Founded 1980
Chair:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Graham Smith
Jan Thompson
Graham Mumby-Croft
Home
Issue 82 Spring 2020
Dear Colleagues
Once more I must register disappointment that no-one has written to me with anything I can include in the letters section. Fortunately my very good friend Bob Duncan is maintaining contact with those who have provided him with interesting news over the past many years and he continues to pass it on to me. This Spring season he has contributed some 6000 words for which he has my eternal gratitude, but as sure as night follows day and retirement follows employment the writing is on the wall for the future of the Letters section and I will leave you dear reader to draw your own conclusions. For my part I have spent much of my thirteen years in retirement being enthralled with the contributions made by Bob and now as letters editor I get to read it all first. Bobs contribution follows and I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I have. Please spend a few moments to pen some anecdotes from your busy lives and send them to me and I am sure that other readers will find your contributions as interesting as we have all enjoyed the jottings of the legendary Bob Duncan.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You’re Correspondence from Bob Duncan Spring 2020
Colleagues will be saddened to learn of the death of Geoffrey Lister, but at the age of 94 he had a ‘good innings.’ I served under Geoff when he was Regional Director of the Midlands. As Brendan so aptly writes he was generally serious and hard-working, and one felt there was more to him than he revealed. I had more contact with Ted Cowper –Johnson who had such an outward personality he made a nice balance to Geoff. I marvel at Brendan’s Obituary, ( Printed separately in the Newsletter) because he has captured so beautifully the real Geoff, the one I felt I knew but was never sure as he was always so clearly focused on the task.
Brendan is keeping well but he admits it is harder as we grow older and goes on to say one hip operation for Barbara is enough.
Brendan mentioned that Geoff had a wry sense of humour. On one occasion he visiting Wellingborough for some event and was invited to stay for a meal, he tucked in and had clearly enjoyed what had been served up, Jane asked if he would like some more, he literary turned and looked over his shoulder, and said Grace (his wife) won’t know, yes please.
Perhaps the other side of Geoff is illustrated by another occasion when he advised he would be attending the final of the Thompson Football Cup and would like to speak to both teams before the kickoff. This was due at 3 pm, and no sign of Geoff, we waited 25 minutes, no sign and everyone was getting a bit agitated, so I announced ‘give it 5 minutes, and must start.’ So it commenced, 10 minutes later Geoff accompanied by Grace appeared, full of apologies he said, ‘we attended the service at the Cathedral as usual, it overran a bit. We then had to return home to park my car, and get into the official car to come to the match.’ After the match, we invited them home for tea. Some will not know, but Geoff always claimed that Grace was the brains behind the design and specifications of the J and G Official Quarters. He always seemed very proud of her achievement. We for once were occupying the Governor’s quarter, but as soon as we approached the house, Grace said that’s extra pointing to the porch, and as soon as we entered she declared I better inspect it all to see what else you have had done. I was not sure if she was having a go at Geoff for not spotting it before, or blaming me. I did not really care as I suspect it had been done by my first Deputy at Dover, ‘Down the Block Jock’, Bill Fingland as he had been a Governor there. I just think Grace had enjoyed herself pointing it all out. For us it was a very nice quarter, that is after Jane, who had to carry out the’ preliminary visit’, as I was posted and waiting to take up post, there, on her own without me due to the prolonged 10-day hostage situation at Scrubs which I could not leave as I was ‘silver’, the Governor was absent and refusing to return until he was ready. When Jane had made it clear that she wanted her own cooker installed instead of the ‘official one’ and the electrician had demanded to know why and she had advised that it had a timer facility beside other advantages and if she was delayed at work it solved the problem. The electrician had retorted that she should not be working but at home looking after me. Within a second of Jane’s explosive response, the Head of Works realized where this was going and said ‘It will be installed the day it arrives!’
If colleagues will allow me some discretion, I would like to digress for a moment. My son achieved a first-class degree in civil engineering at Nottingham University. He had a year‘s experience of working in engineering prior to university. On graduation, he volunteered to undertake 2 years of voluntary service abroad. He was allocated to Uganda and the task of using local labour and stones collected by the villagers to built medical centres in remote villages. I went out with Paul Wailen to visit him there and travelled with him to all the sites he was working on. I was very proud of him. It is a beautiful country that was ravaged and made poor by the antics of Idi Amin,’ the Butcher of Uganda’. Poor as they are the children are so friendly and always intrigued by a white visitor. Since then I have financially sponsored and corresponded with a Ugandan child through a charity. My current child, Odeta has just had her ninth Birthday, the highlights of her the year have been she has ‘leant her letters’ and her father has bought Odeta her first pair of shoes. It humbled me and was a pertinent reminder of the real spirit of Christmas.
