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I was interested by an article in Roadster which I read the other
day. I shall reproduce some of it below. The area described is
where I live. ie the Police Station in question is 2 miles from
my house. (Devon, South west UK. Very rural area). This part of
Devon now has a large Motorway (Freeway to you'all!?), but in 61
that had not reached Devon. Nor would it for years. But, the West
of UK was and remains very popular with British holiday makers
who used to make best speed through central Devon on the A38 to
and from the North and South Devon and Cornwall coasts. Local
police forces used to employ "Chase cars" to help control things.
Mind you, I'm not sure if the 70mph max was in by then. Probably.
I don't know if this has been on the net before. If so-apologies.
I have barely touched the text. Some of it is a bit too "local
interest" to make much sense to you and you have to remember
that,
despite everything, the author was a young policeman-not a Works
mechanic...so forgive him for the mechanical fuel pump etc...
Article is headed with a photo of a Mk1 and goes on:_
"of one of the two Austin Healey 3000s operated by the Devon
Constabulary from about 1961/2 on. I was fortunate enough to be
part of the two-man crew at Cullompton, in 118HTT whilst the
other, 117HTT was at Exmouth. These cars were supplied by Pikes
of Exeter,the main Austin dealers and if my memory is correct,
they were the first thousand pound patrol cars after the Jaguar.
In those days the force carried a wide selection of vehicles with
little thought of the benefits of having a fleet of the same
manufacture. Apart from the two Healeys, there were Standard
Vanguards, a Riley Pathfinder, Ford Zephyrs, Vauxhalls, Bedford
Vans (or Flying Greenhouses as they were known), a Jaguar, an
Austin Mini Cooper and Austin A70s, A90s and A95s. As a two-man
team, we were expected to care for our vehicles and of course we
cherished them, looking after them with a sort of loving care.
Servicing was done at Exeter H.Q. under the Chief Mechanic,
Albert (can't think of his surname) and when we took the cars in,
we were expected to don overalls and assist in the servicing by
draining oil, removing and cleaning plugs and so on. We were
allocated 4 hours a week-normally Sunday mornings-to clean and
attend our car.
The Healey was a superb vehicle to drive, described as an
occasional 4 seater; in fact, the rear seats were hardly usable
as seats and had to carry our books ( and flasks of coffee etc)
so were hardly sat in. Taking prisoners proved to be a problem
especially the approved shool abscondees etc. On one occasion we
caught two, so one sat between us and theo ther on the lap of the
observer! Police markings were not possible owing to the fine
nature of the vehicle front although for some time we carried a
chrome bell as the only token of our identity as a police car.
The Healeys were fitted with a removable hard top, a folding soft
top and also a tonneau cover. We were very fortunate when in the
summer periods we were able to drive about open topped with our
chin straps down to keep our headgear on. Driving without caps
was most certainly not permitted. Being black, we were often able
to spot traffic offences which would have been avoided owing to
the presence of a properly marked police car, and we have even
been overtaken by coaches/lorries against double yellow lines.
Speeds of well over a ton were possible on the Waterloo Straight
near Willand and on the Rockbeare Straight- about the only roads
providing the opportunity in those days. We were often allocated
special jobs, such as following Eastern Bloc diplomats-as they
often took great amusen=ment by trying to lose their "tails".
They knew we were there and we knew that they knew- and when
handing them over on the Somerset border generally waved at each
other with smiles and vigour!
Of course, Cullompton was on the main A38, the main route into
the county for holiday makers from the North, Midlanda and Wales.
The use of the car on Saturdays was therefore not practical so we
were expected to take to two wheels-Triumph 350 or 500cc motor
cycles. These were issued at the start of the holiday season and
then returned to H.Q. at the end of the season...........
It was almost taboo for any other driver to take our prized
Healey out. Not many wanted to so because of the knack requied to
get in and get out of it, and of course in those days it was a
very fast car-probably the most potent in the force fleet. When
one was issued to Cullompton, I was still a novice driver, so
many assumed that I would be sent elsewhere. As a single man I
was expendable but remained to drive the new sprts car. Goodness
knows what the insurers would have costed out my cover at!
However, as I said, things were done differently in those days.
The car had little quirks of course. On one occasion I returned
from a spell of annual levae and took the car out on patrol in
the normal way. I hadn't seen or spoken to my co-driver prior to
my return. I drove into the Exeter boundary and was returning to
Cullompton when the car died on me. I coasted to a lay-by and
noticed that the the fuel was low and supposed that I had allowed
the car to run dry- a bad thing to do. I hailed a passing
motorist and asked him to call in at the nearest garage for them
to come to me with petrol. No sooner had this been done when the
radio called for me and directed me to nearby Pinhoe where q
burglar had been disturbed. I had to report a breakdown-but with
no mention of low fuel-and waited with growing anxiety. The
petrol arrived and still 118HTT refused to start. The Force
mechanic was summoned and when he arrived he simply banged the
floor behind the front seats and immediately the mechanical fuel
pump could be heard ticking away- and of course the car started.
Apparently my mate had experienced similar problems and forgot to
mention it to me.
On another occasion, the evening before a promotion examination
at Torquay, we were hit by as sudden snow storm which almost
prevented our return to Cullompton. After dealing with several
accidents we managed to make it back in the middle of the night
with the sump ploughing a furrow through the snow. She proved to
be a good stable car in those conditions owing to weight. We
found that even used in Police work, she returned high mileage on
the Michelin X tyres. Little or nothing of a major nature ever
went wrong with the car. There were no leakages or any teething
problems and the Healey proved to be very trouble-free.
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Healey Police Cars
Simon Lachlan found this article detailing the use of Healey's as Police Cars in the UK.
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The radio took a large percentage of the smnall boot area,
meaning that we were able to carry very little by way of
equipment, signs etc. When the car was new the old valve radios
were still on issue, and when the new transistor model came in,
it helped a little. Accident attendance was therefore a little
haphazard to say the least and we often relied on other cars or
the local sergeant, to attend with additional accident signing.
we attended some horrific accidents on the old A38, yet seemed to
manage somehow. I recall that one night we were on a convict
checkpoint in Cullompton main street in cold and snowy
conditions, when a motorist brought word of a series of bad
accidents at Burlescombe on the A38 in the blizzard conditions.
My mate remained at the checkpoint while I attended the accidents
on my own with no lights, signs or other aids. The scene was that
i shall never forget with cars in ditches etc and several injured
persons. How digfferent the situation is now but we were the only
car in the East of the county and had nobody else to call for
assistance.
On another occasion we were on the same checkpoint in the middle
of the night when a Healey came along driven by a girl with a
male passenger. They drove off towards Taunton and of course in
the stillness of the night we could hear the unbroken and
wonderful sound of the three litre engine. However, suddenly
there was the sound of a smash and, upon investigation, we founf
that the car had hit a wall, killing the driver. The passenger
tried to say that he had been driving (because of the insurance
situation and that the driver possessed no licence) but we were
able to rebut that knowing that it was impossible to change
places in a Healey while it was in motion! (or stationary for
that matter!!)
As far as I was concerned, it was a great privelege to have been
able to drive such a wonderful vehicle as part of my duties. The
sound of a 3000 engine is something which is still a great
pleasure to me, being quite unique even after nearly four
decades. I simply hope that 118HTT is still going strong. When I
left Cullompton she had recorded 70,000 miles and ,because of our
loving and dutiful care, the car looked as good as new. What her
final mileage in police service was I don't know- but the present
owner can take comfort in the knowledge that in her first years
of ownership she received nothing but care and respect."
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