Fife Branch
The Fife Branch was formed in 1985 and currently has over 80% of Fife Constabulary Pensioners as members. Membership is renewable annually and an application form can be obtained from the Secretary.
The affairs of the Branch are administered by a Management Committee, comprising Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and six committee members. It meets on four occasions in the year. The Annual General Meeting takes place on the first Wednesday in March at Police Headquarters, Glenrothes.
Chairperson: Eddie Devlin
Secretary: Brian Steer.
How the Fife Branch was born.
In April 1985 David Bruce sent a letter to all Fife Pensioners asking if they would be interested in forming a Fife Branch of Retired Officers. 154 letters were returned supporting such a move. Chief Constable Mr Moodie added his approval and an inaugural meeting was held at Kirkcaldy Police Station on 13 June 1985. (As a point of interest the pension increase for that year was 7%)
46 retired officers turned up and they included, Jimmy Burnett, Ken Keith, Jim Morgan, Sandy Marr and of course Tom Foy. At the commencement of the meeting Tom was co-opted as temporary Chairman. After discussion it was agreed that a Fife Branch be formed and a donation of £100 was received from the Fife JBB to get the Branch started.
A Steering Committee was appointed to oversee the process and on 10 July 1985 the Fife Branch was officially constituted and Tom Foy continued as Chairman.
On 23 October 1985 the first Management Committee Meeting took place and the membership had increased to 209. Annual subscription was approved at £2 per member. Fife Branch had its first Annual General Meeting on 5 March 1986.
History of War Memorial
The Fife Branch was instrumental in having a dedicated exhibit of Remembrance displayed within the atrium of Fife Police Headquarters, Glenrothes, during 1997/98.
A satin Brass Plaque 24” x 30” was engraved and supplied by Thomas A. Ingram & Co. Ltd of Birmingham, and then fitted to a backing board before being erected on the wall. This work and the shelf for the Book of Remembrance was carried out by Peter Connelly, Joiner, Kennoway.
The Parchment Book, containing the names of personnel who died, was made up by James Watt, a member of the Management Committee of the Fife Branch, RPOA(S).
News
Obituaries Click Here
Updated 23rd June, 2008
STAYING ON YOUR FEET
Fife User Panels are small groups of older people who have an opportunity to influence the way services are planned and provided locally. There are seven Panels across Fife with up to eight older people in each one.
Over the last year Panel members have been discussing their experiences of falls and follow-up care as well as expectations of what should happen in the event of a fall. Their comments have been passed to the Fife Falls Action Planning Working Group whose remit is to establish and develop a consistent approach to the management and secondary prevention of falls across Fife.
Overwhelmingly, the 50 older people who were involved said that if they had fallen and reported it they would expect a follow up visit and check up from their GP. They said this would provide reassurance and perhaps ascertain the underlying cause of a fall.
The sort of practical help they were seeking was very much focused on ways to prevent further falls. This included guidance on the right type of footwear and how to access foot care including getting toe nails cut, as sore or troublesome feet contribute significantly to falls. Also highlighted was the importance of regular sight and hearing tests as well as physiotherapist led strengthening and balance exercises.
The Panel members also mentioned the value of checking if someone was eating properly and taking sufficient fluids as there is evidence that falls can sometimes be the consequence of poor nutrition. Significantly, many of those who took part called for routine check ups for older people which can pick up changes in blood pressure, symptoms of conditions which could contribute to falling and to reassess medication which could cause dizziness or loss of balance.
The Panel members' comments and suggestions have been well received and used by physiotherapists at an NHS Fife Patient Experience Seminar.
As a follow up, all Panels recently met physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists and a home safety development officer to discuss falls prevention in relation to the role of these agencies.
Fife Branch
Extract from the Minute of Annual General Meeting held on
Wednesday 5 March 2008
In attendance
Eddie Devlin, Chairman
Ken Bellingham QPM, Vice Chair,
Sandy Marr, Treasurer
Brian Steer, Secretary
Management Committee Members: Eileen Muir, John Brand, George Fleming, Graham Carpenter, David Hyslop, and David Ramsay.
