Jamie Gough’s funeral
On Thursday12th August Jamie’s funeral was attended by a number of his former colleagues in full police uniform who travelled up to Lincolnshire to mourn his passing. Pete Stubbs reports that a lone piper lead the hearse in to the chapel where Jon Salmon and Peter (Foggy) Davies stood to attention either side of the doors to the chapel each with a police dog. Neil Fisher, Keith Windsor and Pete Stubbs also stood to attention opposite the doors as the hearse arrived. As the coffin, which was covered with the Surrey Police drape, was lowered from the hearse the officers present saluted as it entered the crematorium. A service of memoriam then took place to a packed chapel and the piper played as all gathered to bade farewell.
Understandably it was a very emotional service, especially when Jamie’s son Cameron and daughter Gweneth read a very heartfelt poem that they had written for him. They were clearly heartbroken at the loss of their father. However, they concluded their tribute in unison by saying, "Live long and prosper", which was a favourite saying of Jamie’s.
Jamie’s brother-in-law also gave a eulogy to include some humorous stories, most of which revolved around Jamie’s sorrow at not being a born a 'Scot' and also his horror at finding out that he had some distant French blood in his ancestry!
The very emotional day concluded with a gathering in Jamie’s memory at the local village hall. Other friends and colleagues in attendance were Bob Barratt, Stuart Underwood, Paul Ferris and Bob Terry.
Mel Mann: Jamie was my Sergeant on the dog section before he retired from the job. He was, I suppose, what you would call a Coppers Copper. He demanded and got a great deal of respect from those he supervised. He was fair and would back you to the hilt in any situation if he thought you were in the right.
As with all new dog handlers Jamie had his share of "faux pas" when he joined the section one of which stands out for me.....
It was a really filthy night on a cold winters evening when Jamie was called to a job where a youth had absconded from officers following a burglary. On arrival Jamie harnessed up his dog and began to look for a track in a nearby allotment. Before long the tracking line tightened and his dog was away pulling Jamie along with him. The pair crossed the allotment negotiating various compost heaps (Dog Section Adage: "Where the dog goes you go") through brambles and freshly dug earth and finally out onto the road. The track then continued as the "offender" appears to have started garden hopping. Now anybody who knew Jamie knew that he wasn't really built for garden hopping but true to form he was determined to do his best. Finally, the stopped in one particular garden and then continued to track up to the back door of the house. Once there he saw that the door was slightly ajar. He took the harness off his dog and put him on a short lead. As silently as he could he entered the kitchen which was in darkness and moved into the hallway. He could see there was a light shining from under the lounge door. With no thought for his own safety he burst through the door expecting to be confronted by the youth responsible for Jamie's now 'Minging' appearance. Instead he was face to face with an elderly couple sitting watching television horrified at the apparition that was now dripping on there carpet. "Where is he?" barked Jamie in his best Brummie accent. Where's who?" replied the gent. "We have just tracked a youth that was responsible for a burglary right to your back door" The gent said "Well, the only one to come into the house recently was 'Moby'" "And where is he now?" said Jamie "Right there" said the gent pointing at his wife's lap. And there sitting on the old dear's lap was a large ginger cat merrily cleaning himself.
Now if that had been me I would have kept it to myself but Jamie enjoyed a laugh even if it was at his own expense.
I know that his wife Rita and children Cameron and Gweneth will be reading this blog and I would like to pass on my deepest sympathy in this time of great sadness.
Denis Turner: On the morning of the 4th August in my usual half awake mode I looked through the email in box on my computer and saw amongst the many emails one from the computer of Jamie Gough. I casually opened it expecting to start the morning with a chuckle but was stunned to read that is was not written by Jamie but by his daughter Gweneth informing me that Jamie passed away suddenly the day before whilst staying at an hotel in Liverpool with his wife Rita.
Whilst I knew Jamie was not a well person it was unexpected and, as we have a tendency to do when tragic events hit us, I thought about Jamie the man. Jamie was an excellent colleague and friend during his tenure on the dog section, a section he always wanted to be a part of. He was a transferee from West Midlands during the 1980’s and he soon became a highly regarded skipper at Caterham. Whenever I was over there he always pestered me about the possibility of a vacancy on the dog section and eventually he got his way when I was posted into the dog school to take up an instructor’s post. Jamie did not need to be asked twice and after his initial dog course he took my place as the dog sergeant at Buckland kennels. It was not long before Julie was coming home from work at the magistrate’s court to tell me that the new dog sergeant comes to court a lot and he seems to have a lot of problems with yobs.
