This section of our website is intended for you to keep in touch with all of your fellow colleagues who have served in the Bermuda Police. We started this column by putting all entries on one post but soon realized that it would stretch for far too long so we are doing it by each year - and we have now, for the first time, had to have two for this year This one is from 1st September - 31st December 2022.
We welcome news, however brief, and would also encourage you to send us recent photos. Sadly we sometimes have to report "bad" news such as illnesses - or worse - but we are always delighted to receive positive news! We can be contacted through our email address or through the comments column at the bottom of each article, including this one.
CLICK HERE for our Keeping in Touch entries for 2022 from 1st January - 30th August
27th December
Alan Coates with his grandson Sam
Alan Coates - We just heard from our old friend Alan Coates who served here in the Bermuda Police from 1963-1968 mainly as Central Divisional Clerk. He and his wife Brenda returned to the UK in 1968 where Alan had an interesting career (CLICK HERE to view our “Then and Now” article abut Alan). Alan had arrived in Bermuda with Ron Wallace, who passed away in May of this year (2022) , When he left the Island Alan handed over the duties of Central Divisional Clerk to Dave Cook and the two have remained in touch from time to time over the years.
Sadly, Alan’s wife Brenda passed away in December 2020.
We had written to Alan to ask how he’s doing these days, and he let us know that he and his family are well, although he has a few health issues, and that he often thinks of Bermuda and our desirable climate especially right now at a time when England is being hit hard with a very cold spell. Alan also writes that the United Kingdom (what is that?!) is wracked with strikes by Government employees, and that people are having a rough time due to the conflict in Ukraine and the increasingly high cost of gas.
We wish him all the very best in the New Year.
We would also be delighted to hear from our members, no matter where you are, about where you are and what youlre doing these days.
17th December
MESSAGE FROM OUR EXPO PRESIDENT, CAL SMITH.
ExPo President, Cal Smith
Seasons Greeting Colleagues and Friends,
As we come to the end of another eventful year, I want to take this time to express my appreciation to each of you for your continued hard work and commitment over the past 12 months.
This year the Coronavirus continued to be with us, so thank you all for protecting yourselves, your friends and colleagues so we could ensure people’s safety, while returning to some measure of normalcy in our day to day lives. We will continue to support those colleagues and friends that have lost loved ones over this period and continue to keep them in our thoughts and hearts.
I also want to express my sincere gratitude to you for your support and continuing efforts to maintain our regular communication with our friends and colleagues here in Bermuda and around the world. We have continued to support and share with each other and their families throughout this difficult period as we continued to deliver timely and important information, love and support to families that have lost loved ones while ensuring others remained safe and well.
Throughout these hard times, we have managed to increase our membership and external relationships; in addition, we have continued to motivate, uplift and inspire one another into 2023 and beyond.
So as we approach this holiday season, I am encouraging you to please take time to reflect, rejuvenate and most importantly, to be present and enjoy this special time with you families and loved ones.
On behalf of the Bermuda Police Service Ex-Police Officers Association Executive and myself, I wish you a holiday season full of the Hope, Love, Joy and Peace that is yours. Please continue to be safe while having fun. Your executive are planning a number of fun filled events for 2023, and I look forward to seeing you all throughout this season and in the New Year!!
Sincerely,
Ex-Bobbies Christmas Gathering at Mad Hatters - Just in case anyone missed our Latest News article (CLICK HERE to view it), Dave Cook and Bill Butterworth organised another very popular gathering of our Ex-Bobbies to celebrate Christmas 2022, at Mad Hatters which is located at the Mariner's Club. The lunch was attended by some 40 of our old friends and colleagues, most of whom were photographed and appear in the Latest News article. A good time was had by all. Most, if not all of the attendees
Attendees included Carlton Adams, Oliver Bain, Reese Bartley, Ray Bell, Mark Bothello, Vendal Bridgeman, Bill Butterworth, Keith Cassidy, Dave Chew, Mike Chlebek, Dave Cook, Peter Counsell, Paul Cranage, John Dale, Larry Dean, Steve Dunleavy, Larry Fox, Stan Francis, Alan Gorbutt (visiting from abroad), Louis Griffiths, Roger Kendall, Kevin Knights, Gerry Lyons, John McConnie, Charlie Mooney, Rex Osbourne, Scott Pacheco, Moby Pett, Geoff Piggott, Bernie Pitman, George Rose, Pete Shaw, Roger Sherratt, Jonathan Smith, Cal Smith, Paul Towlson and Norman Wilson. We were joined after lunch by Peter McNulty who had served here in the BPS from 1972-1978, along with his son Sean, and an old friend, Nial "Irish" Morgan who used to work here in Bermuda and played for the PRC football team.