Branch Members: James Taylor, John Ewan, Jim Wilson, Jim Watt, Ian Thomson, Frank Ward, Tom Foy (Honorary Member), Margaret Connor, James Burnett, Neil Stewart, Harry Williams, Robert Willison, Tom Gibson, Allan Greenhill, Sid Jones, Ken Garland, Ian Stevenson, Derek Donaldson, Iane Duncan, Bob Duke, George Beattie, Bob Muir and David Loch.
Guests: Deputy Chief Constable Norma Graham, Ian Muir, Fife Joint Branch Board, Des Gale, Force Welfare Officer and Bill Fox, Honorary Member. Apologies for Absence: Bert Melville, Ken Taylor, Andrew Mathieson, Alexander Mutch, Heath Nicol, Charles Mitchell, Rennie Ritchie, Douglas Kidd, Robert Somerville, Bob Thomson, John McNab, Norrie Holmes, Gerry and Thora Togher, Sarah Martin, John Mackie, Alistair Dodds, and Ewen MacDonald. Superintendent Bill Lawrie.
Opening and welcome from Chairman
Chairman Eddie Devlin welcomed everyone to this our 23rd AGM and extended a special welcome to our Guests.
He then took item 3 of our Agenda, Obituary, and in keeping with tradition Chairman Eddie read out the names of our members who had died since the last AGM and called for a minute’s silence in tribute to them.
Members and others who have died since last AGM
Thomas Paton Sergeant Newport-on-Tay Retired 1977
James Morgan Det. Superintendent CID Retired 1977
Robert Scott Constable Cardenden Retired 1996
Andrew Scott Sergeant Dunfermline Retired 1966
Adam Lyall Inspector Cupar Retired 2000
Widows
Mrs. Anne Paxton
Mrs. Mary Steel
Non Branch Members
Douglas Riach Constable Retired 1991
Wives of Members
Mrs. A. Scott
Mrs. M. Farmer
Mrs. M. Jowett
Mrs. A. Thomson
Mrs. W. McDougall
Chief Constable’s Address
Eddie invited Mrs Norma Graham, Deputy Chief Constable, to address our members and officially open the AGM.
Mrs Graham thanked the Committee for the invitation to open our Meeting and considered it an honour.
She apologised on behalf of the Chief Constable, who was unable to attend as he was committed to other business outside of the Force area. She then gave some interesting statistics showing the comparison in Force numbers and crime reports between the dates of 1978 and 2007. The growth of the Force to over 1000 uniformed officers and 550 civilian support staff certainly highlights a significant improvement to the numbers more acquainted to our older retired members. Mrs Graham still considered that Fife did not receive its equitable grant in financial terms and fell behind other Scottish Forces. (Some things never change.)
The appointment of Gordon Brown to the country’s Prime Minister has also given the Force a massive commitment to his safety and security because of his residence in Fife. Mutual Aid was necessary to address the initial demands but Mrs Graham believes that Fife will eventually be able to meet this entirely on its own.
Mrs Graham spoke of the Chief Constable’s impending retirement in May of this year and the likely changes that will bring. She finished by officially opening the meeting and wishing the Branch future success in its work.
Branch Lunches
The last lunch was held on Wednesday 31 October 2007 and attended by 30 Branch members. The venue was the Half Way House Hotel, Kingseat, and our thanks are extended to George Fleming for making all the arrangements.
The next lunch is arranged for Wednesday 2 April 2008, at the Gilvenbank Hotel, Glenrothes. Brian will circulate in the very near future and an invite is extended to all Branch members.
RPOA(S) Annual Conference – Report re 2007 and nominations for 2008
Chairman Eddie and Secretary Brian gave a brief report on the business of the ACM held in Peebles last April.
The Meeting was firstly significant because it was the 60th anniversary of the Association. The pre-meeting dinner was hosted by the Lothian & Borders Branch and an excellent address was made by the Guest Speaker, Sheriff TAK Drummond QC.
The other item of importance was the decision taken to write a new Constitution & Rules for the Association. A Working Group was set up and it is hoped that the Draft Document, to be placed before this year’s Annual Council Meeting, will be adopted.
Presentations were also given by representatives of the PMAS and Roland Smith, Financial Services.
The nominations to the 2008 Annual Council Meeting are, Eddie Devlin, Sandy Marr and Brian Steer. The Meeting unanimously agreed that they be the Delegates to represent the Fife Branch at the 2008 ACM to be held in Glasgow, 15/16 April.
