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Graham Smith
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Graham Mumby-Croft
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Graham Smith JP
Issue No. 80 SPRING 2019
From the Chair
Welcome to this edition of the RPGA Newsletter. I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year and are looking forward to another year of trips and adventures. It is 10 years at the end of March since I retired and I have to say it has been an excellent experience so here is to another 10 years: bring it on!
I was reflecting today *23rd February 2019+ that it is 50 years ago exactly that I joined the “Modern Prison Service”. I remember the date as it is the same as my niece’s birthday. Living in Swadlincote near Burton- Upon- Trent at the time, the interviews and the one month’s POUT induction were at HMP Stafford along with 8 other recruits. So began my 40 years and 5 weeks’ service as it did for us all at some time. Do you recall your beginnings with HMPS? If so please tell us about it.
My first posting following Leyhill training, where we all watched Concorde take its’ first flight, was to HMP Sudbury, governed by one Charles Miles whose son was to marry my cousin *both teachers+ which I kept very quiet at the time as you can imagine. My first day was Whit Monday 1969, an odd day to start, and all the training with keys, locks and most of the security stuff was immediately put on the back burner as it was Cat. D you see. We had an RPGA meeting at Sudbury last year and I asked if it might be possible to visit, so I hope to do that in May. Ironically my last day in HMPS was 31st March 2009 and we were in Cuba on holiday, so we and a few fellow travellers sat with a glass of something and toasted my “career” ending overlooking the Caribbean Sea. It’s funny how things end
up!
Our last autumn RPGA committee meeting was, for the third year running, held at the PGA Annual Conference venue at Radisson Blu Hotel near East Midlands Airport. We are obliged to Andrea Albutt and her Committee for allowing us to share the facility. It also gives me the opportunity to address their conference for a few minutes about the RPGA and selling the option of membership to staff approaching retirement. One of our priorities for the next year is to increase membership and the challenge is to contact as many prior to retirement as we can. One decision that we made at that meeting was relating to future AGMs. As I reported in the last Newsletter, attendees were few on the ground at Stratford-on-Avon and cost us dearly in proportion to the event. The 2019 AGM this year will be on the 8th October at the Radisson Bleu Hotel, East Midlands Airport.
We are currently transitioning losing Bob Duncan from our Committee and Roger Outram taking over the letters and correspondence liaison role, so if you wish to write and/or email Roger is the man you need to contact. His details are in this edition.
I am pleased with the Association’s recent progress and, in particular, our financial footing as a result of Graham Mumby-Croft’s restructuring of membership subscriptions, our working link to the CSPA via Harry Brett and Paul Laxton, work on the website from Roger Outram and our ongoing commitment to inform and be informed on your behalf. As ever, I ask that members contribute to the newsletter on retirement issues, anecdotes and anything from your careers that will be of interest to our readership.
GRAHAM SMITH, RPGA CHAIRMAN