For anyone not familiar with our ExPo Facebook page, CLICK HERE to view it where you will find several dozen very positive comments about this "Mad Hatters" gathering. We are still working on re-organizing our Comments system so that you can post your comments directly under each afrticle in ur website.
Mad Hatters was packed to the Gills!This was the first function we have had since the Covid pandemic and it was great to see so many of our colleagues come out to join us. Many thanks to Dave and Bill for putting on this popular gathering. It's highly likely that ExPo will be putting on their annual New Year Reception at the Officers Mess early in the 2023, but we understand that it's probably going to take place in February rather than in January. We will keep you posted.
3rd December
Young P.C. Christopher Oldfield
Passing of Christopher "Chris" Oldfield - We are saddened to report having receiving news that one of our former colleagues, Christopher “Chris” Oldfield, died suddenly at his home in Salisbury, England, on 10th November.
Chris had served here in the Bermuda Police from 28th May 1985 – 13th November 1987 at which time he returned to the UK and joined the Ministry of Defence Police.
CLICK HERE for more details of Chris in our Latest News column.
30th November 2022
Carole Royer
Passing of Carole Royer - We were deeply saddened to receive the news earlier today that our first ever civilian clerk, Carole Royer passed away last night at the age of 88.
Carol had worked as a civilian clerk at the Prospect Garrison and shortly after the garrison closed in 1959 she was hired by Inspector John Marshall to work as our first female clerk, and in fact the first clerk in the Police Force, at the Police Traffic Department, which was the same building she worked in for the Military.
Carole continued to work for the Police Service for the next 40 years, from 1959-1999.
CLICK HERE to read more about Carole’s passing in our Latest News column.
CLICK HERE to read Carole’s reminiscences in our “Then and Now” column
Happy Days with Keith Senior (and who are his colleagues?!)
Keith Senior - We just heard from Keith Senior who, along with his wife Julie, is now living near Rotherham in South Yorkshire, and they are enjoying life and keeping busy, keeping fit, doing voluntary work, and enjoying hill walking and utilizing their campervan – summer and winter!
CLICK HERE to read more about Keith’s activities in our Interesting Article column.
25th November
"Remember, remember the fifth of November" - Shortly after 5th November this year we received an email from one of our former colleagues, John "Alfie" Fox, who served here in the Bermuda Police for a short time in the early 1960's. Alfie had sent his email out to all of his friends and in it he described his reminiscences of Bonfire Nights, or Guy Fawkes Nights, in Lancashire when he was a young lad, especially the building of huge bonfires in the weeks leading up to the big day.
It reminded me of my own similar experiences in North Staffordshirte as a child, which was a far cry from the annual 5th November nightmare we had here in Bermuda when I first joined the Bermuda Police in 1964, Bonfire Nights in and around Hamilton were positively riotous, chaotic and extremely dangerous, so much so that firworks were eventually banned in Bermuda in 1974 (except for licence fireworks shows). I was about to write some of my own recollections of Bonfire Nights here in Bermuda when I came across an excellent article in the Royal Gazette written by local historian, Cecille Snaith-Simmons, describing in vivid detail the chaotic scenes repeated each year on 5th November.
I suspect that most children these days know very little about the history of Guy Fawkes and why he will always live in infamy, nor will they ever be able to build those enormous bonfires, and "play" with the rockets, firecrackers (we called them "bangers" in the UK), roman candles, spinning wheels, and sparklers that were part of our childhood.
