'Burglar' Ken got a shock after fitting ladies' locks
And the 69-year-old's boss even tried to fool him into thinking he'd been mistaken for a burglar when he helped two elderly ladies improve their home security on his day off.
"I joined the Stoke-on-Trent City Police traffic department in 1960," says the retired policeman, who lives in Sneyd Green with his wife Lesley, aged 68.
"As part of the job, I got the chance to drive a new TR4A sports car – it didn't get much better than that for a young police officer."
One Sunday afternoon during the summer of 1967, Ken was driving slowly along Brammer Street, in Bradeley, when he saw 79-year-old Ethel Whitney.
Mrs Whitney was chatting to her next-door neighbour, Linda Mason, on the pavement outside their terrace houses.
"I decided to pull over and pass the time of day," he says, "partly to give reassurance of police interest and partly to get up to date on local goings-on.
"However, I found all was not well, as Mrs Whitney had accidentally locked herself out of her house when the front door had closed on her, and she had no door key in the pocket of her apron.
"I found the door wouldn't respond to reasonable pressure, so she allowed me to go around the back to see if access could be gained."
To Ken's dismay, he found the back door was only held closed by a pair of steps in the back kitchen leaning against the door. "Apparently, the lock was seized and there were no bolts fitted," he says. "The back kitchen window didn't close properly and wasn't secure.
"Within a minute I was inside the house, and what a lovely picture those two smiling faces made as I opened the front door.
"I know it's a bit of a cliché but it's true to say sometimes there is more reward in a job than just wages."
After a quick chat about home security with the two ladies, Ken was allowed to take a look at the back of Mrs Mason's house and found hers was barely any safer.
"I took great care not to frighten the ladies, but there had been a series of sneak-in burglaries in the Smallthorne and Bradeley area," he recalls.
"We agreed I'd return the next day, on my day off, with my tool box and the necessary security fastenings, so I could solve the problem in both homes."
The following day, after Ken had shown the ladies how to use the newly-installed locks, they parted as friends.
"I'd dealt with this matter in my own time and at my own expense," he explains, "so it didn't warrant an official police report, only a brief entry in my official pocket book.
"As far as I was concerned, the matter was now finished with."
However, about a week later, Ken's superintendent summoned him to his office and with a stern face asked him to shut the door and sit down.
"He told me he'd had a report of a police officer breaking into an old lady's house in Bradeley, and his inquiries led him to believe it was me," says Ken.
"I was then asked what I had to say about it.
"Partly through my garbled explanation, he burst out laughing and said, 'I don't know how this has reached the national press, but there's a reporter downstairs who told me all about it'."
The waiting journalist from the Daily Mirror wished to speak to Ken and take his photograph with his police car.
"The ladies had obviously mentioned our brief encounter to someone connected with the press and the result was an item in a national newspaper," he says.
"Two lovely photographs of the ladies were sent to me shortly afterwards."
Ken, who has two children and two grandchildren, assumed Mrs Whitney and Mrs Mason were sent copies at the time. But if they weren't, he'd be happy for surviving relatives to have copies. Ken can be contacted on 07776 185141.
Are you a relative of Ethel Whitney or Linda Mason, who lived in Brammer Street, Bradeley, during the 1960s? Write to All Our Yesterdays, remembering to include your full name, address and telephone number, at Features Desk, The Sentinel, Forge Lane, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5SS, or email yesterdays@thesentinel.co.uk
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