PW_2_2024

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Legends Never Retire The remarkable story of Jeffrey Smith’s life of purpose Brian Kennedy , Publicity Officer, Region 2, Northern Ireland One of the greatest pleasures of being the Region 2 Publicity Officer, is meeting extraordinary, captivating people, and Jeffrey Smith is in the top tier of that group. Jeff attended our AGM in March 2023, for the presentation of his 60 year IPA membership certificate, by the then Section UK VP, Yvonne McGregor. After the formalities of the meeting, Jeff took the opportunity to introduce himself and tell us a little about himself.

I was amazed by his story and immediately asked him for a more in-depth interview. I travelled to his home, deep in the picturesque Newtownards Peninsula, and got into an incredibly interesting chat. Throughout our conversation, he regaled me with tales of his experiences as a Police Officer, teacher, explorer, philanthropist, and an active contributor to his local community. Jeff started his police career in the Met, as a young cadet, later serving as in Response and in Traffic. He recalls one of his most vivid memories of his service as being early on the scene of the Staines Air Disaster in 1972, where all 118 people on board flight BEA 548 were tragically killed. After the untimely passing of his wife in 1979, Jeff concentrated on raising his children. His initial introduction to the IPA was in 1963, when he was gifted his first membership by a colleague. He became an active member and attended all his branch and region events. Following his retirement, Jeff’s children were now more self-sufficient, and he decided to acquire a private pilot’s licence, flying regularly over London from Elstree Aerodrome. He also embarked on an Open University course, obtained a degree, then further trained as a teacher, and taught at a school in Potters Bar for five years. About this time, typical of his inquisitive and intrepid nature, Jeff decided that he needed another challenge in his life, so he bought a yacht and taught himself to sail. Naturally, cruising up and down the coastline of the UK wasn’t enough for Jeff, so having obtained his RYA Yachtmaster qualification, he decided to sail the Atlantic. He sailed initially to Canada, then worked his way down the eastern coast of the USA to Florida, before returning home on a trip that took a full year. He subsequently obtained the prestigious RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence, of which he is rightly, very proud. Jeff’s next adventure was slightly different. In London, he met and subsequently married a woman from Northern Ireland, and he and Jane decided to move back here permanently, whereupon Jeff went back to teaching for a few years, coincidentally, in the school where my own children were educated. Now living happily in the Newtownards Peninsula, Jeff became aware that a problem existed in relation to ambulance response times, due simply to the location of the nearest hospital and the rural nature of the area, with many small country roads. People on the peninsula in life critical situations, were dying before the ambulance could reach them. Jeff researched the potential for setting up a volunteer First Responder Group within his community, where individuals are trained to a sufficient standard to keep people alive until the ambulance could arrive. Once up and running, the group started

fielding 999 calls from the Ambulance Service, and treating the patient until the ambulance arrived. Unbeknown to Jeff, someone nominated him for an award in recognition for this work, and the next thing he knew, he was at Buckingham Palace being presented with an MBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, of which he is extremely proud. To this day, Jeff is still a crew member on a private ambulance and regularly attends public events. Jeff has dedicated virtually his entire life to public service, and is constantly seeking out new experiences, new things to learn, see and do. Nothing is too much trouble, or too much of a challenge. In my opinion this is undoubtedly the reason, he’s so incredibly vibrant and active in his early eighties and to be frank, he’s just really good company. It was a huge pleasure to interview him. In Jeff’s own words, “The only way to look at life… try to make it fun.”

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POLICE WORLD Vol 69 No.2, 2024