John the Hero

John was seriously injured and it was by chance that he did not lose his badly fractured right leg. When the consultant met Rachael he said he thought he would "have that leg off by morning".  By luck he had a young doctor working with him who said he had seen such injuries successfully treated when he was in New Zealand.  The Consultant agreed to let him have a try and the leg was saved, although it healed 2 inches shorter..  This together with damage to the spine would cause arthritis in the back which would remain for the rest of his life.   

He received the Queens Award for Bravery and an award from the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust.  The children's school presented him with a chair to use during his convalescence.  But his best reward was that the children were uninjured.

As a consequence of his injuries John was unfit for beat duty but for him the greater loss was he was no longer able to join in the rough and tumble with his kids.

While John was in the Force one of the highlights for the kids was the annual Police Party.  Food, entertainment, a chance to run riot around the hall and a present from Father Christmas.  What more could we want.

After his accident, John was transferred to a desk-based job in the Warrant Office  at Croydon Police Station and became the Croydon jailer responsible for ensuring prisoners were taken from their cells to the court.  He was well respected by colleagues, magistrates and many of the prisoners.  In 1964 it was decided that the post that John held would be used for training and John was transferred back onto the beat based at Norbury Police Station.  His back was unable to take the strain and Rachael would collect him at the end of a shift frequently in tears of pain.  Kenneth  Diacre, John's old commanding officer from his army days and Carol's Godfather, arranged for one of his friends, Quentin Hogg MP, to raise a question in the House of Commons regarding John's treatment but to no avail.  John was retired from the police on ill-health grounds - he was lost.  He had been in services all his working life  Kenneth Diacre gave him a job working for him and John was grateful, but it was not nearly as well paid as the police.