| A Policeman's lot |
 From Dixon of Dock Green to The Bill – Robin Oake’s police career spanned more than forty years. From a bobby on the beat in London to Chief Constable of the Isle of Man Constabulary, Robin is proof that a policeman’s lot can be a happy one whatever W.S. Gilbert’s Pirates of Penzance lyrics say. But Robin has had his share of tough times, not least when his son, Stephen, also a serving police officer, was fatally wounded during an arrest of a suspected terrorist. Throughout Robin’s service his Christian faith has shaped his life. Asked whether the murder of his Special Branch son affected his view of policing as a great vocation – and generally, ‘a happy lot’ – he lets us judge for ourselves as he shares his extraordinary life story in his memoirs, Gilbert was Wrong! Robin retells the trials and challenges of his career with humour and honesty, revealing the human side of a life dedicated to serving the crown and country. Petty criminals, serious offenders, a smattering of celebrities, even the Royal family – Robin never knew what he would face. Like the night he was woken to be told a white ape had escaped from a private collection and it took the police, a passing lion tamer, a milkman and a vet to eventually recapture the beast. A tall tale indeed! Robin, born in 1937, comes from a close-knit family. He and his sisters were sent, rather than taken, to church each Sunday. When his older sister Cherry came back from college announcing that she had become a Christian, the family were shocked. Surely, as a churchgoer, she was a Christian already. She had made a decision to follow Jesus, to put him first in her life. This was to have a knock-on effect for the whole Oake family. Robin made his decision to follow Jesus Christ, then his sister Wendy, followed by their mother. Not long after this, Robin’s father renewed his commitment. ‘At last, we were a Christian family together,’ Robin writes. Robin started his working life in the civil service. He failed his National Service medical because of his size 14 feet but they didn’t stop him joining the Metropolitan Police in 1957. His early exploits do read like a script from Dixon of Dock Green, the first TV police drama. In fact, actor Jack Warner, Mr Dixon himself, was a Christian and once spoke at the Met’s Christmas carol concert. There were no radios in the early days just old fashioned Dr Who police boxes with a telephone to the station, a whistle and a truncheon. The well-used pocket-sized Bible Robin carried in his breast pocket served a dual purpose. It gave comfort to those in distress, especially helpful when having to break bad news, and deflected many attacks while on duty. Robin was never shy about his faith. ‘But,’ he says ‘I was always very careful not to introduce or force the issue and never to speak about it when I should be doing other things on duty. ‘At the end of it all, I could seriously thank God for calling me into the police service… and the sheer joy of introducing many colleagues and members of the public to a personal faith in my Saviour, Jesus Christ. ‘My walk in being a follower of Christ permeated my work and off-duty hours throughout the forty-two years. Thank God for it all.’ |
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