Introduction
Placing a city policeman on a beat next to the River Dee in the Grampian Mountains was always going to produce situations that couldn't be scripted. Working as a member of the Met's Royalty Protection Department was a world away from the normal London beat. Working at Balmoral was a Universe away.
During my 12 year stay in Royalty Protection I traveled to Balmoral Castle on seven successive years followed by two trips to Birkhall. These trips were 'half tours' lasting between 4 and 6 weeks, others covered 'full tours' covering the full period the Royals were in residence.
Historically the Met always looked after the monarchy when in Balmoral or Holyrood. When I first arrived it was still kept as low key as possible, weapons were rarely overtly worn, old fashion police capes were the best kit for the weather and pagers were seen as the modern communication alternative to crackly radios. No one had a mobile phone apart from the Inspector who was given something that looked like a brick.
With such a large area to cover pedal cycles were a must, if not a challenge to some. They feature more than once in my cartoons.
It was at about this time our host constabulary, the Grampian Police or Gramps as we called them, began to take a more direct and active role. They embedded a liaison sergeant within the Police Control Room and beefed up their external patrols. The Met v Gramps rivalry was a constant source of entertainment, leg pulling and devious acts. The climax each year was no doubt the Met v Gramps golf match played on the Balmoral Castle golf course.
It was hard for them to see the city boys working their patch but in reality some of these city boys had done the job in Balmoral for over 25 years and could tell most of the young Gramps a thing or two about their own neck of the woods. All in all the system worked very well and many great friendships were created.
During my 12 year stay in Royalty Protection I traveled to Balmoral Castle on seven successive years followed by two trips to Birkhall. These trips were 'half tours' lasting between 4 and 6 weeks, others covered 'full tours' covering the full period the Royals were in residence.
Historically the Met always looked after the monarchy when in Balmoral or Holyrood. When I first arrived it was still kept as low key as possible, weapons were rarely overtly worn, old fashion police capes were the best kit for the weather and pagers were seen as the modern communication alternative to crackly radios. No one had a mobile phone apart from the Inspector who was given something that looked like a brick.
With such a large area to cover pedal cycles were a must, if not a challenge to some. They feature more than once in my cartoons.
It was at about this time our host constabulary, the Grampian Police or Gramps as we called them, began to take a more direct and active role. They embedded a liaison sergeant within the Police Control Room and beefed up their external patrols. The Met v Gramps rivalry was a constant source of entertainment, leg pulling and devious acts. The climax each year was no doubt the Met v Gramps golf match played on the Balmoral Castle golf course.
It was hard for them to see the city boys working their patch but in reality some of these city boys had done the job in Balmoral for over 25 years and could tell most of the young Gramps a thing or two about their own neck of the woods. All in all the system worked very well and many great friendships were created.
The logistics of taking 20 or 30 policemen to Scotland was a nightmare, not only for those left behind to cover the regular duties at the Palaces but having the right equipment, transport, accommodation, food etc needed to be finely tuned. So much could go wrong and in little ways it did, normally when we had new management. Changes for changes sake were never welcomed nor lasted very long, unless it made sense.
My first trip, in 1988, was the final year of an era in the policing of Balmoral. For many years a local publican had the contract to house and feed the police. The larger group were billeted around Ballater, either in B&B or rented holiday homes. Main meals were taken in the pub. The food was plentiful and just what you needed before a cold night standing in the rain beside the River Dee. The following year saw changes. A local hotelier won the contract and we ended up being catered for by a 4 star hotel.
A few stayed in the hotel but the hotel built three 2 bedroom log cabins in the grounds then tried to sleep 3 officers in each, thinking one wouldn't mind using the communal living area as a bedroom! The following year they built a nine roomed log cabin terrace, dubbed Coronation Street, which stopped the use of local B&B's for the overflow.
Meal times also proved challenging. This was a 4 star hotel that only provided an à la carte menu. Unlike the pub that was used to dealing with large volumes and different orders quickly, the hotel wanted orders a day in advance and had strict times for sittings. Our first meal was an eye opener. Full 4 star treatment, printed menu, table cloth, silver service, wine glasses and side plates, all very impressive. After a tasting of soup came the real food. Each plate had a small medallion of meat with a drizzle of sauce. We waited as each person was then served the veg, spooned onto our side plates; each receiving a floret of broccoli, 2 baby potatoes and without a word of a lie half a slice of baby sweetcorn! Needless to say, with 12 at the table, by the time the last person was served the food was quite cold. It took over a week and near rebellion for them to be convinced to just place a pile of veg in the middle of the table. It was going to be a hard transition.
It was on this trip things started to happen that I felt needed to be recorded. In the police service you often needed to see the funny side of things or else you would go crazy. I started drawing cartoons, it seemed to bring a smile, sometimes a wince but generally they picked up the troops at the time. By the time I finished my seventh trip to Balmoral I had over 70 cartoons. Some were very simple; others had a collage of stories within them. They have provided me with a diary of events, memories of colleagues and record of a period of service that I truly enjoyed.
The following are a selection with, if needed, an explanation of why they were drawn.
My first trip, in 1988, was the final year of an era in the policing of Balmoral. For many years a local publican had the contract to house and feed the police. The larger group were billeted around Ballater, either in B&B or rented holiday homes. Main meals were taken in the pub. The food was plentiful and just what you needed before a cold night standing in the rain beside the River Dee. The following year saw changes. A local hotelier won the contract and we ended up being catered for by a 4 star hotel.
A few stayed in the hotel but the hotel built three 2 bedroom log cabins in the grounds then tried to sleep 3 officers in each, thinking one wouldn't mind using the communal living area as a bedroom! The following year they built a nine roomed log cabin terrace, dubbed Coronation Street, which stopped the use of local B&B's for the overflow.
Meal times also proved challenging. This was a 4 star hotel that only provided an à la carte menu. Unlike the pub that was used to dealing with large volumes and different orders quickly, the hotel wanted orders a day in advance and had strict times for sittings. Our first meal was an eye opener. Full 4 star treatment, printed menu, table cloth, silver service, wine glasses and side plates, all very impressive. After a tasting of soup came the real food. Each plate had a small medallion of meat with a drizzle of sauce. We waited as each person was then served the veg, spooned onto our side plates; each receiving a floret of broccoli, 2 baby potatoes and without a word of a lie half a slice of baby sweetcorn! Needless to say, with 12 at the table, by the time the last person was served the food was quite cold. It took over a week and near rebellion for them to be convinced to just place a pile of veg in the middle of the table. It was going to be a hard transition.
It was on this trip things started to happen that I felt needed to be recorded. In the police service you often needed to see the funny side of things or else you would go crazy. I started drawing cartoons, it seemed to bring a smile, sometimes a wince but generally they picked up the troops at the time. By the time I finished my seventh trip to Balmoral I had over 70 cartoons. Some were very simple; others had a collage of stories within them. They have provided me with a diary of events, memories of colleagues and record of a period of service that I truly enjoyed.
The following are a selection with, if needed, an explanation of why they were drawn.
© Alan Graham 2015