Christmas Lunch for Widows
Vice Chair Ken Bellingham gave a report on the Christmas lunch, held on Wednesday 5 December 2007, at Police Headquarters. Once again it was well attended and the catering staff from Fife Council did an excellent job. Sadly there are some of our ladies too young to be widows as against our oldest lady who has past 90 years of age. The Raffle was well received and the prizes were widely distributed. The feed back certainly marks this event as a most welcome one and the many letters of thanks received endorses this.
The Management Committee recommended to the AGM that the event be held again this year and their approval was unanimous.
Donations
Sandy confirmed that a donation to the Benevolent Fund could be sustained. It was unanimously agreed that the sum of £500 be given to the Benevolent Fund
Election of Branch Committee and Appointment of Book Examiners
The current Office Bearers all indicated their willingness to stand again.
That being the case there was a motion from Frank Ward, seconded by Tom Foy, that the Management Committee be re-elected en-bloc. All agreed.
The Book Examiners were willing to stand again and also re-elected. The thanks of the Branch are extended to Neil Stewart and John Ewing for carrying out this duty.
The Management Committee are noted at the bottom of this page
Force Reunion Dinner
The Force reunion dinner was held on Thursday 29 November, 2007, at the Dean Park Hotel, Kirkcaldy, and there were about 60 in attendance. The Chief Constable, Mr Wilson, MC'd the evening and the guest speaker was Jim Leishman, MBE, Director of Football at Dunfermline.
The meal was excellent so top marks to the hotel staff. Jim Leishman gave a very entertaining and amusing look at his life, Local Boy Makes Good, from his early days in Lochgelly and then his football career. He told us that he could have signed for Celtic, Manchester United or Liverpool, but none of them wanted him so he signed for Dunfermline instead. His first game for the team was against Rangers and as he left home for the game, the proudest moment of his life, his father a long standing Rangers fan, called out to him as he waited for the bus, ' I hope you get stuffed.'
Jim's move into writing poetry was also a topic and whilst Rabbie Burns has nothing to fear, it certainly gave his audience a laugh.
Eddie Devlin gave the vote of thanks and the winner of the bottle of whisky for the oldest retired officer went to Harry Lydiate, aged 86 years.
Citizen Advocacy in West Fife
As a retired person how do your spend you time? Who do you spend your time with? You might enjoy golfing, walking, reading, gardening or just spending quality time with the people who are important to you.
In your lifetime think about the mutual support you have experienced with people in your life where both have:
- Enjoyed good times together
- Encouraged each other
- Supported each other through difficult times
- Given each other advice
Dunfermline Advocacy Initiative introduces local people to adults with learning disabilities, who may not know or spend time with other members of their community, and who would benefit from this kind of contact.
Long term Citizen Advocates get the chance to meet someone new, spend time with them and share their hobbies or interests too. They also help someone who is at risk of being excluded in their community, to be included.
Short term Citizen Advocates get the satisfaction of helping someone to resolve a particular issue. They also make a real difference by supporting people to speak up, who might otherwise find it difficult to be heard.
If you would like to know more about short or long term Citizen Advocacy please contact Jane at Dunfermline Advocacy Initiative on 01383 624382 or at jane.dai@btinternet.com
SUPPORT TO DIABETICS
Serving members of the Force have set up a group to help and assist sufferers of diabetes.
One of the ways that the group works is by sending out emails to the members on a weekly/fortnightly basis with diabetes related articles e.g press releases, medical updates, diet plans etc., usually as a word attachment.
Civilian support staff are also in the Group and now it would like to include retired officers. If you are interested in receiving diabetes information please contact either Keith Jackson or Kenny Allan, Drugs Liaison, (01592 418882), who are both serving police officers.
If you know of a retired officer who might like to receive the information and he/she does not have an email address, pass their details too and the posting out of the information can also be arranged.
Full Committee and Office Bearers.
Chairman:-Eddie Devlin
Vice Chairman:-Ken Bellingham QPM
Treasurer:-Sandy Marr
Secretary:-Brian Steer
Committee members:- Eileen Muir, David Hyslop, John Brand, Graham Carpenter,
George Fleming and David Ramsay.
Neil Stewart and John Ewan were appointed Branch Book Examiners.