PW_2_2021

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Celebrating Seventy Wonderful Years Andy Gregory , Birmingham & West Midlands Branch

The following day we visited a new glass sky bridge, near the border of Laos at Chang Khong. A lot of the Thais seemed nervous about walking on the glass bridge, and did not appreciate my English sense of humour in shouting “boo”. Laos was apparently the most bombed country in the world during the Vietnam war, but Chang Khong was lovely, the people were friendly and there was a nice Buddha too. The trip was challenging but good. My next adventure involved a train, rather than a motorcycle, when I took an adventurous three day railway trip right down to Su-ngai Kolak, the last stop on the train line. Just one mile from Malaysia, this is a Muslim area, which is in dispute with Thailand, so there were about 20 armed Thai soldiers on the train. The train was very interesting and very basic. Even when the train is moving, the side doors are fully open, and passengers step off at whatever speed we happened to be doing. When we stopped at some of the stations, street vendors approached the train with some nice food. My train compartment was basic to say the least, despite being first class. I spent two overnights on the train. In Bangkok the track was next to peoples’ shacks. At 06.30 I made my way to the river and took a ferry, which cost 50p and stayed on it for a few hours. Then I met my friend Nick, who lives in Bangkok, for lunch. Then it was time to get back on the train, where I was the only westerner travelling. When the train arrived at its destination, there was a high level of security with armoured cars, stop checks everywhere and a serious amount of military with automatic weapons. An article in the Bangkok Post helped explain the security, reporting a total of 6,543 deaths and 11,919 injuries between 2004 and the end of 2015. There were an estimated 15,374 “insurgency-related” incidents during the same period. I knew this was an area the UK Home Office advised against travelling to, so my insurance didn’t cover me and I decided not to stay too long. I spent a decent night there with no problems, apart from the very loud prayers from the mosques at 4am. The next day, the only way I could find to leave was to pay someone to drive me. The guy who turned up was a young man wearing a baseball cap backwards and driving a tricked up 4x4. I tried to set aside my ageing stereotype, thinking “he’ll be okay.” He wasn’t okay, he drove like he stole it. We made it back in five hours, even with lots of army stop checks.

Andy

In 1985, after three years in the electrical retail trade, I changed careers to work at Birmingham’s Hippodrome Theatre. My friend Martin Sewell had been promoted from Barman to Assistant Manager, and I took his place in a job I really enjoyed. I met some amazing and rather famous people including Lauren Bacall (Humphry Bogart’s wife), Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith & Griff Rhys Jones, Victoria Wood, Morrissey, Wayne Sleep and loads more besides. I also had the pleasure of preparing the Royal Rooms for the Queen, and personally waited on Princess Anne (twice) and Princess Margaret, when they attended various productions. In the Summer of 1986, Princess Anne (prior to receiving the title of Princess Royal in 1987) visited the Theatre to see a production of The Gang Show, and her second visit was to a fundraising show for the Army Benevolent Fund. As Head Barman, it was my responsibility to look after the Royal Party and ensure everything ran smoothly. After one of the events, I was asked by a Royal Aide to arrange for a line-up of bar and kitchen staff, so Her Royal Highness could thank them all. Princess Anne made her way towards us, and we all waited eagerly to see if she would speak to us personally. I was at the end of our line, and the last person she could potentially speak to before the Theatre Manager and Director. Her Royal Highness spoke to a few colleagues and then stopped in front of me. She asked me about my role, and during the brief conversation I said that I really wanted to be a police officer. She suggested I “Go for it,” and finished by saying that although I had done a great job for her visit, she did not expect to see me still working at the Hippodrome next time she attended a show. With that, she said her goodbyes to the Theatre Bosses and left the building. A few weeks later, my father arranged for his friend Barry McKay to visit and discuss joining the police. Barry was a Detective Chief Inspector in Birmingham and I listened intently to his tales of policing. These two conversations with HRH and DCI McKay changed the course of my life, as they convinced me to pursue my dream. I submitted my application and joined West Midlands Police on the 16th of February 1987. I mentioned earlier about my pal Martin Sewell, who was at senior school with me and later worked alongside me at the Theatre. Martin was from a police family, and in 1988 after travelling the world with his wife-to-be Clair, Martin also joined West Midlands Police. Martin’s father David served for 30 years, and was heavily involved with the IPA throughout his career. So, Martin and I followed suit, with both of us joining the IPA and serving as 5-Region Chair at different times. Mine was not a police family, so I truly believe those two encouraging conversations in 1986 had a profound effect on my destiny. Barry McKay retired about 15 years ago as Assistant Commissioner in the City of London, and he and my father Frederick remain great friends. I served for 30 years, retiring as a sergeant in 2017. Throughout my career I have had some wonderful experiences with the IPA, and I was delighted to see Princess Anne agree to be our IPA Patron. Considering the encouragement the Princess gave me, I was delighted to take part in the Zoom call with her in December. Unfortunately, I did not get an opportunity to thank her for the words of encouragement she gave me 34 years ago, but I hope to get another chance during her time as our Patron.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 66 No.2, 2021

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