I thought it might be of interest to our readers if we published "Alfie's" reminiscences, together with those of Cecille Snaith-Simmons, to spark your memories of those bygone days and nights. CLICK HERE to read the article. If you wish to add your own recollections we would normally ask you to just post them in the Comments section immediately below the article, but our Comments section is not back in action yet, so please feel free to write to us at info@expobermuda.com and we'll add your comments to the article.
22nd November 2022
Frederick "Fred" Beard
Frederick "Fred" Beard - We were saddened to hear the news that one of our former colleagues, Frederick “Fred” Beard passed away peacefully at the age of 84, on 22nd October 2022, after exceptional care at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria BC.
Born in Dorset, England, Fred had served in the Royal Military Police from 1956 – 1959, after which he joined the Bermuda Police as a young constable He attended the Police Training College at Hendon from June - September 1959, along with Keith Lovell who had also served with Fred in the Royal Military Police.
Fred and Keith arrived in Bermuda on 2nd October 1959, and Fred’s first posting was to St. George’s. He transferred to Central Division (Hamilton) in March 1961, and 12 months later he was appointed as Pembroke Parish Constable. His last posting was in the Prosecutions Department.
Fred met his future wife, Marion Miller, who was working here as a dance instructor at the Arthur Miller dance studio along with Jade McDonald, and both young ladies married policemen.
Marion married Fred in December 1961, and Jade married Keith.
While serving as a parish constable Fred received a Commissioner’s Commendation for “zeal and devotion in the successful investigation of a number of cases of willful damage involving 6 youths.“
Fred resigned in November 1963 after he and Marion decided to head for Canada. They lived for a while in Calgary, Metchosin, and Hawaii prior to settling in Victoria BC where they raised their two sons, and Fred had careers as a real estate investor and a computer store entrepreneur.
Although they left Bermuda almost 60 years ago, they stayed in touch with Keith and Jade, and always retained fond memories of their time in Bermuda.
We understand that in keeping with Fred's wishes, his family will celebrate his life and scatter his ashes privately. Fred is survived by his wife, Marion, and his two sons Paul (Nola) and Michael (Chelsea).
19th November
Keith Senior - We just heard from Keith Senior who we had written to with a request for a photo of him for an article we will be publishing what should prove to be a very interesting article by George Rose on our ExPo website.
Keith has brought us up-to-date on some of his activities as follows:-
“Julie and I are fit and well in South Yorkshire near Rotherham.
We are both retired but keeping very busy. Julie has just decorated for Christmas with our granddaughter and loves the season. She is active in the gym and is a member of a Slimming World club. She inspires others in weight loss and maintenance having lost over 50lbs.
I volunteer on a community barge which helps disabled and less fortunate people get out on the water for a day. The canals of Rotherham and the Dearne Valley are a far cry from the turquoise waters of Bermuda when I was in Marine section!
Our passion though is our campervan which we have owned since COVID. We used it as our containment cubicle and it was wonderful to escape to the woods and forest to get away from it all. We use it during the winter too and tour the UK, where I can enjoy my love of hill walking. The Yorksire seaside coast and Scotland are firm favourites of ours. Its a great way to see the UK, which we enjoy having spent the majority of our lives in Bermuda.
Colin Mackenzie - We’ve also heard from Colin Mackenzie in cold Peterborough, Ontario, on a day in which nearby Buffalo has had an incredible snow fall of over 5 feet in a day. Colin has written to say, “We have had a cool wind here but nothing too bad. We have a dusting of snow on the ground but can still see green grass and the roads are dry, so no problems at all.
‘I’m looking forward to the Bermie/Expo site being fully operational…always good to hear who is doing what, when, why, where. Good luck with your ongoing work to get the site up and running.
For me, my wife and family are all well, have not had COVID and we wonder why because we still do the things that most others do - go shopping, go to the gym, watch sports activities in person, make the rounds to donate food and other essentials to those in need through Rotary, visit friends for supper/lunch, go to in-person meetings with Rotary and Crimestoppers etc.. Maybe I should not speak too loudly!!
