We posted this photo after adding it to the article on the History of the Bermuda Police but did not name these officers in that article, even though they certainly made history! We wanted to know who they are, where and when was it taken, and what were they doing at that time.
We had no problem identifying the four officers in this photo, and it was the general consensus that they all worked on computers during the early days of modernizing the Force.
John Skinner has kindly provided us with some background. He tells us, “It all started when Davie Kerr, Esther Trott and I were seconded (detailed off by Derek Jenkinson!) into the new unfinished Comops building and tasked with creating the Geocode. Simply put this this was a 40 digit code for each address on the island and any portions of roads, streets and lanes that did not have an address. We were under the leadership and guidance of a lady named Beverly ….. from Government's Data Processing Unit. Norman Wilson joined us to convert Name Records etc.
Towards the end of that work, applications were invited from within the Force for officers to be trained as Programmers. John, Norman, Esther and I applied and were all successful. John Van de Weg was appointed Sergeant in Charge.
The following is an extract from General Orders 28/89 dated 14 July 1989, which I believe mentioned all four of us."
POLICE COMPUTER SECTION
A Police Computer Section has been formally created within Operations Division and under the command of OIC Operations. The Unit became fully recognised from 1st February 1989.
Our First Police Computer Programmers - 1989