In the last edition, I reported that Paul Wailen was fully recovered from previous medical problems. That was clearly tempting fate as just before the rather late publication of the last Newsletter he had awful pains and was rushed to a hospital. The consultants took quite a while to diagnose the problem and then debated whether an operation was feasible. It was and he then had major surgery and was in intensive care for a period and then a few weeks in hospital before discharge. Unfortunately during the surgery, they discovered Paul had the onset of cancer. So once he was fit enough to undertake chemotherapy he was given the option of a low dose or a high one with the risk of more side effects but a more rapid route to recovery. He bravely opted for the high dose. I was unable to make contact after his first report in November that all seemed to go well, for the whole of mid-December to mid-January he was, ‘flat out on his bed not knowing what was going on’. The hospital now accepts that the first dose was too high, and it has been all reviewed. He had the second treatment in mid-January and all was well when I spoke to him. Let us hope that is the end of it and Paul does have a healthier and happy New Year.
A short greeting from Steve Metcalf, he appears to have given up his enthusiasm for sailing to some degree and taken up bridge to ward off boredom and dementia. This year just good wishes from the Rev Tom John, so he is still amongst us in retirement.
Veronica Bird has moved to the property she has always wanted in Harrogate but is proving a bit of a headache. She is having it modernized, but finding good workman in the Harrogate area is not proving easy. She is still in big demand to give talks to a host of different groups, and on some days has given two talks at different venues. All ‘fees’ given her are donated generously to Yorkshire Cancer Care, Butler Trust, Kidney Research and Shannon Trust. All have benefitted by over £1,000 each so far. Veronica is already booked, amongst others, for the North East Women’s Institute Annual Lunch when over 200 are expected to attend. There is clearly a genuine interest in what actually takes place in our prisons. Veronica says she meets all kinds of interesting people, including a gentleman who went to school with Tim Newell and Phil Wheatley.
John and Jean Childs say they have the usual ailments for those who have reached the age of 85, with various hospital appointments. They do though ‘keep moving’ and ensure that they get out every day for a walk and possibly a latte. They had a family reunion in December with Simon and family home from Hong Kong, and David and wife from Singapore, and Jennie and family from Southampton. They have 6 grandsons and 2 great-grandsons, so as they say ‘we are kept busy’. I have known John and Jean for over 50 years when we were all at Dover together. The happy memories from those days are as vivid as ever and they are genuinely caring and good people.
Congratulations to Ron and Sue Curtis on their 50th Wedding Anniversary which they celebrated by renting a holiday home in Trevone Cornwall and having a family reunion and were blessed with a gloriously sunny week followed by a second gathering for a lunch with family and friends and neighbours’ at their favourite country pub in Rutland, with fine weather once again. Again a colleague from Dover days and I knew them when they were only a courting couple!
In contrast, a winter trip they made to Orkney early in the year, when they were delayed from making the ferry crossing from the north of Scotland to Orkney by high winds and seas, so they saw more of Caithness than usual. Despite continuing bad weather we got around the island as usual, and in particular, learning more about one of our heroes the Arctic explorer John Rae and visiting the house where he grew up, in a poor state now, but soon to be restored by the John Rae Society. They say they are keeping well; I admire their fitness with all the intrepid walks they manage.
Ron was kind enough to say he enjoyed my contribution to the Newsletter and in particular my memories of Graham Gregory Smith and the hostage incident at Scrubs as Ron was part of that.
Colin Tanswell writes ‘I was walking in the St John’s area of Wakefield last week and passed by your old house, Fred Abbott, who I served with at Hewell Grange, lived in Belgravia Road nearby when he was at Wakefield Prison. We are still in touch and they have now moved from Leicestershire, where they retired, to Sherringham in Norfolk, another coincidence as it is only a stone’s throw from where we had our holiday caravan for over 20 years.
I am recovered from an accident, of falling off the ladder, as far as I can hope. I recently completed a course of physiotherapy, an almost complete waste of time; all they did was give me exercises to do at home, no hands-on treatment, not like the Springwell Health Clinic whom I patronized whilst I was at the college. I still suffer pain occasionally, but I am 80, and I am able to walk a couple of miles regularly, use my exercise bike and carry out minor essential tasks in the garden. My eldest son still lives with us and is a godsend to assist with more demanding tasks.
