Up In Front of the Local Constabulary!

I’ve met a few Coppers in the course of my own life, especially in my younger years coming from a working class home in Peckham South London from a family of Millwall supporters, and I was recently approached to do my unique “Stand-up Genealogy” gig for the local South Hampshire National Association of Retired Police Officers (NARPO) through a retired Police contact.

Their Branch meetings are held in Victoria House in Netley. This is interesting in itself, as it is the Psychiatric building of the old Netley Hospital on the banks of the Solent. The hospital was at one time the largest Military Hospital in the world, and treated British, Commonwealth, Allied, and even captured enemy servicemen, from the mid-Victorian era right through World Wars One and Two, treating thousands of our ancestors, and as a result touching the Family Trees of hundreds of thousands of people in the UK, Commonwealth, and further afield, from Japan,China,and the Indian Sub-Continent to the USA, and from Russia to Africa, even including two relatives of the Kray Twins! So a very apt setting for a Genealogist!

As always, I looked to tailor my act with Genealogical relevance for the particular audience, and having an audience of retired coppers was a real gift, as I come across so many interesting stories involving both criminals and the Police, and can pick out some of the more comical and interesting ones for the audience. Giving ample opportunity to re-visit both stories from the wonderful DNA Journey Series from Voltage TV and ITV that I research and appear in, as well as some of the conclusions I’ve been able to draw from my studies of “Criminal Families”.

There was a good turnout for a rainy Thursday night in October, with 80 plus people attending, accompanied by a Curry and good humour. That was a relief as part of my act is to explain how I got into Genealogy in the first place, that involved gaining “unconventional access” to the London Metropolitan Archives in the early hours of the morning in the 1970s when I lived in South London (fortunately no charges were pressed against me during the evening).

Some well known stories featured in the TV series DNA Journey were explained, like William Redknap – Footballers’ Harry and Jamie Redknapp’s relative who pulled off the biggest successful wages snatch in British history in 1840 ( available here: https://www.itv.com/watch/dna-journey/2a5252/2a5252a0003 ) and William and Edward Beckett – Comedian Rob Beckett’s family who caused mayhem in Winchester from the 1820s to the 1840s, one of whom was on the receiving end of a “private whipping” in the old Winchester Gaol (episode available here: https://www.itv.com/watch/dna-journey/2a5252/2a5252a0006 ).

Police stories covered everything from the uproar over the Metropolitan Police replacing the old system of Watchmen or “Charlies” as they were called, to cases of Policemen going undercover into Gambling Dens (which is what caught Adrian Dunbar’s ancestor out in an episode of DNA Journey you can see it here: https://www.itv.com/watch/dna-journey/2a5252/2a5252a0015 ).

With everything from the Kray Twins to Jack the Ripper covered an amusing and informative night was had by all, and I must say it was a pleasure to have been invited. At the end of the night I had some great conversations with the audience, and covered some hints and tips on how to carry out your own research, as well as some of the techniques I use when investigating long forgotten “Cold Cases” and Family Mysteries.

Best of all at the end of the night £500 was to be donated to the Air Ambulance by NARPO! So a big thank you to everyone for coming along!

With special thanks to Chris Freeman, Branch Secretary of NARO Southampton for the use of his photos for this blog, to Dick Ironmonger the Branch Chairman for hosting the event, John Forder for liaising to make sure the logistics and preparations went as planned, Fay Chaplin Events and Bar Manager for sorting out the AV and laying on such a great meal, and of course to Gill Richards for putting my name forward for the event in the first place!