News & Blog
15\12\2020. Live podcast.
Humbled to for the kind invitation by Harry Tangye and Dave Wardell to do alive podcast about this great book. They kindly let me share with you all enjoy.
First week for me JG WWW.JGAUTHOR.COM
The first week has gone since we published our book “So you wanna be a peeler eh boy” a cracking little piece of Police history. When I started this journey I never imagined that the response would be so enormous to a small book about my Great Grandfather Sgt William Foyle. The sales in the first week have been far more than we imagined. A positive start as this is a new journey but things take time. I am pleased to say local Television and media have picked up on this publication and I can confirm that we are doing some filming and radio interviews next week 26th\ 27th August Big shout out on our first blog update to Sheila and Kirsty who have worked so very hard to process orders and keep our marketing rolling.
Keep coming back for blog updates JG 21\08\2020
Press release
Press release: Issued August 2020
Police volunteer launches new book to showcase the positive side of the police force
- A new book based on the diaries of a police officer who served in the earliest days of policing is being published by award-winning police volunteer, John Greenfield, to shine a light on how public attitudes have changed towards the police force.
John Greenfield, one of the Dorset Police Volunteersof the Year 2019, is launching his first book ‘So You Want to be a Peeler, Eh Boy?’ this month.
It is the first-hand account of his great-grandfather’s experiences, from a life of rural impoverishment in Wiltshire, to joining Hampshire Constabulary in 1887 aged 19, and documents his service in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight through the turn of the century and the two World Wars.
It reveals his profound, personal dedication to the principles set out by Sir Robert Peel, who established the first police forces in England in the mid-19th century; it is an ethos and practice that still underpins and shapes Constabularies across the country today.
The book’s author John has been volunteering with the police for eight years, first in Hampshire and more recently in Dorset. In 2019 he was among a team to receive a Dorset Police Volunteers of the Year award.He is also a long-time champion of the police on social media, where his 75,000-strong following includes many senior policing leaders from across the country.In 2016 he was awarded a special commendation by Yorkshire Police for supporting their awareness campaign on Twitter.
John, who owns a shipping container sales business, says:
“I come from a policing family, with two cousins in the police, and I have always valued and respected what they do. Being a volunteer has given me a huge insight and made me even more passionate about helping and supporting the service.
“So much has changed since my great-grandfather’s time – and not all of it for the better. All he had to do was blow his whistle and members of the public would come to help; now they film on their mobile phones as police officers are being assaulted!
“The police come in for so much criticism and abuse these days. I want to bring back some focus on all the good that they do, which goes right back to the foundations of the police in the 19th century.”
‘So You Want to be a Peeler, Eh Boy?’paints a compelling portrait of a turbulent period in history through the eyes of one police officer. Sergeant Foyle was present during some landmark moments; he was there at Queen Victoria’s funeral at Cowes, and on duty outside the hut where radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi was experimenting with the first long-distance transmissions. It also documents the harsh realities which faced ordinary people at that time.
Adds John:
“It’s been an interesting journey to discover how many of my Great-grandfather’s views and passions I share. Like me, he wanted to do what’s right by people. There was one episode that stood out in particular; having been called to arrest a young boy for stealing a potato, he investigated and found the boy’s mother had died. Instead of arresting him, he took him home to his wife who nursed him back to health. He was a police sergeant, but first of all, he was a human being who cared for his fellow human.”
John, 63, from a small town in in Hampshire,has a close connection with modern policing too. As well as his current role as an operator in Dorset Police’s CCTV control room, his volunteer work has seen him join officers on the front line, attending some of the toughest call outs including violent crimes and murders.He has seen first-hand the professionalism and compassion of police officers as they put themselves at risk in the line of duty, and is saddened to see the force come under so much criticism recently.
Explains John:
“For my great-grandfather, policing was something he committedhimself too with honour- to help uphold the law of the country and to look after and protect people. That is their same focus now, although they actually have fewer police in relation to the population than they did 100 years ago.
“At the worse moments of your life when something bad happens that you can’t deal with, you call the police and someone comes to help you. But the police are being stretched beyond belief and they need our support – that’s why I do what I do. I hope this book will encourage other people to get behind their police officers, to appreciate and value what they do and help them wherever they can.’
‘So You want to be a Peeler, Eh Boy?’ Is available to buy at: www.greenfield-productionsltd.compriced from £8.50
-Ends-
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Darren Northeast PR (working on behalf of John Greenfield) on 01202 676762 or pr@darrennortheast.co.uk