My entry and exit from The City of Glasgow Police

Wed, Sep 6th 2023 at 12:40 pm - 2:00 pm

James Yule from the Kilrymont Club gave a personal talk.

My entry and exit from The City of Glasgow Police -

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The speaker was Rotarian James Yule from the Kilrymont Rotary Club. His subject was ‘My entry and exit from the City of Glasgow Police’ explained how his time as Constable James Yule C241 Eastern Division was a significant chapter in his life. Having left school at 15 without qualifications he became a cleaner on the railway and then a fireman. He met his future wife Margaret and began, with her help, a correspondence course, passed the written test and, aged 23, applied for the police, but was turned down when he failed the medical. He took up boxing to lose weight and get fit, then passed his entrance. However he was called in by the Chief Constable to explain why he hadn’t admitted to a criminal conviction (as a 10-year old he had been caught playing cards with his pals, been convicted, fined 10 shillings or a week in jail -his father’s reaction ‘Do the time’! It was not a serious offence but he should have reported it in his application……..His duties as constable were challenging in Glasgow's Duke Street station, which was followed by 6 months training at Tulliallan where he came out 3rd in class. In 1964, his salary at £620 per annum, he and Margaret married. Married life was not easy for a young woman with a police husband working shifts and in 1968 James resigned on a salary of £865 per annum. Their son David was born in 1969 and James got a job selling cream around the district, a job in which he flourished for 21 years. By coincidence he later met the Chief Constable and discovered he was now earning much more than his previous boss! James described one of the worst things about being in the police was having to tell a family one of their own had been killed. A serious talk told with humour……Bette Hunter gave the vote of thanks.