Out of the Blue


ST. HELENS & DISTRICT

NARPO NEWSLETTER

JR 35 NOVEMBER 2014

At this time of the year, your committee excels itself in trying to put together the Branch Christmas Party. Over the years it has become very successful. Bishop Road is the venue. There is good, if not excellent entertainment, good food and good company. All we need is your good selves to come along and enjoy it. It is, as I am sure you know by now, FREE to our members and their spouses/partners. If you have not been, try it.

NOW Please also check out the new Branch Website.

The committee are keen to modernise this Newsletter and as it can now be read online via the website, do those with computers really need hardcopies?. One or two in the past have suggested they do not need to have them posted to them. We do realise that a good number do not have access to computers and they will continue to receive hard copies. We would welcome your observations.

Finally can I thank all those who have sent cards, emails phone calls etc during my recent knee repair. I realise what it is to know that there are people who care. JN RUSS.

N.B. If you have changed your email, phone number or indeed address, please let me know. Or 01925 241538

May I wish you a Merry Christmas and all that you wish yourselves for 2015

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN. `Out of the Chair .`....... We have recently suffered some terribly hard to bear losses that have left large gaps in our lives, in particular, for those most directly concerned. For all of that, one encouraging thing shines out like a beacon -- that is the terrific support shown by so many of our members for those families and the amount of respect for our departed colleagues demonstrated by the sheer numbers on each occasion. Each family has expressed their surprise and gratitude for your support and for the simple things you have all done.My own message in turn is -- I feel truly privileged to be associated with you all -- Thank you. Margaret and I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a fantastic New Year. Fred Dickinson Chairman.

OBITUARY. It is always with great regret that I report to you the passing of members of our Branch.:- ROY GARVEY . .JIM WELSBY. BURT MOORE. Our sympathies have been passed to all the families

NEW MEMBERS. It is always with great pleasure that I welcome New members to our branch on behalf of our Chairman and the committee.

Sean Daniel YEATES and wife Stephanie who live in St Helens. Sean has just retired. Ethel GARVEY who lives in St.Helens and has joined us in her own right. Paul C. DERHAM who has joined us as an additional member. Paul lives in Heysham. Ian HUDSON . Who has just retired and lives with Wilma in St Helens. Christopher BRAZIER retires in December and lives with wife Carole in Ormskirk. Gill KANE who with Steve lives in Great Sankey and retired in August last Barry PHILLIPS who lives in St Helens with Karen and has just retired.

I trust that we will have the pleasure of your company at one of our functions in the future and I wish you a long, healthy and happy association with us. NOT TOO WELLS. The committee wish a speedy recovery to Branch Members Marie Curran, Eric Crickmore, Mary Ellison. Geoff Harper. Liz Welsby If you are aware of any member who is not too well please give one of the committee a call or ring me/email me. JR 01925 241538 or 07774618654 or Fred 01744 21482. If your name is not on the list, are we aware, has someone told us? THE BRANCH WEBSITE.

The new and exciting (I hope) website is now up and running and can be found

Please let me have your feed back, it's your website so let me know what you expect tofind on it and what you think of it.
Any contributions will be welcomed, photographs, stories, useful old friends ( tradespeople etc) , members events in fact anything you feel that will be of interest. Please email them to me. I can be contacted by email
Thank you, Brenda Neary

CHARLES ELLISON HILL. Some time ago in a newsletter, I related to you about a wartime police officer from St Helens Borough Police who became a Lancaster Bomber pilot. He sadly died when his Lancaster crashed on a bombing raid in Germany. Branch member Dennis Glynn did a commendable amount of research into the early life of Mr Hill. He now reports to me that he has visited Barry Hill the son of Charles E. Hill. Barry lives with his wife in Coutances in Northern France and they made Dennis very welcome. The whole story is fascinating (I have a photocopy file) and was started by an enquiry to the branch by a Great Nephew of Charles, one Fred Hill who is a serving Police officer in Gwent . All Fred had was a little information and a photograph of a wooden memorial plaque. Dennis had saved the carved memorial from destruction some years ago and had it erected in the entrance hallway of Bishop Road Police Club. Dennis introduced Fred, when he visited St Helens last year, to a chap called Les Middleton who had walked the beat with Charles Hill in the late 1930`s. Sadly Les has just passed away at the ripe old age of 100 years and 7 months.

SOCIAL EVENTS. Obviously the Christmas Party Saturday 13th December. With the group `Young Once` Fill in the form at the bottom of this page. Let`s see you there! Trip to Scotland. Again organised by our stalwart committee member Margaret Dickinson. Fully Booked as always. Trip to Normandy 14th May 2015. 5 day trip to Caen with three day trips to the Battlefields. Cost is £305. there are a number of vacancies. Please contact Margaret for further information. 01744 21482.

Message from our Deputy Chairman, You will be awarethat due to budget cuts, the force welfare dept. has been non-existent for some time. The welfare and well being of retired officers is therefore a matter for us all. As members of NARPO, I feel it encumbent upon us all to do what we can for each other, particularly in times of ill-health or need. The one common thread, I have found, is one of lonliness, particularly the oldest and widowed amongst us. At a recent committee meeting, we thought it may be a good idea if we had a contact register of the most vulnerable members. Each committee member would be assigned a number of members to contact either by phone or email or in person on a regular basis so that they may feel more inclusive and that no-one would be forgotten or fall through the net. We currently have an adhoc visiting regime but by formalising it, feel we can be more effective. Therefore, if you want, or may know a branch member who may benefit from regular contact, could you contact a committee member for this process to be put in place. The old chestnut of Travel insurance has arisen again recently. A retired Merseyside Officer on holiday in Turkey with his wife had a stroke. His medical bill had risen to £30k and the insurance company refused to pay it because he had not disclosed a previous medical condition. His wife had to return home as she could not afford the hotel bill and the medical costs were rising each day. Only National press coverage and a report on BBC local news brought the insurance company to a change of heart and he was eventually brought home. A lesson to us all. Ray Muspratt.

N.B. If you would like to be contacted by a committee member on a regular basis. Please send your name and contact details to NARPO Branch Secretary John Russell tel . 01925 241538 or post to 8 Rectory Close, Winwick, Nr. Warrington, Cheshire WA2 8LD

And remember – If you are not supposed to eat at night, why do they put a light in the fridge.

Whatever you do always give it 100% , - -unless you are donating blood

A clean house is the sign of a broken computer.

And finally. One good thing about being wrong ---is the joy it gives to others. John Russell

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St Helens N.A.R.P.O. Christmas Party, SATURDAY 13th December 2014

I/we wish to attend the Branch Christmas Party

Name ……………...... Spouse/Partner……………………………..

(Please print)

Contact No. …………………………………

I also wish to invite ……….. guests. And enclose a cheque to the sum of £ ………….. being full payment for these non members (£7.50. per person).

Please complete the slip and forward together with your cheque made payable to Narpo (St. Helens). to Sheila SHAW, 66 Windle Hall Drive, St. Helens.WA10 6QA 01744 609720. No later than SUNDAY, 30th November, to allow for catering arrangements. (please).