THE POLICE AND THE ROYAL AIR FORCE IN WARTIME BERWICKSHIRE

I saw a parachutist come from the west, and pass over the village… towards the sea… I cannot understand how he disappeared so quickly if he had been wearing a ‘Mae West’ life jacket.

These are the words of Constable Andrew Wood of Cockburnspath police station as he reported the death of a Royal Air Force airman. He was stunned that despite his best efforts sending out lifeboats and fishing boats within minutes of seeing the man land in the sea, his parachute was recovered but his body could not be found. Wood’s sense of helplessness encapsulates much of the work of the county police and their dealings with the RAF during the Second World War; they tried to help the young men in their burning aircraft, took charge of their bodies and stood guard over the aeroplanes. This article explains the relationship between the police and the men and women of the RAF, with a specific focus on Berwickshire. This was characterised by two contrasting elements: the gruesome and traumatic tasks of dealing with crashed aircraft; and the comparatively trivial enforcement of wartime regulations.

THE COUNTY POLICE

The commencement of hostilities found the police of Berwickshire relatively well prepared. At the beginning of 1938, the force comprised of 28 police officers and a reserve of 242 special constables. In January 1939, the county’s police committee turned its attention to the threat of invasion and the fear of large-scale bombing, combined with losing experienced officers to the armed forces. The table opposite shows the strength of the force during the Second World War, the regular police augmented with full and part-time officers.

The first police reserve was composed of retired policemen who returned to work and served for the duration of the war. They were paid £3 a week and this, combined with their pensions, meant they were reasonably well off. Chief Constable David Brown suggested the formation of a first police reserve (FPR) ‘not exceeding 20 members’. Despite the financial incentive, this proved to be very optimistic, and in April 1939 Brown reported to the police committee that he had only been able to attract ‘one ex-Police Officer of the County Force who would be willing to serve’. Throughout the war there were never more than two FPR officers.