of ExPo members paying dues. It was pointed out that several years ago we stopped requiring overseas members to pay dues because the bank and conversion charges for doing so were excessive. It was felt that we have a considerable number of members around the world who would be willing to pay a small annual fee to support ExPo.  It was agreed that the Committee should look into these matters. 

Unfortunately,  due to unforeseen circumstances the hall did not have any tables for the reception, and the equipment for operating our annual slideshow was  not available, but those in attendance had an enjoyable evening sharing past experiences and current “gossip” and we were delighted to be joined by two of our former colleagues, Stuart Donaldson who was over from the UK, and Colin King  who is now living in the Canary Islands. It was a pleasure to have them join us.

Tentative Dates for ExPo Functions -  For our friends and former colleagues who live off Island,  we have set dates for the following social functions this year:-

• Annual Summer BBQ-  scheduled for Saturday 13^th July at the PRC, and 
• Annual Memorial Service- scheduled for  Sunday 3^rd October.

Treasurer Gail Correia handing over to Dave Cart 

 Editors note  -  Apologies to those attendees who I missed with my camera

In January 2024 we heard the excellent news that our comprehensive History of the Bermuda Police written by Chris Wilcox with assistance from Roger Sherratt, has now been accepted and published on the British Police History  website which is beautifully illustrated can be found at  https://british-police-history.uk/f/bermuda The BPH website has now compiled the histories of 689 of over 1,000 Police Forces represented to varying degrees on their website. 

The Editor of the British Police History website explains, “The site strives to convey the history of police forces and the working lives of the individual officers through words and imagery to bring a new level of shared understanding and appreciation of our policing past and present to visitors. The many contributors to the site and to our Journal of British Police History include serving and retired Officers as well as police historians and the families of those with ancestors who served in the police. We hope you will find the site of interest.

“Not content to merely research and document the mainland British Police forces, we have wanted to expand the site to include the many British Overseas Territories and have been delighted to be able to work with Roger and Chris to include the details of the history of policing in Bermuda.”

The primary purpose of our own ExPo Bermuda webste is to record our collective history in the Bermuda Police Service, and we encourage our former and retired police officers to sit down and write about their own history and personal experiences so they can be recorded for posterity.  Former officers are invited to write about their reminiscences for our “Then and Now” column, while family members of officers who are no longer with us are invited to liaise with us to write about their loved ones for our “Hall of Fame”.

Our website is also intended to provide members with a means of keeping in touch with each wherever they are in the world through our “Keeping in Touch” column.

We are sincerely grateful to the publishers of the British Police History website for the absolutely first-class presentation of our own Bermuda Police History in their fine publication.

List of articles and publications relating to the History of Bermuda Police

• “The Policing of Bermuda from the Earliest of Times” by E.A. “Ted” Burton. This excellent in-depth article on the early history of the Bermuda Police was published in the Bermuda Historical Quarterly – Autumn Edition 1955. It can be viewed in its entirely in an article “Policing of Bermuda by E.A ‘Ted’ Burton” published on our ExPo website at https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/953-police-of-bermuda-e-a-burton

• Bermuda Police magazine Centennial Issue 1879-1979 published in 1979.This magazine provides comprehensive information and illustrations of our  Police history on the occasion if its Centennial.  In February 2024, with the assistance of a generous donation made by Mr. Rees Fletcher, we were able to publish our collection of Police Magazines dated from 1955 - 1994 on our ExPo website. The 1979 magazine can be viewed at https://expobermuda.com/index.php/bps-magazine-catalog?view=article&id=1347: 

• Illustrated Talk on History of Bermuda Police– Presented at a lecture on the history of the Bermuda Police given by Roger Sherratt during Police Week 2024 on the occasion of its 135th Anniversary. You can view the presentation here on our ExPo website at    https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/312-policehistorylecture

• Article on “History of Forensic Photography in Bermuda”written by George Rose which can be viewed on our ExPo website at  https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/1043-a-history-of-forensic-photography-in-bermuda

• Article on “History of the Police Tug o’War Team” written by Roger Sherratt, which can be viewed on our ExPo website at https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/91-policetugowar

• Article on “History of Police Motor Cycle Display Team” written by George Goddard, which can be viewed on our website at  https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/25-bike-history

• Article on “Bermuda’s Brave Blue Line – World War Two”  Stories of Bermuda’s Policemen who served in the Military during World War Two researched and  written by John Skinner which can be viewed on our ExPo website at  https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/946-bermuda-s-brave-blue-line-world-war-two

• Article on “Bermuda’s Brave Blue Line – World War One”   Stories of Bermuda Policemen who served in the Military during World War One researched and written by John Skinner which can be viewed on our ExPo website at  https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/903-the-brave-blue-line-2

• Article “Bermuda’s Brave Blue Line – Supplement.”  More Stories of Bermuda Policemen who served in the Military during World War One researched and written by John Skinner https://expobermuda.com/index.php/lia/944-bermuda-s-brave-blue-line-supplement  

• “History of the Bermuda Police” book written to celebrate the 135th Anniversary of the Bermuda Police.  Initially available in bookstores it was a limited edition and may no longer be available for sale, however,  during the project to scan and publish copies of our Police Magazine collection, the highly illustrated book was also scanned and it can be viewed on our ExPo website at https://expobermuda.com/index.php/bps-magazine-catalog?view=article&id=1348:  

• “Bermuda Police History”- This  historical review was produced in September 1999 by Chris Wilcox and was reproduced from the publication “Historical Review of the Bermuda Police Force 1879-1999  edited, designed and produced by Alexander MacDonald of the Bermuda Police . This review, which is not illustrated, can be viewed on the official website of the Bermuda Police Service at https://bermudapolice.bm/content/bermuda-police-history   

Charles Edward "D.O." Simons at his desk in CID

In addition to the above publications our  ExPo Bermuda website has published many articles containing fascinating  historical information uncovered when researching the lifestories of individual police officers who have played significant roles in the development of the Bermuda Police. A prime example is our “Hall of Fame” article on the life of Charles Edward “D.O” Simons, Bermuda’s Brilliant first Detective, born in 1880, who joined the Police Force in 1905, and went on to become our first “Detective Officer” in 1919 and was for many years Bermuda’s only detective. CLICK HERE for his article. 

Another example is our “Hall of Fame” article on the life of Edward R. “Bosun" Swainson who, in addition to being the first cricket player to score a century in Cup Match went on to become  our first black Inspector. CLICK HERE for his article.