My youngest son, who was born when I was at the College, now lives in Winnipeg in Canada; we visited him and his wife in April/May experiencing the vast variations in weather that is a feature of their climate. In winter it is well below zero and remains so until the spring, I do not know how they stand it as they then get mosquitoes in the summer. We hope to go again but a major drawback is the cost of travel insurance, now almost as costly as the flights, with our medical history.
We have managed to avoid the floods which have occurred nearby, although it has been a close call, history has shown that following long periods of heavy rain, water flows off the fields into our road, frightening though fortunately not inundating this time.
Veronica Bird gave her talk to our church members recently and I had hoped to go and make myself known to her, I am not sure we have ever met. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from attending.
Angela Burgess and David Turner state they are both keeping well and keep fit by walking the dog. That is in stark contrast to Abi and Zarina Sheikh, also from my Pentonville days, as Zarina’s medical condition has grown worse and she is severely limited in not being able to walk at all. He says the year has been stressful for him as well as Zarina; it seems to be spiralling downwards quite rapidly since Zarina was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Matters got worse when she had a nasty fall in the kitchen which resulted in a fracture of the forearm and a dislocated shoulder. I phoned at 2 pm, but we had to wait 4 hours for an ambulance to come, then another 2 hours in the ambulance before a space in the waiting room could be found, then a further 4 hours before a doctor could attend to her. It was 4 am the next morning before we came home with instructions to take paracetamol for the pain. Then we discovered that the shoulder had not been set right and there was a long delay to get treatment, she has lost the use of her right arm and hand. We have been attending physiotherapy sessions, neurology clinics and other clinics at least twice a week since June with little improvement or signs of recovery. Abi has now had the house converted as far as possible to meet her needs, and is her carer. To add to his troubles the water main outside his house burst damaging the entire block paving in his drive, and confining Zarina to the house. Trying to get it sorted and receive compensation from Thames Water he says was like that of an elephant telling a mouse to fight him. He now takes on all the household chores and takes Zarina out in her wheelchair, so he has less time for his beloved garden. He had however made major reorganization prior to all the above. Now he can wait to see the fruits of his labour. Abi has diabetes but is otherwise reasonably healthy. He said his faith helped and he would cope with all that was necessary. His children and grandchildren were all doing well so that gave him great comfort. He acknowledged there are many much worse off than him. He asked me to wish him luck. I am sure we all do that in abundance.
Jenny Adams Young was struck down again with shingles last year and was still facing some of the side effects in November. However, she fears she might be faring better than her beloved cat Cristal Tips who has reached the age of 19.6 and is now very frail. Jenny has now resigned from the RPGA Committee after 8 years. I am sure we all wish her well and a big thank you for all she did both for the Newsletter and in organizing recent AGM and Re-Union venues. This was no easy task.
My privilege to hear from my old buddy at Liverpool Prison, Danny Ozanne, we were always called by the Governor, George Bride,’My boys’. Danny is now 92 and has written to me himself, and it is difficult to read since his strokes he cannot use his right hand. I was very touched and moved and admired him for his tenacity, and felt it really displayed the deep bond between us. Thank you, Danny. It helped that Joan had added an explanation and some hints on the content. Other than that Danny, although he does get tired, he keeps quite well and has regular checks at the hospital as his pacemaker has about completed its time. Joan remains troubled with arthritis and that limits her activities and she gets a little short breath. I will try and visit them this year.
Lovely Christmas wishes from Sheila and Jim Blackey, he reminds us all that he will be 82 next April and Sheila (you guess) are not doing too badly, and they had their 60th wedding anniversary in December, so extra congratulations to them as they outshine Ron and Sue! Over the last two years, Jim has had both his shoulder joints replaced and is now feeling good. He now has much more movement in both arms and shoulders. He is hoping the hospital physiotherapist will discharge me soon (think yourself lucky, most patients I know complain that they do not get enough physiotherapy!) I wish I had them operated on years ago, but doctors put the pain down to statins and kept changing the type of statin when all along it was arthritis. Now Jim has problems with kidney stones and by coincidence so has his son at the same time, and he drinks 3 litres of water a day for many years, and now has the same problem! All the family are doing well and live within close proximity, which always a great gratification.
