This article was published in the West Sussex Gazetteon 12 September 2002.

Throughout his working life Chichester man Archie Greenshields was a dedicated policeman serving in the Sussex Constabulary,a career which moved him with his family to various parts of the county. Here he gives us an insight to the goings-onduring his time stationed at Worthing, a period of eight years.

"After Church Road, the brand new house in Roedean Road (no. 32) was pure luxury,' remembers former police constable Archie Greenshields, who was moved to Worthing from Rustington in 1952. 'We discovered that it stood in a row of nine similar ones, four semi-detached and a detached house, which was next to ours.

It had a large living room, a decent sized kitchen withdining-hatch, a boiler for hot water, a bathroom, three bedrooms and two indoor toilets. The days of going outside to use a toilet and having to negotiate deep puddles of rainwater were over. There was even an outbuilding to storecoal, with a separate place for a bicycle. Each room had a power point, so there would be an end to the hazardous habit of overloading the lighting power, which we had been forced into using in the past.

I had been given three days off duty to carry out the move and settle in after the stress of moving, and to assist,we had been given a small allowance to ease the cost of providing curtains and floor covering. All of the police houses were occupied at much the same time and we met our new neighbours, Paul and Glad Barnes for the first time,who had been allocated the detached house.

The task of moving, always so traumatic, was made even more so by being just a few days before Christmas. With three young children to cope with, the festivities had to take second place. We could do little in the way of visiting our families and had to make things as easy for ourselves as possible. It was one of the worst Christmases that we have had.

I had reported to Worthing Police Station two days after arrival, and been allocated to a section for my duties.There was little chance of spending any length of time with my family on Christmas Day, and I learned that my shift would be the 2 p.m. until 10 p.m. duty.

Roedean Road was 3 miles from the Police station and itwould mean that I would have to leave home before 1.30 p.m.in time to report there. Normally, I would have been expected to have my refreshment break at the station canteen, but all staff on duty on this day were given permission to return to their homes, to have it with their families.

I was to remain in the same section for the whole of my service at Worthing and had a number of different sergeants during this time. The first was a real old-timer, Sergeant 'Tiny' Dear, who lived in Heene Road. He was quite a likeable man and nicknamed because of his size, a huge red-facedi ndividual who commanded respect.

There were about 20 constables to a section, two sergeants, and an inspector. The duties were much the same throughout the force, following a pattern of 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m.to 10 p.m., and nights of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. We received a rest day after a full week of duties in those earlier years, so that a weekend off took sometime to come round. Eventually the weekly hours were reduced, so that one week there was one day off, and the following one two, with a glorious three days if you were lucky enough to include a Bank Holiday with it.

Annual leave was granted on a rota basis and advanced amonth annually, so that a constable could spend it at differing times of the summer and winter. Little consideration was given to a family man who had children of school age. Itcould also mean that an officer might expect to have an annual leave that included Christmas only once in 12 years, even then, there were many obstacles that could prevent this.

With court appearances and essential enquiries, an officer could accumulate units of overtime. Consideration was eventually given to these hours being taken off of a tour of duty onthe hour before a rest day. By this time too, new Policere gulations had been approved, whereby an extra day off was given for Bank Holidays and, for those who had to work on that day, an additional half day was credited.

Life for the policemen was definitely improving, although the pay was still insufficient and did not compare with many professional jobs. It was a real bonus if you were chosen to perform duty at a race meeting, as you were paid a refreshment allowance. This small amount was very welcome.

During my time at Worthing there were the occasional incidents when constables and a sergeant, were caught 'moonlighting' at a second job and heavily fined, the sergeant being reduced to constable.

Goring Road looking east towards the traffic roundaboutat the junction with George V Avenue. Apart from the beautiful mature tree in the grass verge which is sadly no more, this view has changed little since the 1950s.

West Worthing shops: Goring Road looking west from the junction with Elm Grove in the 1950s. Note the zebra crossing in the foreground situated right on the junction itself, a situation that would not be allowed today. On the right of the picture is the corner shop which was occupied by ironmongers McKone & Haynes for many years, with their wares displayed on the pavement. In the centre of the photo stands a semi-mature tree which is no longer there.

At first, I was allocated a small beat to the western side of Worthing and to the south of the main railway line. It was ideal to start with and, because it was small, a patrolling constable was kept on the move. It was purely a residential area with hardly any vulnerable property, other than a long parade of shops in the Goring Road, and these had hardly any access to their rear. My beat did have an important resident however, the Chief Constable of a Surrey Force, and one would hardly know when, or if, he was in residence.

West Worthing level crossing (also known as Tarring level crossing) with damaged gates on the north side following an accident. A policeman wearing white gloves can be seen standing on the road together with curious onlookers. The house on the far left of this very rare photograph has since been converted for commercial use and is currently (2002)occupied by Easylet. Next to that building is a premises which was occupied by W A Tree building contractors, hence the large white advertising board displaying a tree as the firm's logo.

To perform night duty on this beat was lonely, once thel ast trains had left West Worthing Station and local residents had gone home. And the taxi drivers had picked up theirl ast customers and returned to their garages, when you werel eft almost alone to check the occasional reveller, and to record any vehicle passing through after midnight.