I also found out that Jamie was a tenacious guy and did not give up easily at any task he was set. His health sometimes was a cause for concern and after a particularly long track with his dog he sometimes had a job to shout, ‘stop’ to the fleeing criminal. I certainly did not fancy giving him the kiss of life if he collapsed because if he woke up suddenly he was just as likely to have given the person giving him aid a punch on the nose.
He wrote to me recently expressing his pride at being at Gweneth’s side at her wedding only three or so weeks ago and I published the pictures on the blog. Looking at them you do not need to be told that Jamie was proud to be there and his sudden passing has been a shock not only to his friends and former colleagues but also to his family to whom we all send our deepest condolences.
There are many stories that could be told about Jamie and Mel Mann has supplied an excellent one.
Pete Stubbs who was also one of Jamie’s dog handlers at Buckland has kindly sent me a couple of stories, both related by Jamie to Peter and they are set out below
Wherever you are Jamie, keep a tight tracking line mate and thanks for the laughs.
Pete Stubbs: The first story was whilst Jamie was still in the Birmingham City Police, two weeks prior to transfer to Surrey Constabulary. Night turn, newly promoted Sgt Gough called out from the police station by his troops at a domestic. The Sergeants vehicle was a bright yellow (unmarked) Mini Metro. Jamie arrives near the scene, (two streets away) and decides to park the somewhat "overt" little car and continue on foot to see what his troops were up to!Jamie could never be described as the best driver in the world and on reversing into a space in the street (lets call it Brummie Street) he manages to reverse into a lamppost smashing his rear tail light cluster.
Jamie's self preservation then kicked in, knowing he would not get his transfer if he were to be investigated for a "Polac", he drove off and, finding a space nearer the scene parked again but this time with the rear end sticking out a little. He then returned to the lamppost and, on picking up all the glass, returned to the car and scattered the pieces around the rear of the car before hurrying on to the scene of the domestic.
On arrival he was informed by his PCs that it had quietened down somewhat and he was no longer required but, to their surprise, he took the whole incident very seriously calling up for the duty Inspectors attendance? On the Inspectors arrival though, he told him that it had since calmed down and he was no longer required, he then kept said Inspector talking whilst he walked, (with the Inspector unwittingly following), back to the Metro, only to discover the damage! "Oh no", says Jamie, "I wont get my transfer to Surrey now", "don't be so silly" replies the Inspector, "It's obvious what has happened here, someone has hit your car whilst you were with me, I'll write this up for you"!
Two weeks later at Jamie's leaving do at a police bar and Jamie is getting a round of drinks. Inspector joins him at the bar, "What really happened that night in Brummie Street"? He asks, “You know what happened", replies Jamie? "So why was there yellow paint on a lamp post in Brummie Street?" asks the Inspector. "No idea", is all Jamie could manage and the Inspector walks off smiling. Jamie wipes the sweat from his brow and looks across to see two PCs at the end of the bar grinning, “And what are you two ******** grinning at?" He asks: "Oh nothing Sarge," they reply, "but we just thought you should know that we were doing Obo's in Brummie Street two weeks ago"! Jamie laughed as he relayed this story to me, he said, "Can you imaging them looking through the binos? "Look a bright yellow Metro, that's the skipper’s car isn't it? Hang on a minute, he's hit a lamppost, he's driven off, he's back on foot, he's picking up all the glass, now he's re-distributing the glass around the back of the re-parked car"
One more that has sprung to mind on writing the first one, was when I smashed the rear light cluster on his dog van at Buckland! Jamie never reversed his van into the parking area at Buckland but always drove face in by the office. Coming out of the field with my dog one day, his van, the rear facing my dog, (therefore his dog facing my dog), started barking. Obviously my dog ran over to 'have a word' and despite my shouting at him, was totally committed to this task.
I decided to use my check chain to 'request' his attention. Unfortunately, I have always been a pretty poor shot with anything that involves throwing and, missing my target completely, scored a bull’s-eye on Jamie's rear light cluster! Both dogs thought, 'oops' and immediately shut up, my dog even obligingly returned to his own van! Once I had secured him I went in the office and said, "Ere Sarge, you'll never guess what I've just done!"
Jamie, being the man that he was, used a few choice words to describe me and my actions but then, being the laudable type of character that he also was, finished up with "I don't how you are going to get out of this one, but decide on your story, write it up and I will back you". Anyway, I decided to go for the truth, and wrote it to that effect. Jamie endorsed it, naturally, and off went the report of the broken taillight. It was bounced back almost immediately by the Polac supervisor who stated that he knew how bad Jamie's driving was and he required FINs! He had apparently said, "How can you rope in one of your PCs to cover for your bad reversing?” Almost divine retribution for story one!