A short missive from Dave Simons and Anne reminiscing that we had the ‘best of times both in service and serving the RPGA.’ When I was in Cambridgeshire we used to meet up occasionally for a lunch, he says he misses those days. He has given up golf (never knew his handicap- I suspect if he had told me it would have been exaggerated) as he can no longer leave Ann for too long as her memory is not good and it can be dangerous. He says he has had a good inning so cannot complain, then goes on to say ‘ I spend most of my time now complaining about all and everything with this world gone mad, I must be getting old.’ There is no cure for either on the national health, so you will just live with it. Miss you, you ‘old so and so’.
Bill Abbott advises that he has now completed 12 months without taking on any work. He also reminds me of his new address; I will let Harry know in case he has not been updated. (A reminder to everyone to keep the RPGA up to date with your address.) He says I might like a scouse language card – a suave shop in the city is pushing them hard. I know I have served in Liverpool twice, but the card is blank inside and the front just says ‘K’NELL IT’S GRIMBO’, can anyone translate, please?
A lovely missive received from John Ship in Hua Him in the Thai province of Prachuap Khiri Khan. Good morning Bob, I am sitting here having my morning cup of coffee by our pool in the unseasonably cold weather, it’s 8.20 and just reached 20 degrees Centigrade, I think that is about 68 in old money. I’m happy with the temperature but Ice keeps muttering ‘very cold’. If the weather forecast is to be believed it’s due to warm up later in the week and should be back to a more acceptable mid-thirties in time for the Christmas festivities.
My health is still OK, the occasional aches, pains and twinges that come with age, madam tries her hardest to maintain my fairly healthy diet, and I see my heart specialist every three months in Bangkok for a checkup. I have an appointment next week, so I am standing by for my regular telling off that my cholesterol is too high so I am trying to eat even healthier for a week, not easy with some of our favourite foods high in the stuff, squid, prawns and other assorted shellfish, but we are doing our best.
We still manage to travel, got back from Ipoh in Malaysia yesterday, a really wonderful old city and steeped in history. We flew into Kuala Lumpur from our local airport and after a couple of days in KL caught the train to Ipoh, modern and comfortable trains with a return fare of £14 for the 2.5-hour journey with reserved seating. The train travels through the Malayan jungle, lovely views, at least from the comfort of our seats in the train, but I couldn’t help wondering what it must have been like for the troops, on both sides, on the ground in WW2 and the subsequent Malayan Emergency.
I managed a trip to the UK in May, I had some airline points to use up so was given permission to go on my own, Ice did not come with me but gave me an extensive shopping list I stayed in Ealing on my last night with a hope of seeing Paul, I didn’t realize that he’d moved so unfortunately was not able to catch up with him. Please give him my best when you see him.
I was saddened by the death of Graham GH, I first met him at Dover when he was the Housemaster of Hastings House. I then had the honour of working under him at the Scrubs. There were some wonderful tributes to him on the Srubs Facebook page, as Mike Selby said in your jottings ‘you know where you are with him, he’s straight’ – that of course applied to staff and prisoners.
Your reference to Frank Liesching in your piece, yes he was eccentric, and certainly very different to Bill Brister, reminded me of one weekend when I was on duty in Walmer House when he phoned and asked me to send a lad to do a job for him, when said lad returned I asked him what he had been asked to do, he told me that he had been asked to pack some Governors Handbooks, and then promptly produced one which he claimed the Governor had given him, though I suspect he’d purloined it. It rather made me chuckle as I’d previously asked Mr Liesching if I could borrow one to study; he had refused my request due to ‘security concerns’, that must have been more than 50 years ago, but it still makes me chuckle.
We have a busy Christmas schedule, a number of friends from the local Masonic community are meeting up with our wives on the 23rd for dinner, we’re attending a party hosted by German friends on Christmas eve, Ice went to University with his wife, we plan to have Christmas lunch on our own, I think madam is reluctant to share our £100 turkey, we’re hosting a Boxing Day pool party and then a party with some Dutch friends on the 30th and New Year’s eve at a party at the Hilton on the beach. Retirement was never going to be easy!
