PW_1_2022

IPA News

Police World Touches Base Grahame Holloway , Devon Branch Articles in Police World can sometimes have interesting consequences, a good example being Grahame Holloway’s Memories of Early Police Aviation, which appeared in Vol 66 No.3. The National Police Air Service (NPAS) base at Almondsbury, in South Gloucestershire, is close to where I now live. Learning of my past aviation experience, their Base Commander, Alec Linton, extended an invitation for me to visit. After negotiating the strict security cordon surrounding the base, their welcome could not have been warmer, starting with a good cup of coffee.

NPAS Base Commander Alec Linton with Grahame and G-HEOI

I was shown the ops room, where I met the on-call crew who, fortunately, were still on ‘stand-by’. I learned that the base has five pilots, a Chief Pilot and four Line Pilots, along with eight police observers. Then we retired to Alec’s office, which he shares with the Chief Pilot, Captain Rick London, a former Army Air Corps pilot. Interestingly, I learned that Rick and I had at least one thing in common, having both flown the Chipmunk. Although my experience of that aircraft was many years before his. Time passed so quickly as we discussed the roles they undertook within today’s policing. Then the time came to have a close look at a helicopter. Their Eurocopter 135 P2 G-HEOI was parked outside of the hangar, and Alec and I were joined by the duty pilot, Captain Stewart Hadley-Clarke. He went through all the instrumentation and facilities available to them. Sadly, the time passed all too quickly, for it seemed like another world to me, some 40 years having passed since I was last in a ‘chopper’. Then, as we finally said our good-byes, I was presented with a NPAS picture of the helicopter and an invitation to return. A copy of my Police World article is now displayed on their notice board.

Wiltshire’s Emblem Returns Matthew Johnson , Secretary, Wiltshire Branch Retired police officers crop up in surprising settings, but I think Dave Waters gets an accolade for a most interesting and unusual post- retirement job. For him and his band of volunteers, this is clearly a passion. In 1998 Dave founded the Great Bustard Group (GBG). This beautiful native British bird was hunted to extinction in this country in the 19th century. It is the world’s heaviest flying bird and often weighs over 20 kg, stands a metre tall, with a wingspan of two metres. It also features on Wiltshire’s County flag, making it rather special to our Branch. To find out more about this extraordinary project, 14 members of Wiltshire Branch joined Dave for a fascinating tour. Dave and his colleague Adrian, who is also a retired policeman, loaded us into two Landrovers that had clearly led an interesting life. They took us onto areas of Salisbury Plain, which are only accessible to farmers and the military, with fabulous views across the chalk downland. The large training areas, with few people, make Salisbury Plain a haven for wildlife; with 13 species of nationally rare plants, 67 rare invertebrates, and it is a site of international importance for birds. All this makes the plain an ideal breeding ground for the Great Bustard. We were lucky enough to see two large groups of these magnificent birds. They were at a distance, but with the help of equipment supplied by the GBG, we all got a closer view. The second group were seen from a hide which offered welcome sanctuary from the strong winds that sweep across the plain. We also saw kestrels, deer and many grassland birds. We had arranged a pub lunch at The Antelope in Upavon, where Dave treated us to an excellent talk about the trials and early tribulations of this

Matthew (left) presenting the window to Da ve

very ambitious project. The aim of the Bustard Group is to safeguard and enlarge the breeding population of this amazing bird, so it can sustain itself and thrive for future generations. Along the way Dave has sourced Bustard eggs from Russia and Spain. Russia proved a challenge, as the authorities refused to co-operate. Russian farmers were more co-operative, after bartering was done with vodka and cigarettes. Dave has built up an excellent working relationship with The Cotswold Wildlife Park, who incubate the eggs, which are then sent to breeding pens on Salisbury Plain before being released. At the end of our visit Matthew Johnson presented Dave with a beautiful stained- glass window of a Great Bustard in flight, which he designed and made himself.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 67 No.1, 2022