Funny how names and people keep cropping up, sometimes after years - well this happened to me yesterday when I read an obituary in the Edinburgh Evening news for Tommy Archibald.
I first met Tommy in 1964/ 1964 while I was resident at Sedgefield in Co. Durham - one evening all these "green Civil Defence" vehicles arrived at our training school - a police / CD Mobile column, heading from Scotland to London and changing hands en route as it passed through the various Police Regions - taking part in a regular national exercise.
I met up with the motor cycle outriders from Edinburgh, Tam , and his pals who were surprised to find a young Scot from Currie in residence in this forbidden land. They left a couple of days later for destinations unknown.
It must have been about three / fours years later when I met Tommy again , this time at Loanhead Police Station where i was then stationed. He appeared with a colleague from the Edinburgh City Police on their shiny Police motorcycles. It was unusual to see out City Brothers out in the County as we did not always see eye to eye, however I discovered that tom was from Loanhead where all his family lived, hence the visit, a quick sneak over the boundary for a cuppa.
Over the following years I met him from time time and became friendly with other family members, Jimmy - who worked as a "bouncer" at the Casino - Nivensknowe, and we would head for the Woodville at 2 a.m. for a late supper / early breakfast.
I have a sneaky suspicion that it was Tommy who got me my motor cycle boots, black leather "gold Tops" which I still wear, some thirty years on.
Tom was offered a job with the Scottish Crime Squad as a surveillance rider , but turned it down as it meant using a sports bike rather than his police tourer.
When he retired from the Police he became a driving instructor, and as he then lived only a couple of hundred yards away from me on the main road I would see him several times a day , patiently putting his students through their paces. - a very good instructor, well thought of and successful.
He eventually decided to finally retire and moved away, when I lost touch till last night's notice.
Tommy Archibald - R I P and my condolences go to the family
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