My wife and I are planning a trip to Cuba with another couple at the end of January for 8 days and then one of my wife’s high school girlfriends whom she keeps in touch with by phone and in person, has invited us to her house in Bari, Italy next September. I suppose travel will depend on whether there will be travel restrictions in place and/or COVID rears its ugly head again next year. But, two trips to look forward to, hopefully.
As mentioned in the past, I am still playing squash 2 or 3 times a week with the odd lesson thrown in, so with all the activity mentioned above, just so glad there is something in the fridge at the end of the day! There has to be some consolation in the face of adversity….ooops, meant to say "activity!!” 😊
So, I wish all my former colleagues/friends everywhere best wishes and good health.
17th November
Phil Bermingham, and Mike Chlebek - Our good friend and former colleague, Phil Bermingham recently made news headlines, both in Bermuda and in the U.S. when his iconic photograph of the Late Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was chosen as the image to be used as the basis for a U.S. ”Forever” stamp to be issued in 2023.
CLICK HERE for our website article on the news about the “Forever” stamp in the Royal Gazette.
Phil received the good news while he was vacationing here in Bermuda which he considers to be his second home, especially when he’s out there playing golf. Phil has fond memories of his time in the Bermuda Police and working in SOCO and loves to spend time here whenever possible.
When he’s here, Phil has a regular weekly game with another of our former colleagues, retired Inspector Mike Chlebek, and I was invited to join them this morning at Tucker’s Point (the former Caste Harbour golf course) which is in excellent shape. This intrepid pair play “no quarter given golf” which I was assured invariably results in a closely fought match with just one hole separating them after 18 holes! This morning’s game proved to be no exception, and on a Bermudaful day we had a great round of golf, with one of them finishing up with bragging rights after winning the final hole. The winner can do his own bragging!
Roger and Philip
Phil is due to return to his home in the U.S. soon but will no doubt be back here at the first opportunity.
CLICK HERE to view our "Then and Now" article about Phil, including his career as a professional photographer.
John Price - We just heard from our old friend, John Price, who along with his wife Ann, recently celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary in Spain where they spend much of their time these days, partly because of Brexit problems on their residence.
John and Ann Price visit the Doura Valley in PortugalThey recently sold their villa in Spain in order to downsize and are temporarily renting an aoartment until they find the ideal new place, They do still have their place in Bucknall in Shropshire. Both had Covid in July of this year, as John says, “hopefully for the first and last time”.
John is still in touch with “Moby” Pett, Bill Butterworth, Bill Nixon, Jeff Baker, Colin McKenzie, Ken Vanthal, Norman "The Raj" Rennie, Tom Chasser, Pat O´Riordan, Angus Brown, “Coco” Eve, Ivan Davies, Dai Thomas, Dave Pantry, John Arlott, Dave Walker (football section), Rick Zamit, all Faded Blues of course. Plus Jimmy Duke from NYC fame. Anyone I have left off, please forgive me.
Hope the EXPO website is up & running again soon.
12th November
Brenda Meade
Sad Passing of Brenda Meade - We were deeply saddened to hear the news that our good friend, Brenda Meade, died suddenly on Wednesday 2nd November 2022.
Brenda was the wife of our former colleague, the Late Inspector Barrie Meade, who passed awat in March 2006. Brenda has been a regular attendee at our ExPo functions for the past 10 years.
A Memorial Service will be held for Brenda at the Memorial Chapel at Khyber Pass, Warwick , at 1pm on Monday 14th November. The service will be live screened and details can be obtained in the obituary notice published in the Royal Gazette (CLICK HERE to view it).
On behalf of our ExPo members we offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Brenda.
11th November
Sad Passing of Stuart Innes – We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our good friend and colleague, retired Inspector Stuart Innes after having recent serious health issues.
Stuart joined the Bermuda Police in May 1973 after serving in the Lancashire Police for 4 years. After spells in Central Division, and in Operations (uniform) Stuart was posted to “A” Department at Police Headquarters where he certainly found his niche and remained until retiring in 1999.
It can be said without question that Stuart was always one of the most helpful officers to serve at Headquarters and would always go out of his way to provide assistance and guidance to his colleagues.
We send our sincere condolences and ask you to keep Jennifer, Angela and family in your thoughts and prayers. We will publish funeral arrangements as soon as they are known.
