This photograph was taken at HQ in 1956, but long before this, dogs were thought to be valuable and a possible asset to police work and detection.
The first mention I have found of Dogs being used was in March 1901. In General Orders dated 18th April 1901 it states:
“The Chief Constable understands that it is a growing custom with Sergeants and Constables of taking dogs out with them on duty, This must at once be discontinued”.
The next mention I can find in Dorset’s General Orders is from 28th February 1914 where it states:
“After many trials it has been found in some Counties, that dogs trained to police work, have been found useful to constables patrolling country beats, and the Chief Constable sanctions the keeping of dogs by sergeants and constables for the purpose of using them in connection with police duties if they so wish. Provided that the bread is an Airedale or a cross with an Airedale and that the dog is not of a savage nature. Every police officer owning a dog must of course take out the necessary dog licence and no expenses must fall upon the county”.
I guess most of the men were not inclined to go and buy an Airedale, I cannot really see much of an incentive with the costs involved and having to feed another mouth. There is certainly nothing else I can find, to say that any of the men took this option, especially as any form of off duty hunting involvement was frowned upon as well.
I can only guess the Chief Constable was giving the men the chance to be guinea pigs for the Force, at their own expense, after a report was carried out in 1913, by the Inspectors of Constabulary of the County and Borough Police Forces. The report was not officially made public for another two months when the Home Office published it in a Blue Book. It mentioned that the trial had been successful in North Riding Constabulary, where their Chief claimed that 20 per cent of his Force were now using dogs, especially Airedales for night duty patrol.
After doing some more general research about other Forces, it would seem Dorset was way behind others, but then maybe there was no need for dogs yet, being a small Force and therefore less crime.
It seems the first police dogs established in the UK were in 1908. In July of that year the “Illustrated Police News” reported that for the previous three months Hull City had been trialling dogs, which had proved to be a success and now they would be augmented through the Force. Highly trained Airedales were used to assist the policemen patrolling the docks by the North Eastern Railway company, where many thefts were taking place. The dogs were called to obey by the officers using small trumpets and they were used to detain offenders and “upset” bicycles. Several Airedales were purchased to help the police. It would appear that the original idea came from the continent, where Germany had many dogs already and Belgium had many Airedales. Later other Forces would experiment with German Shepherd, Labrador retrievers and Belgian Malinois breeds.
My grandfather told me that in the late 1940’s the introduction of dogs specially trained for police work was in its infancy in Surrey and the Metropolitan Police Force who were was experimenting with this new innovation. Surrey had an ardent supporter in Joseph SIMPSON, the Chief Constable of Surrey, who had been Chief Constable of Northumberland and would later go on to be Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. SIMPSON appears to have created a Dog Section in Surrey in 1948.
From my grandfathers memoirs he wrote:
“Over the previous five years (1945-1950 ) the Dorset Constabulary had built up a good relationship with its neighbouring Forces and much of it was based on sport. Whilst playing Bowls against other Forces in Police no 7 area, I and other officers became very sociable with the Chief Constable of Devon, Lt Col Randolph BACON. BACON was a former Metropolitan policeman, who later returned to be Deputy Commissioner, who paid an annual trip to London, taking a representative county bowls team on a week’s tour and matches were arranged with Metropolitan police teams. The Met were very hospitable, and I and Inspector John King were always asked by BACON to accompany them to London where we were entertained at their sports centres, the House of Commons and the River Police centre at Docklands. Whilst at Imber Court, the Metropolitan police sports ground, we also witnessed a demonstration in the training of dogs as an adjunct to police work. At the time most police forces were sceptical about the value of the dog and I like others regarded it as a gimmick, although after the demo we all had a far greater conception and realised the extreme usefulness of the dog in the detection of criminals, missing persons, property and dealing with people with weapons.
I was completely sold on the value of an efficiently trained dog section and on the return to Dorset I submitted a report to the Chief Constable Lt Col PEEL YATES. This resulted in newly promoted from the training department, Detective Superintendent Ernie ROSSITER being sent on a training course at Surrey’s police HQ in an effort to gain more information on the subject.
The Dorset Standing Joint Committee were then informed and supported the Chief Constable’s application to introduce a dog section, but gave very little financial backing and in the initial stage it was only due to the enthusiasm of Ernie ROSSITER, a real dog lover that the experiment survived and three Alsatian puppies were gifted to the Force and homemade kennels installed.
Officially the Dog Section was established at Dorchester HQ, on 1st January 1953 and a small utility van was converted in to a dog transporter. A dog called Koenig was Ernie ROSSITER’s personal responsibility and the other dogs were placed in the hands of volunteer officers at Poole and Portland.
Between July 1952 and November 1953 a gang of safe crackers had targeted egg packing premises at Sturminster Newton and Gillingham and the Force was desperate to catch them. Early in the morning of the 26th of November 1953 the gang were pursued on foot and by car. After the vehicle was abandoned, Koenig and his handler tracked down two members of a gang who were hiding in bushes which resulted in clearing up criminals operating on a national scale, that really got the Dog Section on its feet and it proved its worth as a criminal aid.
More financial aid was then forth coming, and regular dog handlers appointed and specially built kennels were installed at HQ and outer stations and then the section was made complete with vehicles other than the original small utility van which was converted in to a dog transporter. The Dog Section then gradually gained prestige and experience resulting in National recognition and awards.
In 1955 PC Stanley CORNICK and his dog Bess were allocated with other officers to track down an armed youth. The youth called TAMPLIN was 17 years old and had become friendly with a married couple and become infatuated with the wife. TAMPLIN waited for the husband to come home and shot him with a .22 rifle, causing him serious injuries and then he went on the run. TAMPLIN then decided to steal a car which he quickly managed to overturn and abandoned near a wooded area on the outskirts of Fontmell Magna where he was located by PC CORNICK. TAMPLIN was in no mood to give himself up and fired the rifle at CORNICK and Bess but luckily missed and was overpowered by CORNICK and others rushing to the scene. CORNICK received the BEM in the Queens New Year Honours List and TAMPLIN got 3 years for attempted murder”.
How much value does a dog have to the police Force ? Well I have spoken to various officers in the last 30 years and of course those that had dogs, could appreciate their value and ability to sniff something out, but others were just wondering what the senior officers were doing, when there was an exercise to locate drugs or a body and everyone knew where it was. In 2020 I think we know the value of a dog with a good nose, some have it, others do not !
The photograph at the start shows the officers:
Supt Ernie ROSSITER with his dog KONIG
PC Stanley CORNICK BEM with his dog BESS
PC Peter THRASHER with his dog DANA
PC Ron PERSOR ? with his dog ANDI
PC Eddie COOPER with his dog SUSAN