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The Force Was With Me

by John Pye; Cover Design or Artwork by Mark OLeary; Edited by Jill Todd

340 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #08-0477; ISBN 1-4251-7599-6; US$24.19, C$24.19, EUR16.53, £12.49

A cameo of the author's career in the police, from 16yr old cadet in 1967 until retirement as inspector. The constant thread of humour, the tragedy, the interesting cases, the growing up.

About the Book

From a 16-year-old, fun-loving mischievous schoolboy joining the Staffordshire Police Cadets in 1967 through to retirement as an inspector in the early 90s, John describes the thread of bizarre humour, characters and interesting cases and incidents that formed the constantly changing tapestry of his police career.

The snippets of social history, some of the old-fashioned, but productive, police procedures, make the reader draw comparisons with the police of today.

Some tragic incidents and the loss of colleagues, mixed with incredible, but true, stories - vampires in Stoke-on-Trent, naked constables in the back of a police van!

John reflects upon how his twenty-seven years in the police changed him from an immature schoolboy into the man he became, but the humour was never very far away, which was what kept people sane.

Be prepared to laugh out loud as you read, and be prepared to be reduced to thoughtfulness as the book dictates its ever-changing pattern of events.

About the Author

John Pye is a native of the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire. He attended the Orme Boys Secondary Modern School in Newcastle and at the age of 16 joined the Staffordshire Police Cadets.

After an interesting and fun-filled two and a half years with the cadets, which were mostly taken up with sport, he became a police constable and, following initial training at the police college at Ryton-on-Dunsmore near Coventry, he was posted to Stoke-on-Trent where he served for five years.

John went on to become a detective with the force drug squad, where he served for three years. Following this, he was posted to Hanley CID in Stoke-on-Trent as a detective, serving in this capacity until his promotion to uniform sergeant at the town of Biddulph. This two-year period at Biddulph was followed by six years as detective sergeant at the town of Stone. John was promoted to inspector and returned to Hanley in 1989 where he served until he retired in 1993.

Since retirement, John has busied himself with the restoration of his Victorian house where he lives with wife, Gladys. The couple have three children: Adam an IT consultant; Julie, a dancing teacher and David an avionics technician with the RAF.

A lot of John’s time has been taken up with writing this book and his love of music. He is currently chairman of the local residents’ association, and is keenly interested in local history and the conservation of the heritage of his hometown.