Editors note - As of 22nd November we have not yet received word about details of Stuart's funeral but will post the information on out website and Facebook page as soon as we receive it.
6th November
John Dale
John Dale and his Knees! - All too often these days we fill our ‘Keeping in Touch’ column with sad news or bad news, so it’s always a pleasure to receive some good news. That’s certainly the case when we enquired how retired Inspector John Dale is doing after hearing that he recently had knee replacement surgery at King Edward Hospital. We received such a positive response from John that it merits a separate article which you can view under Interesting Articles. CLICK HERE to view it.
John and Betty are regular attendees at our ExPo social functions
John also mentions what he and his lovey wife, Betty, do to keep fit and active these days, including travelling the world and enjoying occasional cruises. We would love to hear from you about what you are doing to stay in shape, and also whether you have tried cruise ship holidays.
16th September
Dudley Swan
Dudley Swan - We recently received news that our good friend and colleague, retired Detective Inspector Dudley Swan is presently in the Extended Care Unit at King Edward Hospital. We understand that Dudley had been in failing health for some time.
Anyone who served in Eastern Division between the 1950’s and 1980’s will fondly remember Dudley who served in Eastern CID for many years and also worked in the Murder Squad and in Central (Uniform). Dudley joined the Bermuda Police way back in July 1951 and is the 2nd "senior" retired officer, with his brother-in-law, retired Inspector Gladwin "Doc" Hall being our senior retiree who joined in October 1950. Both Dudley and "Doc" have something else in command besides being retired police officers. They are both related through their marriages to another of our longest serving police officers. If you search through our website you should be able to find the "family connection".
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dudley and to his wife Marlene and to their family.
Editors note - Our latest report on Dudley is that he is resting comfortably at Agape House, now the Transitional Living Centre.
Stuart Innes
Stuart Innes - Another good friend and colleague of ours, retired Inspector Stuart Innes, is also having serious health issues. Stuart was recently taken to the U.S. for treatment, and has now returned, but is back in King Edward Hospital.
Stuart joined the Bermuda Police in May 1973 after serving in the Lancashire Police for 4 years. After spells in Central Division, and in Operations (uniform) Stuart was posted to “A” Department at Police Headquarters where he certainly found his niche and remained until retiring in 1999. I believe I can say with question that Stuart was always one of the most helpful officers to serve at Headquarters and would always go out of his way to provide assistance and guidance to his colleagues.
We ask you to keep Stuart and his wife Jennifer and famiy in your thoughts and prayers.
4th September
POLICE WEEK IS BACK! We are delighted to advise you that after an absence of 2 years because of the Covid pandemic, the BPS has officially announced that they will be holidng Police Week 2022 from Saturday 1st October - Sunday 9th October, as per the attached programme of events. Please note that one of the events during the week is Annual Memorial Service at the Police Cemetery at 4.30pm on Sunday 9th October, immediately followed by the Ex-Police Officers BBQ being held at the Police Recreation Club to which our members are cordially invited.
We look forward to seeing as many of our members as possible for this very special event.
The first event of the week is the annual Gymkhana which has been a most popular event for children since it was first started way back in 1968. CLICK HERE for an excellent article, "The First Police Pedal Cycle Gymkhana - 1969" written by Ray Sousa.
1st November
BACK WITH YOU - We apologize to our readers for having been out of action for several weeks due to the fact that our system needed a major upgrading which has now been completed. Hopefully you will not see any radical changes in our format except for the way in which we display photos on our Home page. The old system was causing a problem because although our system worked well with traditional desk top computers, it was totally unsuitable if you were accessing our website on a mobile. If you have any problems with the new system, or you have any suggestions about how we can improve it please don't hesitate to contact us as info@expobermuda.com
Philip Bermingham with camera at the ready
Philip Bermingham receives "STAMP OF APPROVAL" - Just in case you missed it, we just published an article under Latest News about our old friend and colleague, Philip Bermingham, hitting the headlines when his iconic portrait of the Late Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was chosen as the image to be used as the basis for a U.S. "Forever" stamp to be issued in 2023. CLICK HERE to read the article.