We’re visiting the UK next summer, flying into Edinburgh where we are staying a few nights before doing a driving tour of the Highlands, we are meeting a couple of ex Pentonville staff whilst doing so, Dave Scrivener/ Richardson and Stuey Johnson, I wonder if the latter was the person who wrote to you? We’re then flying to Reykjavik where we are staying a few days before flying down to London for a few days then visiting friends and family in Staplehurst, home of John and Yvonne Hooker who you will remember from the Scrubs. We will then fit in other trips such as Stratford on Avon, before flying home after a month in England.
Well! A far eastern perspective and how one of our colleagues manages to ‘get by! ‘It looks like he having a pretty good time! I have alerted Paul re the visit and updated John.
I was invited to attend the farewell gathering in London from a senior officer at Pentonville; yes it was Stuey Johnson who had invited me. Remember I have been retired for 20 years, but his email was so kind and full of praise for my time there that it brought a tear to my eye and I could not resist. It was a lovely occasion, but more so as I met up with Alan Brady, ex Pentonville and then Holloway. He was a very good AG2 with good reports but was not called to the Board, we wrote an appeal, and he was called and came near the top of the list of those promoted. He was so grateful I always remember it. He still lives in London, looks very well and enjoying retirement. On this occasion as it has cropped up, I cannot resist including the message I received:
Dear Governor Duncan
I hope this message finds you in good health and that life is treating you well? I am retiring from Her Majesties Prison Service after 34 years (30 of which have been served at HMP Pentonville). My last working day will be Monday 16 December 2019. Before I hang up my keys for the last time, I wanted to write to you to express my gratitude for all you did for this wonderful old prison, it’s fabulous staff and me personally I will never forget the day we went to see HRH Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace when my team secured the Butler Trust Award and the enormous pride I felt to be stood alongside you and in that fantastic and historic setting. The award could not have been won without your never-ending support and encouragement to me and my team and I will always remain in your debt for that.
This old jail doesn’t forget those that treated her well. No one in my time here has shown more commitment and dedication towards protecting this wonderful institution than you Sir and for that, you will never be forgotten. Unfortunately, the new breed of senior managers doesn’t seem to share our passion for HMP Pentonville and I do fear for her future.
In closing, I would consider it an honour if you were able to attend my leaving doo on Saturday 14th December, there is a reunion of the ‘old guard’ on the same evening, so I am hopeful there will be a few of the old faces in attendance.
It was an honour and privilege to have served under your leadership in ‘The Model Prison’ and I will always hold you in the highest esteem. God bless you, Sir.
How could that not bring a tear of joy to one, so I went and it was a wonderful evening and we are going to stay in touch. The post-event message was even more glowing! As Dave Simon’s states, ‘we served in the best of times.’ I served in many establishments but Dover Borstal and Pentonville created the greatest comradeship and lasting friendships amongst its Governor grades. Ironically Dover is now closed, and Pentonville has resisted 3 attempts to close it, and it remains under threat. But we all know you cannot stop those in power continually making the wrong decision, and for the wrong reasons. Ironically as well, as an aside, both establishments have had academic books written about them by leading criminologists.
The Prime Minister has pledged £2.5 billion to build 10,000 prison spaces. These I suspect will be ill-designed by modern architects and not designed with staffing in mind. It is of note when private companies were allowed to build and run prisons they used a modified radial design. Ill designed new prisons of this magnitude are not the answer. The finance needs to be directed at much overdue and much-needed refurbishment of the existing stock. There are prisons now where the main heating boilers no longer function, Elmley is one and Littlehey another. For months they have been replaced by temporary boilers not fit for the job. Articles now appear in papers about extra clothing being issued to prisoners as there is neither hot water nor heating. The Times has revealed that at the end of 2019 there was a backlog of 180,000 maintenance jobs with an estimated price tag of £900 million. These prisons are functioning and delivering. Invest in them properly and you will not need to spend £2.5 billion, nor recruit thousands of staff in addition. Ah, but whoever listens to the pussy cat.
I really appreciate hearing news of colleagues, and many of you have a stated the same over the years and thanked us for our efforts. That is why I continue to spend considerable time transcribing with one finger it all into the computer. Roger would do it much more efficiently and quickly. My role is only to support him. Can I encourage you to put pen to paper as amongst you all there is news you could share, we would and your colleagues would also love to hear a bit your world. Send it straight to Roger, though I will always be happy to pass it on.
Bob. Jan. 2020
Please send Letters to: Roger Outram, 12 Grove Park, Magazine Lane, Wisbech, PE13 1LF
E-mail: roger@rsoutram.co.uk
Other contact: Telephone 01945 582624