There was little excuse not to inspect the list of unoccupied houses there might be on the beat, and hope that sooner or later you might bump into a constable from a neighbouring beat. If so, you would ensure that you were not seen talking together by whichever sergeant might be scouting around to meet someone at a conference point.

Occasionally, to break what could be a monotonous night,the phone on a 'point' might ring and some urgent matter might need attending to. For example, an agony message to pass to some unsuspecting person, or trouble on a beat,whereby assistance might be required, a stolen car, or to make a search for a wanted or missing person. At times like these, when in the early hours you might be thinking more of your bed, any break in the routine was welcome.

Later this beat was coupled up with another, and for the rest of my time at Worthing, I was to work the Tarring beat, just north of the railway line. This was a larger beat,with many shops, residential and local authority estates,schools, and businesses. It was closer to our home, which meant that at the end of a tour of duty, within a few minutes I was home again.

The Thomas A'Becket pub, Rectory Road, on the northern outskirts of PC Archie Greenshields Tarring beat in the1950s.

There were times that I was selected to carry out duties at the front desk in the station, when the regular man had a rest day or time off. There you dealt with the thousand and one reasons why a person called in to require assistance.You were kept very busy and active during your time at the counter, with hardly a break at times, but it was very satisfying.

I joined in with the social activities and became an ex-officio member of the sports club when a small library was introduced. Half of it's stock was supplied and exchanged by the West Sussex County Council and the rest, purchased through the small charges we expected for their loan. I was privileged to purchase additional books from a small grant, made from the sports club funds. I also joined in with the debating society group.

Each year a grand Sports and Tattoo was organised for the Force and held at Worthing, because of its central position in the County. One year it was suggested that, to assistin essential breaks in between events, some attraction in the arena was necessary. I am not sure who mooted the possibility of clowning, but from this germ of an idea, three of us- Colin Bish (a near neighbour of mine), Danny Barker andmyself, volunteered to lay something on to entertain, mainly young children.

At one event I hired a pantomime horse outfit, only to be told that it would have to be a cow. This proved a great success for Colin and I, but frightened the life out of my daughter Jane, when we were rehearsing in our garden just as she arrived home from school.

This led to similar comic events in subsequent annual sports meetings at Worthing, and for one of them I had a brainwave when, at a local cycle dealer, I noticed a trick cycle he had made up. I persuaded the dealer to loan it to me and, with three other joke machines that he possessed, talked my colleagues into putting on a display at that year's event. I thought we did well after several hours of practice at that event, but could not get them to agree to do it ever again.

Around this time, I was approached by Superintendent Clapp,who asked if I would agree to accompany three other PC's(Joe Wyatt, Harold Lacey and one other, whose name escapes me) in selling tickets for the Sports and Tattoo to the general public at 2/6d a time.

The area of Worthing was divided up and we had freedom of choice in working hours. It was too great a temptation to refuse the offer to work such easy hours, so I joined the team. There was a feeling of great resentment from many, in particular our next door neighbour, with whom we had become very friendly. The friendship was to endure to the end of his life, which sadly was cut off so short after a major illness. His wife, Gladys, and their two sons and their families, are still firmly within that circle of friendship.

I did not enjoy going from door to door, in what can only be described as chantage, extortion, or even intimidation if you like, but the tickets were bought, however the method may be considered. Whether those that bought them with the extraneous phrase of 'we must support the boys in blue',actually turned up, one will never know.

I can never take part in charity raising since then. I have often been asked to rattle a box outside a supermarket or in the town centre, to raise much more necessary funds than those to support a constabulary sports club. I put this fact down solely to these duties and only on a couple of times have agreed, and then with misgivings, to collecte ven for Christian Aid, viewing the whole method as a form of begging.

After I left Worthing, a certain constable was dismissed for some reason or other. It appeared that the constable's mother-in-law had been so incensed over his treatment that she decided to even the score by writing a letter to the Home Office. She complained that the taxpayers' money was being wasted by the Superintendent of Worthing, allowing a team of his men to go door to door selling tickets, rather than doing proper police work. And of course she was right.The result was, it was stopped, and I believe, so was the grand annual event.

But such was the feeling of power that seemed to be held over one in the Police service, that it always remained to some degree. If one was singled out to take part in requests of this nature and that person believed that, by conforming, there was a chance to move ahead, then he might be very reluctant to throw it away. I did step out of line finally and refused a subtle invitation, after being ordered to the top office to be congratulated for receiving a commendationfrom the Chief Constable, for what had been suspected as 'a good piece of work'. (More about that later).

Superintendent Clapp wondered if, just by chance, I would consider attending the Annual Police Ball dressed in an outlandish costume, such as a Japanese ambassador, or similar dignitary. Each year Mr Clapp received praise for his ingenuity in presenting the Ball as a theme. Previous years had been La Belle France, a Spanish Fiesta, and then it was the turn for his piece de resistance with the Japanese theme. I pointed out that that race had been previous enemies, so declined.'

Archie and his family spent eight happy years at Worthing, but were then reluctantly moved on again, this time to Petworth in 1960.

This article was published in the West Sussex Gazette on 12 September 2002.