On Thursday12th August Jamie’s funeral was attended by a number of his former colleagues in full police uniform who travelled up to Lincolnshire to mourn his passing. Pete Stubbs reports that a lone piper lead the hearse in to the chapel where Jon Salmon and Peter (Foggy) Davies stood to attention either side of the doors to the chapel each with a police dog. Neil Fisher, Keith Windsor and Pete Stubbs also stood to attention opposite the doors as the hearse arrived. As the coffin, which was covered with the Surrey Police drape, was lowered from the hearse the officers present saluted as it entered the crematorium. A service of memoriam then took place to a packed chapel and the piper played as all gathered to bade farewell.
Understandably it was a very emotional service, especially when Jamie’s son Cameron and daughter Gweneth read a very heartfelt poem that they had written for him. They were clearly heartbroken at the loss of their father. However, they concluded their tribute in unison by saying, "Live long and prosper", which was a favourite saying of Jamie’s.
Jamie’s brother-in-law also gave a eulogy to include some humorous stories, most of which revolved around Jamie’s sorrow at not being a born a 'Scot' and also his horror at finding out that he had some distant French blood in his ancestry!
The very emotional day concluded with a gathering in Jamie’s memory at the local village hall. Other friends and colleagues in attendance were Bob Barratt, Stuart Underwood, Paul Ferris and Bob Terry.
Mel Mann: Jamie was my Sergeant on the dog section before he retired from the job. He was, I suppose, what you would call a Coppers Copper. He demanded and got a great deal of respect from those he supervised. He was fair and would back you to the hilt in any situation if he thought you were in the right.
As with all new dog handlers Jamie had his share of "faux pas" when he joined the section one of which stands out for me.....
It was a really filthy night on a cold winters evening when Jamie was called to a job where a youth had absconded from officers following a burglary. On arrival Jamie harnessed up his dog and began to look for a track in a nearby allotment. Before long the tracking line tightened and his dog was away pulling Jamie along with him. The pair crossed the allotment negotiating various compost heaps (Dog Section Adage: "Where the dog goes you go") through brambles and freshly dug earth and finally out onto the road. The track then continued as the "offender" appears to have started garden hopping. Now anybody who knew Jamie knew that he wasn't really built for garden hopping but true to form he was determined to do his best. Finally, the stopped in one particular garden and then continued to track up to the back door of the house. Once there he saw that the door was slightly ajar. He took the harness off his dog and put him on a short lead. As silently as he could he entered the kitchen which was in darkness and moved into the hallway. He could see there was a light shining from under the lounge door. With no thought for his own safety he burst through the door expecting to be confronted by the youth responsible for Jamie's now 'Minging' appearance. Instead he was face to face with an elderly couple sitting watching television horrified at the apparition that was now dripping on there carpet. "Where is he?" barked Jamie in his best Brummie accent. Where's who?" replied the gent. "We have just tracked a youth that was responsible for a burglary right to your back door" The gent said "Well, the only one to come into the house recently was 'Moby'" "And where is he now?" said Jamie "Right there" said the gent pointing at his wife's lap. And there sitting on the old dear's lap was a large ginger cat merrily cleaning himself.
Now if that had been me I would have kept it to myself but Jamie enjoyed a laugh even if it was at his own expense.
I know that his wife Rita and children Cameron and Gweneth will be reading this blog and I would like to pass on my deepest sympathy in this time of great sadness.
Denis Turner: On the morning of the 4th August in my usual half awake mode I looked through the email in box on my computer and saw amongst the many emails one from the computer of Jamie Gough. I casually opened it expecting to start the morning with a chuckle but was stunned to read that is was not written by Jamie but by his daughter Gweneth informing me that Jamie passed away suddenly the day before whilst staying at an hotel in Liverpool with his wife Rita.
Whilst I knew Jamie was not a well person it was unexpected and, as we have a tendency to do when tragic events hit us, I thought about Jamie the man. Jamie was an excellent colleague and friend during his tenure on the dog section, a section he always wanted to be a part of. He was a transferee from West Midlands during the 1980’s and he soon became a highly regarded skipper at Caterham. Whenever I was over there he always pestered me about the possibility of a vacancy on the dog section and eventually he got his way when I was posted into the dog school to take up an instructor’s post. Jamie did not need to be asked twice and after his initial dog course he took my place as the dog sergeant at Buckland kennels. It was not long before Julie was coming home from work at the magistrate’s court to tell me that the new dog sergeant comes to court a lot and he seems to have a lot of problems with yobs.
