Title:
Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police
Level: Category
Sound Archive
Level: Fonds
ESSEX POLICE: 'SWORN TO SERVE' ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS
Level: Series
Interviews by Dr Barbara Weinberger
Scope and Content:
Interview with Ron Bearman by Dr Barbara Weinberger.

TAPE 1: SIDE A - family background, father was a policeman stationed at Saffron Walden, Great Sampford, Rochford and Danbury; attended Great Sampford village school, then Southend High School and King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford; always wanted to join the police; as a teenager he was taken out on night points with his father; too young to join the police when he left school, so worked in an insurance broker's office at Lloyds of London; joined the police in 1935; competition for posts, admits that his father's reputation helped him; training; posted to Clacton; early experiences as a probationer; shifts worked; relationship with sergeants; very friendly relationship between police and the public, particularly holiday-makers; rigid rules of the Superintendent; his main role was 'public relations' achieved by walking the streets; joined the traffic department based at Police Headquarters in Chelmsford; police attitude towards motorists.

TAPE 1: SIDE B - motorists; qualities necessary to be a good police officer; position of the police in the community; social life of the police officer; changes within the police force; morale; relationship with other police forces - Hertfordshire Police, and the borough forces of Colchester and Southend; his views on the administration of the police; influence of the Home Office and H.M. Inspectors of Constabulary; differences in approach of the Chief Constables, Sir Jonathon Peel and Sir John Nightingale; introduction of Panda Cars.

TAPE 2: SIDE A - changing attitudes towards the police; criticises the police during the early part of his career for their hidebound thinking; preceived increase in crime; attitudes towards women police officers; freemasonry within the police force.

TAPE 2: SIDE B - Blank
Dates of Creation:
1992
Extent:
45 minutes (Tape 1); 17 minutes (Tape 2)
Creator Name:
Dr Barbara Weinberger
Admin History:
Ron Bearman was born 14 May 1914 at the police station in Saffron Walden.
Physical Characteristics:
2 cassettes

Key terms

TypeKey termsDescription
Subjects Cars Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Cars Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Crime Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Freemasonry Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Insurance brokers Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Motor vehicles Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Police Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Schools Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Transport Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Subjects Women Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Personal Names Ron
Bearman 		Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Personal Names Sir
John
Nightingale 		Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Personal Names Sir
Jonathon
Peel 		Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Place Names Clacton Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Place Names Danbury Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Place Names Great Sampford Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Place Names Rochford Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Place Names Saffron Walden Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Document Types Sound recording Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions Colchester Borough Police Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions Great Britain and Ireland, Home Office Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions H.M. Inspector Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions Hertfordshire Police Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions Lloyd's Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions Southend Borough Police Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992
Institutions Southend High School Interview with Ron Bearman, former Inspector with Essex Police, 1992