There’s been a bit of a break here on Ladybird Tuesday whilst I sorted out the behind the scenes blog stuff, but this week I’m delighted to say that we’re back! And I have a wonderful new charity shop find to share too.
The very first Ladybird Tuesday featured In a Hotel from the 606B People at Work series and it therefore seems appropriate to be back there for the first post on this new blog hosting platform. I’m bringing a bit of law and order to proceedings by featuring The Policeman which was the second book to be published in this popular series.
It was 1962 when Ladybird first published this book and the world of policing has moved on so much since then that it’s quite amusing looking back at how things were.
After mentioning how the first police force was set up by Sir Robert Peel The Policeman goes on to tell children how there “are police stations in every town” and also “country police stations” in villages. Well, not any more. There’s also lots of talk about a policeman spending his eight-hour shift on the beat, yet not a single mention of the paperwork that so many police officers spend many, many hours on now.
The one page the book has about policewomen makes amusing reading. I’ve written before on Ladybird Tuesday about how the mention of women in these ‘People at Work’ books really show how much the role of women in the workforce has come on since the 1960s and this is no different.
“The policewomen are trained in the same way as the men and they can do the same jobs. They arrest criminals, just as policemen do.”
But obviously they weren’t equal enough for the book to be called The Policemen and Policewomen…
I love the glimpses that these old factual Ladybird books give me into what day to day life was like back in the 1960 and surrounding decades and once again the illustrations in The Policeman do not fail to entertain me. I’ve never seen a policeman in a white coat whilst directing traffic, but then I guess this was possibly in the days before high-visability jackets were common attire. I think the one in this picture looks like a strange mix between a policeman and a scientist!
Reading about how lost dogs are taken to police stations and then kept there for a couple of days, looked after by the police officers, until their owners returned to collect them also made me smile. I bet that policemen and women today wished they had enough spare time that they could take in lost dogs!
If you have a collection of old Ladybird books then please feel free to join in with Ladybird Tuesday. There are no formal rules to follow, just leave a link to any post you write in the comments below and if you’re feeling kind link back to my Ladybird Tuesday category here on Being Mrs C. Thanks!
Haha, this is brilliant – love the dog bit!
Did you know policemen are nicknamed bobbies because of Robert Peel? Mm hmm. *looks wise*
How fabulous love the innocence of the world back then
I do love those old pictures!
Cute, and my word, how times have changed. I had a bunch of these books when I was growing up, though I am certain they found their way to the charity shop years ago.
It’s so interesting to look back and see cultural changes like this. We’ve come a long way baby!
Ha, our local police station is up for sale! Cant imagine ever thinking it would be possible to buy a police station back in the day!
Thanks for teh nostalgia trip
Ours is soon to be demolished. If it doesn’t fall down first!
Totally humming the theme tune to Juliette Bravo now…..
I AM SO OLD
Why don’t our coppers wear white gloves any more? I think we should start a campaign to bring them back!
How very interesting to see how things have changed – and how some things are not really so different.
What a fascinating history lesson. I’ll have to find my copy of ‘Danger men’. Again, it’s from another world.
ooooh these books bring back so many lovely memories. x
I’m such a Ladybird fan! My particular favourite is What to Look For Outside a Church. I do love the white gloves, I wonder if the world might be a bit kinder if our police officers still wore them.
Wow how times have changed. I remember these books and yet the books the girls bring home to read are so different now, lovely post
Oh I miss that innocence!
Ahhh, adorable. Good old Ladybird. This post put a big smile on my face – even with the shocking sexism! xx
Don’t know the books obviously but they look like great fun!
Wow the world has changed, love your reflections here 🙂