John the Hero

Aftermath

Queens Award for Bravery

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.

Transfer to the Warrant Office

John the Jailer

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.

Rachael Gets her Wings Back

John was out of work for the first time in his life. A father of 4 with only a small police pension to support his growing family. He had only ever been in the Army and the Police and had given brave service throughout his career. He was lost, and his old commanding officer from his army days came to his rescue. Kenneth Diacre's family had a firm called Industrial Rentals. At the time it was a market leader with the idea of supplying cars to companies on contract hire rather than purchase basis. John was very grateful but the drop in salary was substantial. In order to increase the family income Rachael was offered the opportunity to drive for the Kenneth's company first based at their branch in Putney and later working for both Putney and Croydon. She travelled up and down the country delivering and collecting cars, all types of cars and in all sorts of conditions. She lost the frustration of being stuck in a purely domestic role, especially as the children were at school all day, and became a much more contented person. She loved the freedom of the road and would call in on family whenever her journeys took her nearby.

Major events of 1950's