Alan Benjamin treated the Society to a evening rather different from our usual fare.

Born in Astwood Bank, Alan left school at 16 and joined the Worcestershire Police Cadets, becoming a constable towards the end of 1967.  In 1972 he transferred from the West Mercia Force to Warwickshire where he spent the rest of his career until his retirement in 1998.

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Alan entertained an enthralled audience with anecdotes of his experiences policing royal visits, from Princess Margaret’s visit to Stourbridge when he was a cadet, to numerous visits by the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to Stratford and to the Royal Show at Stoneleigh. (One of Her Majesty’s visits led to him to a life-long interest in Morris dancing.)

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A particular highlight was when Alan demonstrated the power of his two police whistles and treated us to a tune on his penny whistle that he had brought along (Since his retirement, one of Alan’s jobs has been as a wandering minstrel at Warwick Castle).  There was much hilarity in the audience, and a lot of chat afterwards.