IN the absence of the President, Jean Davies welcomed members and visitors to the August meeting.

Members sent their warmest wishes and congratulations to fellow member Daphne Beard and her husband Fred, who were celebrating, with their family, their Diamond Wedding Anniversary. Her Majesty the Queen had also heard about the celebration and Daphne and Fred were thrilled to have received her message from Buckingham Palace.

On Thursday, August 21 all members were invited to the Fox and Hounds Inn at Lulsley for a social evening and supper.

The speaker for the evening was Rosemary Prosser . The intriguing title of her talk was From Tights to Trousers. She spoke of her career with the West Mercia Constabulary, although when her father had suggested the police force as a possible career when she left school, she had dismissed the idea out of hand.

She was the daughter of a farmer and went to Studeley Agricultural College in order that she could pursue the opportunities opening up in this field. It was not until some ten years later that she applied to join the police force. It was with some trepidation that she sat the entrance examination! With this first step behind her , Rosemary was sent away for training before accepting her first posting at Evesham.

She shared numerous stories with our members of her time with the police force, often these stories were humorous but sometimes the humour masked the hurt of some deeply sad events.

Rosemary also explained the title of her talk. In the 1970’s, before the Equal Opportunities legislation had been passed, female police officers were paid an allowance to cover the cost of the thick black tights that they had to wear, but post legislation the allowance was dropped and all police officers were issued with trousers!

Rosemary enjoyed her time with the force and only left when her son was born. He has followed in his mother’s footsteps and is now a serving police officer.

The next meeting on September 11 should be a fun evening when members Remember the Swinging 60’s with Ray Sturdy.

Visitors will be very welcome.