Rather like 'Call the Midwife' which spotlights social care and nursing in the 1950s, here we turn our eye to the Berkshire Constabulary. In the early 1950s it finally opened its ranks to more women and WPC Crockford was one of those early pioneers. When 21 year old Gwendoline Crockford signed up in 1951, she had little idea of what she was getting herself into. Whether carrying a human skeleton out of the woods, finding a missing child, investigating thefts, or chasing an escaped zebra, every day brought fresh adventures. In this nostalgic, tender and honest account of post-war British society, we follow a bright, determined woman navigating a man's world, serving as many people as she can, from performing traffic duties to unravelling a dark secret at the heart of an impoverished family, her career was full of joy, thrills and heartbreak. Written by her daughter Ruth with great pride about her mother Gwen who passed out of Hendon Detective Training School with flying colours. Life in Wokingham postwar with rationing still in place, Gwen is ready to make some big changes. Laugh-out-loud funny in parts, heartbreaking in others, this is a compelling and nostalgic partial biography. 392pp, paperback.
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