Fifty years of Humberside Police

The merger, under the Local Government Act 1972, was about realigning county boundaries according to economic boundaries and then aligning police forces to those new areas.

Humberside Police, which is now celebrating 50 years, was made up of parts of the East Riding Constabulary, Hull City Police Force, Lincolnshire Constabulary, York and North East Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

There was an economic reason to bring both sides of the Humber together – to have both fishing ports under one local authority as one example.

Several new forces such as Northumbria were also created on the same day for the same reasons.

Carol and Deborah were aged 18 and Hull City Police cadets at the time and can remember marching through the streets: “The cadets had been practising the marching at the rear of Queen’s Gardens Police station with our drill sergeant. The streets were lined with people. It was a very exciting time for us.”

Retired inspector Norman Woollons recalls: “There were two marches on Sunday March 31, 1974; one in Hull which signified the end of Hull City Police and one in Lincolnshire at Lincoln Castle where officers paraded under their previous forces for the last time.

“We had contingents from Grimsby and Scunthorpe attend the Lincolnshire march. It was very much about signifying the end of policing as we knew it and the end of forces that had been in existence for many years.”

Humberside Police is celebrating its 50th birthday with a number of themed months including Women In Policing, Transport and Technology and on sharing career stories of past and present employees to build a picture of policing in Humberside over the past 50 years.

Chief Constable Paul Anderson said: “It has been a real privilege to hear the career stories of former officers and staff that were in force 50 years ago.

“Their stories have been inspiring and it has allowed us to see the many positive changes in policing. I thank them all for their generosity and time.

“We have displayed some of our heritage items in force that are real conversation starters. I used some of the items, such as the old radio sets, and though it hurts a little to hear them called heritage, I am so thankful to our Registry and Records colleagues that have so expertly collated and preserved these items so that we can share them with our workforce today.

“Celebrating our staff past and present seems the perfect way to mark this occasion.”