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Latest Reunion Committee Minutes (29/10/17) posted here on the Registration Page
Cadets of the Les Spencer Wing, 24 January 1968 to 22 August 1969
This is the Home Page for those 73 young men who were Police Cadets in the Les Spencer Wing, 1968-9. Some have died, some resigned to pursue other life activities and some have retired from active service having held ranks at all levels in the Police. A few continue to serve in the Police.
The Cadets who joined up in 1968 had aspirations to serve the community through law enforcement as sworn officers, holding a warrant enabling them to conduct their duties professionally with care for those they encountered and with dignity, integrity and pride for the values they and their colleagues shared by wearing the uniform and being identified as part of 'The Job'.
There were only ever male cadets. Women who joined the Police were trained with other male recruits during a thirteen week intensive course, which led to a probationary period of on-the-job training. Cadets were different and younger. We trained more broadly and deeply during a nineteen month course of instruction in the law and its enforcement practice. We studied post-secondary Mathematics, English and Social Studies, while learning about the Legal System, Criminology and Codified Law. This was supplemented by basic training in the military camp context of physical education, self-defence, arms training, parade ground drilling, first aid and bush craft…not to mention sharing meals with our co-located Army colleagues in the Other Ranks Mess. We also learned to use a typewriter…to some extent. Our scene management and moot court instruction became more real when we were sent out on Section Duty to work with Police on the job. This gave us a taste of what was to come and returning to barracks we shared the stories of what we had encountered.
We who were those Cadets in the Les Spencer Wing will gather again on 2-4 March 2018 to remember our brothers who have died, to recall our days as rather young men still in our late teenage, and to swap stories of our lives since we stood together on the Parade Ground at Trentham Military Camp wearing our black uniforms with a row of shining silver buttons on our tunics, our black helmets on replacing our berets and our spit-and-polished boots, returning the graduation salute to Commander Ted Hotham as we set off in anticipation of doing our best, whatever might come on the streets of New Zealand.
We now again salute our Commanding Officer and those of his staff who trained us and helped form us to be what we have become over these past 50 years, remembering with gratitude the opportunity we had to grow up very quickly to face the realities of the world in a time quite different from now, when Police Cadets were being groomed as New Zealand's finest and we were released onto New Zealand's streets 'wearing the blue' but being a bit green with it!
Wearing the Blue…or The Thin Blue Line
Do you remember this movie being made? Some of us feature in it and a few quite prominently. The quality isn't that great due to numerous conversions from one format to another but thanks to Cadet Rocky Hamilton we have this memory to transport us back in time to when we wore berets, there were no mobile phones, no internet or email and only just power-steering on some cars. Get a cup of coffee, sit comfortably, click on the MOVIE icon here and enjoy….
