Free Life on the Run by Stan Eldon Page B

the ready, through the ground floor, and then finding no one, I would climb the stairs to the bedrooms. Then I would hear a noise and burst into a room with torch blazing, only to find a couple in bed. A shock for them and for me, but after a quick explanation about their early return, I would leave them to it.
    There was another activity I could come across at night when patrolling down country lanes or off the main roads. A car or van with steamed up windows and may be with a little rocking motion. It was naturally my duty to shine my torch and make sure there was no illegal activity taking place. Frequently one of the two people in any car was the same young lady who had a rather appropriate but unfortunate name (she had the same surname as Sir Vivian, the British explorer and geologist).
    Another annual duty took me to Oxford for November 5 th celebrations. There were always celebrations at the famous Randolph Hotel, and huge numbers of students used to gather for some rather riotous fun there, so extra police were drafted in to protect the property and keep the peace. The university proctors were always in attendance, and they dealt with most problems.
    At this time, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Reading Borough were three completely separate police forces, and this led to some interesting activities on the county and borough boundaries. Between Woodley and Reading, we used to persuade vagrants and other undesirables to seek refuge in the county town, and between the two county police forces, that met at Sonning-on-Thames, it was not unknown for a body in the river to be persuaded to float across to the other side.
    In my early days in the police at Wokingham, and later at Woodley, the local constabulary were inundated with gifts at Christmas time. These ranged from turkeys to cases of beer, wines, spirits and other goodies. Various methods were used to share these out, and towards the end it was normally by holding a draw and everyone received something. Towards the end of my service, the clampdown started on these ‘gifts’. There had been a couple of high-profile cases of senior officers, including that chief constable, being found guilty of bribery and corruption, and everything was tightened up and gifts of any kind were not encouraged. At the modest local level I never thought it did any harm, and it helped to keep a good relationship between local business and the police. It was like another perk of the job, that I benefited from on a number of occasions with the full approval of my bosses. If there was an accident, especially at night, and we called out a certain garage to collect a wrecked car, there was always a fiver in it for the reporting officer. At that time this represented about two days’ income from the ‘job’.
    Father William Frank Eldon before the First World War
    A very young Eldon at Tisbury in 1937
    Stan Eldon and sister Janet 1939
    Centre front choirboy Eldon with choir of All Saints’, Windsor
    The first win
    The young glamour girl I married
    A display of trophies won by age 16 years
    Leaving All Saints’ Church, Windsor, Wedding Day 1957
    Passing Out Royal Military Police 1954, Eldon 4th from right front row
    Passing Out two years later as a police constable, nearest the camera
    Superintendent Alf East sees the young Eldon off on his beat with TV crew in attendance
    On duty alongside the Thames at Sonning, mixing training with duty
    â€œYou can’t park here madam” with news cameras recording as usual
    Phew! Thank goodness that’s over
    Leading the field in the Rochester five mile road race 1959
    A quick rub down from wife Marion at 5 Eldon Road
    Primitive weight training, a flat iron on each foot
    Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen in 1957 with Dave Shaw and Derek Ibbotson
    Running home to Eldon Road, Reading
    An abundance of police trophies and others
    Duty follows major win
    One of my driving lessons with BSM
    The special certificate presented by police