WPCs Traffic Division 1960s

28 May

Hazel and Joy were the first WPCs on Traffic Division in the then East Sussex force in the mid-sixties just prior to amalgamation. The event was marked by the ‘petticoat patrol’ publicity. (They still aren’t proud of that image. They were very serious and knew that they could do the job as well as the men!)

Hazel and Joy were the first-ever all-female traffic police crew known as the “Sussex Dollies”.

They joined the same day in November 1965 and trained at Ryton-on-Dunsmore.

Hazel and Joy in front of MGB in grounds of Lewes Headquarters

Police Training school in Ryton on Dunsmore, Warwickshire which (at the time) was the nearest Training Centre for East Sussex recruits.

MG sports cars were fun but cramped and they had to fit a lot into the cars; Police Accident signs, traffic cones, First Aid kit, blankets, radio, and camera equipment. They also needed a broom to sweep up after accidents but they had to cut the handle to make it fit into the car.

Hazel and Joy were responsible for maintaining the cars which included de-corroding the batteries, checking tyres, oil, water, and plugs; they had to de-gunk the engine on a regular basis, swap the wheels around when needed and clean it regularly.

On one occasion Hazel gave chase after some car thieves to the local golf course and, during a bumpy ride over the grass, the exhaust fell off. Hazel and Joy abandoned the car for a while and borrowed 2 horses to continue the chase resulting in 2 arrests.

Hazel received a commendation for apprehending two car thieves when off-duty.

She spotted a stolen car out of the window of Joy’s flat after they’d just finished a shift, so Hazel followed them in her own VW Beetle whilst Joy phoned for backup.

There were problems encountered with being “first”

No white traffic uniform hats had been made specifically for women so they painted the top of their standard-issue hats with white emulsion paint – the more they painted them, the heavier and hotter they became!

They were allowed to wear leather boots – a concession made only to the traffic girls and they were issued with white “point duty” armbands as there was no high visibility uniform.

2 am one morning, all was quiet with no calls and no traffic, so the 2 WPCs met some local patrols at a crossroads. They removed all the equipment from the car and proceeded to see how many officers they could fit in the MGBGT – Hazel can’t remember the exact number but it was in double figures!

On another occasion, Hazel pulled out to overtake a slower vehicle and had to take immediate action to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming car that had been masked by a dip in the road. She clipped the bank and rolled the MG onto its roof. Fortunately, the damage was repaired and Hazel was totally unhurt so both were soon back on the road again.

WPCs Hazel Lane and Joy Halliday at Lewes Headquarters

My posting to Traffic Division

The decade; the 60’s; the year 67
And a female, of whom there were few,
As a junior probationer in the East Sussex Force
My dream was about to come true.
Unheard of; not possible; too many bridges
To persuade those who just said no;
That women on Traffic would never survive
Our mission to prove it and show .
That thanks to the risk that the Chief was to take
As he bravely proposed without fear,
That Women in Policing in high-speed cars
Could integrate well in this sphere!
Policewoman on Traffic are commonplace now,
Equal pay and conditions; not then,
But I’m proud to have been at the start of a plot
That made history and tormented the men.

WPC H Lane (Waters) 1965 – 1974