I also found out that Jamie was a tenacious guy and did not give up easily at any task he was set. His health sometimes was a cause for concern and after a particularly long track with his dog he sometimes had a job to shout, ‘stop’ to the fleeing criminal. I certainly did not fancy giving him the kiss of life if he collapsed because if he woke up suddenly he was just as likely to have given the person giving him aid a punch on the nose.
He wrote to me recently expressing his pride at being at Gweneth’s side at her wedding only three or so weeks ago and I published the pictures on the blog. Looking at them you do not need to be told that Jamie was proud to be there and his sudden passing has been a shock not only to his friends and former colleagues but also to his family to whom we all send our deepest condolences.
There are many stories that could be told about Jamie and Mel Mann has supplied an excellent one.
Pete Stubbs who was also one of Jamie’s dog handlers at Buckland has kindly sent me a couple of stories, both related by Jamie to Peter and they are set out below
Wherever you are Jamie, keep a tight tracking line mate and thanks for the laughs.
Pete Stubbs: The first story was whilst Jamie was still in the Birmingham City Police, two weeks prior to transfer to Surrey Constabulary. Night turn, newly promoted Sgt Gough called out from the police station by his troops at a domestic. The Sergeants vehicle was a bright yellow (unmarked) Mini Metro. Jamie arrives near the scene, (two streets away) and decides to park the somewhat "overt" little car and continue on foot to see what his troops were up to!Jamie could never be described as the best driver in the world and on reversing into a space in the street (lets call it Brummie Street) he manages to reverse into a lamppost smashing his rear tail light cluster.
Jamie's self preservation then kicked in, knowing he would not get his transfer if he were to be investigated for a "Polac", he drove off and, finding a space nearer the scene parked again but this time with the rear end sticking out a little. He then returned to the lamppost and, on picking up all the glass, returned to the car and scattered the pieces around the rear of the car before hurrying on to the scene of the domestic.
On arrival he was informed by his PCs that it had quietened down somewhat and he was no longer required but, to their surprise, he took the whole incident very seriously calling up for the duty Inspectors attendance? On the Inspectors arrival though, he told him that it had since calmed down and he was no longer required, he then kept said Inspector talking whilst he walked, (with the Inspector unwittingly following), back to the Metro, only to discover the damage! "Oh no", says Jamie, "I wont get my transfer to Surrey now", "don't be so silly" replies the Inspector, "It's obvious what has happened here, someone has hit your car whilst you were with me, I'll write this up for you"!
Two weeks later at Jamie's leaving do at a police bar and Jamie is getting a round of drinks. Inspector joins him at the bar, "What really happened that night in Brummie Street"? He asks, “You know what happened", replies Jamie? "So why was there yellow paint on a lamp post in Brummie Street?" asks the Inspector. "No idea", is all Jamie could manage and the Inspector walks off smiling. Jamie wipes the sweat from his brow and looks across to see two PCs at the end of the bar grinning, “And what are you two ******** grinning at?" He asks: "Oh nothing Sarge," they reply, "but we just thought you should know that we were doing Obo's in Brummie Street two weeks ago"! Jamie laughed as he relayed this story to me, he said, "Can you imaging them looking through the binos? "Look a bright yellow Metro, that's the skipper’s car isn't it? Hang on a minute, he's hit a lamppost, he's driven off, he's back on foot, he's picking up all the glass, now he's re-distributing the glass around the back of the re-parked car"
One more that has sprung to mind on writing the first one, was when I smashed the rear light cluster on his dog van at Buckland! Jamie never reversed his van into the parking area at Buckland but always drove face in by the office. Coming out of the field with my dog one day, his van, the rear facing my dog, (therefore his dog facing my dog), started barking. Obviously my dog ran over to 'have a word' and despite my shouting at him, was totally committed to this task.
I decided to use my check chain to 'request' his attention. Unfortunately, I have always been a pretty poor shot with anything that involves throwing and, missing my target completely, scored a bull’s-eye on Jamie's rear light cluster! Both dogs thought, 'oops' and immediately shut up, my dog even obligingly returned to his own van! Once I had secured him I went in the office and said, "Ere Sarge, you'll never guess what I've just done!"
Jamie, being the man that he was, used a few choice words to describe me and my actions but then, being the laudable type of character that he also was, finished up with "I don't how you are going to get out of this one, but decide on your story, write it up and I will back you". Anyway, I decided to go for the truth, and wrote it to that effect. Jamie endorsed it, naturally, and off went the report of the broken taillight. It was bounced back almost immediately by the Polac supervisor who stated that he knew how bad Jamie's driving was and he required FINs! He had apparently said, "How can you rope in one of your PCs to cover for your bad reversing?” Almost divine retribution for story one!
