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Police boxes

  • Thread starter Thread starter harley
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harley

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although not a statue or monument. whatever happened to these little tardists, as a child i remember them, we had one down belgrave road . bigger than a phone box and blue . when i first saw it i was baffled to what it actually was .till my mom told me ,anyone else have any memories of the police box and where it was situated.come to think of it i never saw a bobby in one ever.harley.
 
I only know of one blue police box, and that is the one in which the Doctor flys around in with his companions. Its called a TARDIS - Time and relative dimension in space :P

In all seriousness though:

The police boxes never actually had a phone on the inside as is roumered by many people. The phone was always on the outside. The inside of the box could be used for 2 purposes - As a minature police station, housing equipment and paperwork or as a cell in which a prisoner could be placed until a vehicle arrived to escort him/her back to the main police station.

As far as I am aware, there was a total of 685 police boxes in London alone, until they were demolished some time in the 1980's. This was generally due to the onset of telephones entering the home and there no longer being a need for a police box at the end of every street on which members of the public could contact the police.

I do have quite a bit of research on these police boxes that I did as part of my Doctor Who research (im quite the fanatic)... If you would like me to post some information and/or pictures, I would be more than willing :)

Thanks
Keith
 
I reckon they had probably gone locally by late 60s. I can't remember when I last saw one in Birmingham though can recall a couple when I lived in Sheffield early 70s. Like you I don't remember ever seeing one in use. Last one I saw in situ was 2004 in Edinburgh. A couple of pics as a reminder plus one of the small type. Is there an ex copper on the forum who can tell us exactly what was in there?

Bob
 
From what I understand, the generallyt contained essential equipment such as spare handcuffs, a first aid kit, an incident book, spare walkie talkies and in places various parts of an officers uniform.

I was unable to find a detailed list of what each box actually stored.

Thanks
Keith
 
Thanks keith. You answered my question before I'd asked it! Will have to learn to type a bit quicker.
Bob
 
I like this link to Police Box info. Seems as Keith says there are different opinions as to what's inside one. There appears to be a place in Bromsgrove where they have a collection of Police Boxes. It is mentioned on this site:-
https://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~trekker/policeboxes/others.html

I remember a Police Post at the corner of Bleakhill Road and Hesketh Crescent
many decades ago. You would never dream of touching something like
that, Anything to do with the police demanded respect.
 
to right jennyann, we would walk by staring at it as we were afraid of it what a laugh to think we were afraid as kids . the one i mentioned before was down belgrave road was in theyears of 1960 .62.looked exactly like the first one in the picture.harley.
 
would be very interested to read it all keith .thanks harley.
 
didnt know there was different types glaciermint, thanks for those will show the kids.still love doctor who. funny when i was a kid i was afraid of doctor who ,but never associated the police box ,with doctor who.dont know why.but i was very small then.
 
Bob there a couple of Ex policemen members but they are mostly undercover these days unless Frantic appears like magic
 
The box at Aston Cross held two very heavy white traffic coats ( made of rubber ) to be posted to traffic duty at the cross was sheer hell.
 
Mike thats interesting I have seen photo's of these policemen but didn't realise the coats were rubber! It must have been awful in the summer.
 
Alf,
Here is one coming out of undercover, however temporary.
Never worked from a police box of Tardis fame and I cannot recall one being in Brum. That is not to say there was not one but I never came across one.
I worked uniform at Kenyon Street, Part of the 'C' Division covering the Hockley area.
We had the metal boxes which consisted solely of a telephone gained by the small door on the front (lockable) Beneath this was another compartment in which one kept one's cape mainly, easily obtainable should it rain when one was out and about.
As memory serves me we had two such boxes. One at the Parade and one at Spring Hill.
We performed traffic duty at both The Parade and Hockley Brook and yes those white macks were rubberised and hot. When doing traffic at Hockley Brook the dairy nearby used to do a roaring trade selling bottles of milk to us.
One was posted to this duty, subject to ones shift, between 8am and 7pm There were two of you involved and the other officer patrolled the adjacent beat ensuring that he relieved his mate on the hour so he could get out for five minutes from the traffic fumes. He did his stint at it between say 10 am and midday and on the next shift between 4pm and 6pm and you relieved him in that period. Became a true slog if he got tied up with a job and could not give you a break. I remember on Hockley Brook one day I was stuck for four hours there. My oppo had got involved and they forgot to send someone to help me out. Think I had two bottles of milk that day when relieved.
One bonus on Hockley Brook was the conductresses on the buses would pass you sweets as the bus slowly passed. They were needed to soften the dry throats.

Came across large shed like police boxes (larger than the Tardis type)_ when I came down south. They had cooking arrangements let alone the compulsory kettle. Lockers and desks. Offices in themselves.
I never used them for on the hour every hour all the bobbies from surrounding beats would congregate there. My outspoken view of them was that all the local villains would know they could pull a job on the hour and get away with it more than like for they knew where the constabulary were.
Oh well memories now back to undercover
 
A quick look at a post card view I have posted on "Temples of Relief" thread shows a 1920's police box ("Police Call Office") with three others in Stephensons Place.
 
Thank you AW you could always rely on a Policmen to be around when we wanted one and you still are.
 
Those which are in Edinburgh (2007) and there are several, mostly obsolete to yesterdays requirements are now small coffee and sandwich kiosks and look quite attractive. Handy, if you are on the hoof...Cat
 
How could you get Horse in the Cat its Police Boxes not a Horse Boxes
 
Alf, no room to swing a Cat around in one, but, far better to utilise one and bring in some revenue than to let it stand and rot... Cat, nice to see you.
 
I lived in the police houses in Marsh Lane Erdington,there were 23 of them and ours was the middle one.
On the wall next to the front door we had a police box.
Before the advent of police radios to keep in touch the policemen would contact the station at regular intervals to report anything of interest and assure the station of their wellbeing.
Sometimes the Sargeant would meet up with a colleague or 2 at the box in our garden.

I remember my mom telling them to keep their voices down as we kids were trying to get to sleep.

We also had a phone in our house one of those with a separate earpiece that was kept on a bracket at the side of the phone and when you lifted the reciever you were in direct contact with Wilton Road police station.
Wilton Roads number in the 50s was ERD 1111.

In the late 60s/early 70s the box was removed and it left a mark on the wall which my Mom hated.
 
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