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As British policemen today complain about the difficulty of doing their jobs efficiently because of the constraints of red tape, former Derby police inspector John Louch looks back to 1960 when a bright new chief constable from London attempted to sweep clean and introduce changes only to be greeted with resentment by many.

When wartime hero Ronald Noble (pictured right) arrived in Derby in 1960 to become the town’s new chief constable, he brought energy, drive and modern ideas.

He had great plans to introduce new practices for his officers, hoping they would help solve rising crime figures, traffic chaos and the problems of an under-manned police force, which Derby had been struggling with for years.

Nine months later, as he prepared to attend the Remembrance Day service in Derby Market Place, he collapsed and died of a heart attack, aged only 48. Everyone was shocked and there was bitter disappointment among both younger police officers and the public that so much promise had been lost so soon. Retired Inspector John Louch (above), of Mackworth, was a rookie two years into his service with the then Derby Borough Police when Ronald Noble arrived in February 1960, after being in charge of Burnley Police.

Members of the police and public mourn Chief Constable Ronald Noble’s untimely death at his funeral in November 1960

Within a very short time, a noticeable wind of change was blowing as the new chief set about introducing his own practices and systems.

For men who had served in the force for decades – mainly under the leadership of the legendary Colonel Horatio Rawlings, the autocratic, opinionated and eccentric chief constable who ran Derby police like his own private army – there was some resentment and annoyance at the changes which were proposed.

Said John: “Mr Noble was 48 years old and was one of the youngest chief constables in the country. A former Metropolitan Police officer, he had been part of a select group who, before the war, had been selected for accelerated promotion.

“During the war, his bravery with bomb disposal had brought him the George Medal. He was an outstanding man and one Derby really needed. In no time at all, he was like a whirlwind which couldn’t be avoided. He would appear anywhere and everywhere at all times of the day and night, checking on how things were being done.”

Appalled to discover that the main police headquarters in Full Street were locked at 10pm every night, Ronald Noble immediately ordered them to be kept open to the public 24 hours a day. And he invited people to call there on police business, or for personal advice and help, at any time.

“I am seeking better co-operation with the public to cope with crime and traffic difficulties which are out of all proportion to the size of the police force,” he said.

John, pictured right, recalled once being caught out by the new boss when he was on one of his “turning up at any time” visits.

It was midnight and having made the hourly obligatory telephone call to the communications room, PC 116 Louch was taking a brief rest from his night duty in the police box opposite the Blue Peter pub at Alvaston.

“I had stretched out on a wooden bench with my helmet over my eyes, just to rest them, when suddenly I was disturbed by the sound of the door opening. I jumped to my feet to be confronted by Chief Constable Noble accompanied by a sergeant.

“‘Everything all right, 116?’ he asked.

“‘Yes sir,’ I mumbled in my fluster and gave him a sort of salute, adding, ‘All quiet’, praying to myself that this was, indeed, the case.

“I then handed my pocket book to the chief, who signed it, as did the sergeant. They then walked out of the police box with the sergeant turning round angrily, mouthing to me something like: ‘Get back on your beat’. I never did that again,” he laughed.

A few months later, he was ordered to join the guard of honour at the Chief’s funeral and he suddenly realised that overnight all the new practices and efficiency he had introduced were being dropped.

“At the end of the ceremony, we returned to our respective beats and, as I had reported someone earlier in the day for some minor offence, I had to return to Pear Tree police station to submit my report.

“I don’t remember the precise details but when I went up to the sergeant who was sitting at his desk and said, ‘Short report for submission, sergeant’, he glanced at it, handed it back and replied, ‘We don’t do it like this anymore. Re-submit it, when you’ve done it properly’.

“Confused, I replied, ‘I thought this was how we had to submit reports now’.

“He replied, ‘No, you submit them in the same way as you were taught when you first joined.’

“I asked him when this had come about and the sergeant carefully laid down his pen, looked at me over the top of his glasses and replied, ‘Look 116, if it was good enough for Horatio Rawlings, it should be good enough for you. Now get back on your beat and stop asking daft questions’.”

Colonel Horatio Rawlings

John does not recall what the report was about but says it would have been a petty offence like a bus driver changing his destination boards before arriving at his destination, a greengrocer taking too much room up on the pavement with his displays, a rag and bone man not having his name and address painted on the side of his horse-driven cart, someone dropping litter, riding a pedal cycle without lights or causing an obstruction with a motor vehicle.

“As I left the station, was it my imagination when I saw one of the older guys laughing and heard a sergeant mutter to himself: ‘We didn’t want any fancy London ways here anyway’?

“As I wended my way up Normanton Road, I contemplated the many changes that had taken place since the arrival of Mr Noble and that, at a stroke of a pen, they had all disappeared overnight.

“It was a senior PC who later told me: ‘Situation normal’.”

Few people realised then that, within seven years, Derby Borough Police would experience an even bigger upheaval of their service and practices with the amalgamation with Derbyshire Constabulary in 1967.

“During those seven years, however, Derby Borough Police became, in my opinion, one of the most efficient forces in the country, mainly because it was one of the first to have a personal radio system,” said John.

“Due to the compact area of Derby, the force was used to trial the system. A typing pool was also introduced which meant officers did not get bogged down with paperwork and lightweight motorcycles were introduced on beats usually patrolled on a pedal cycle.”

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County:  Derbyshire

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