John, Paul, George, Ringo, and unclealec

Apologies for this egocentric post; it is a consequence of last night's TZUK Virtual get-together.

When I announced that I was part of The Beatles' story, the assembled throng took it as another example of the slight embellishments that I occasionally add to scintillas of truth connectd to my 70 years and counting as resident of Planet Earth. They deemed this to be so far-fetched as to warrant a demand that I publish evidence or it didn't happen.

Now that I have sobered up/ gathered my thoughts (delete where applicable) the facts have changed somewhat since last night. This is what happened:

In 1967 I joined Cornwall Constabulary as a Cadet, and was stationed at Newquay. In late summer of that year the big event was a stop-off by The Beatles on their Magical Mystery Tour venture, on which they visited various locations to film footage for a TV film.
My memories of that period of my life is hazy to say the least (welcome to the Sixties bro) but if I recall correctly the station establishment, as well as being required to control the crowds, was involved in some of the filming.

Last night's crowd was ahead of me on this; as we spoke they were eagerly trawling the internet searching for images of a fresh-faced young me amongst the images of the event. And Yes! they did find a few. At least, I remember one showing me receiving instructions from the station Inspector, which I can't myself find, and the attached which shows me sporting a fine erect stature as I talked with a local who I seem to recall arresting later in my career for some petty larceny.

So - like most of my tales, there is a scintilla of truth in my claim. But not much more.

For my next diatribe, I will tell how I am one of the few rugby players to have played both for the Lions and the All-Blacks.

https://i.imgur.com/TZAWn3v.jpg?1

Cool.

Looking forward to hearing how you were the first man in space :biggrin:

M

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by unclealec

Apologies for this egocentric post; it is a consequence of last night's TZUK Virtual get-together.

When I announced that I was part of The Beatles' story, the assembled throng took it as another example of the slight embellishments that I occasionally add to scintillas of truth connectd to my 70 years and counting as resident of Planet Earth. They deemed this to be so far-fetched as to warrant a demand that I publish evidence or it didn't happen.

Now that I have sobered up/ gathered my thoughts (delete where applicable) the facts have changed somewhat since last night. This is what happened:

In 1967 I joined Cornwall Constabulary as a Cadet, and was stationed at Newquay. In late summer of that year the big event was a stop-off by The Beatles on their Magical Mystery Tour venture, on which they visited various locations to film footage for a TV film.
My memories of that period of my life is hazy to say the least (welcome to the Sixties bro) but if I recall correctly the station establishment, as well as being required to control the crowds, was involved in some of the filming.

Last night's crowd was ahead of me on this; as we spoke they were eagerly trawling the internet searching for images of a fresh-faced young me amongst the images of the event. And Yes! they did find a few. At least, I remember one showing me receiving instructions from the station Inspector, which I can't myself find, and the attached which shows me sporting a fine erect stature as I talked with a local who I seem to recall arresting later in my career for some petty larceny.

So - like most of my tales, there is a scintilla of truth in my claim. But not much more.

For my next diatribe, I will tell how I am one of the few rugby players to have played both for the Lions and the All-Blacks.

https://i.imgur.com/TZAWn3v.jpg?1

---

er...where are the Beatles??? :numbness:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redmonaco

er...where are the Beatles??? :numbness:

---

The bus is yellow! :icon_biggrin:

Alecs anecdotes are a good read but are even better when spoken by the man himself.....it’s the way he tell’s em.

Originally we thought he was claiming to be featured on the Sgt Peppers album cover!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Saint-Just

The bus is yellow! :icon_biggrin:

---

Just like a certain submarine!


Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redmonaco

er...where are the Beatles??? :numbness:

---

If I recall correctly there were a few buses, all in similar livery. There were loads of people in what one might call a retinue, but the event spanned several hours, and police were deployed ad hoc according to crowd pressure. I did control crowds in close proximity to the lads, but that was as near as I got to my 15 minutes of fame.

@walkerweik - I believe that I too was confused with memories of my room-mate at the single mens quarters Alan Russell who is featured somewhere in Beatleland in a montage similar to Sgt. Pepper. I have studied the Sgt Pepper album cover and there is no behelmetted PC grinning from ear to ear, so I must trawl further for artwork connected with Magical Mystery Tour. He is in a long line of various people all linking arms.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by walkerwek1958

Alecs anecdotes are a good read but are even better when spoken by the man himself.....it’s the way he tell’s em.

Originally we thought he was claiming to be featured on the Sgt Peppers album cover!

---

Agreed. Alec’s tales are legendary! Looking forward to hearing them in person as soon as we are able to. 🍻

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by unclealec

If I recall correctly there were a few buses, all in similar livery.

---

That's interesting, do you know if the other buses were decoys to lead fans and the press off the scent? Or was it just for ease of filming in different locations?
The bus in your photo has the correct number plate, so unless they used false number plates aswell, yours is 'the one'.

Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk

I may be mistaken; it was a hectic day. I do know that there were other buses, but they could well have been for the entourage of cameramen, sound recorders etc. Or indeed they could have been bringing fans in; people flocked to Newquay once the news was out on the grapevine.
Think how busy it would have been today with the internet broadcasting the news!

I think I was there to stop fans from entering the coach and rooting for souvenirs while the stars of the show were filming somewhere near Barrowfields.

For such a milestone event, my memories are surprisingly scant. I don't think I appreciated just how mega The Beatles were. I was more interested in the folk music scene.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by unclealec

I may be mistaken; it was a hectic day. I do know that there were other buses, but they could well have been for the entourage of cameramen, sound recorders etc. Or indeed they could have been bringing fans in; people flocked to Newquay once the news was out on the grapevine.
Think how busy it would have been today with the internet broadcasting the news!

I think I was there to stop fans from entering the coach and rooting for souvenirs while the stars of the show were filming somewhere near Barrowfields.

For such a milestone event, my memories are surprisingly scant. I don't think I appreciated just how mega The Beatles were. I was more interested in the folk music scene.

---

Thanks, born in '66 but a Beatles anorak since my early teens I find every snippet fascinating.

Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk

I recall an incident when the coach was damaged, allegedly while being protected (overnight?) by Cornwall's finest. I wasn't involved with that. Above my pay grade as they say.

My main task as a Cadet already with a reputation for tinkering with vehicles was to prepare the station's fleet of vehicles for service for the day shift. We had several Morris Minors in the new panda livery that were kept in a row of concrete lock-up garages teetering on the edge of a cliff backing on to Towan Beach. What could possibly go wrong?!!
I was possibly the only employee working a 5am - 1pm shift, so that I had an hour to remove the distributor caps and HT leads then gently warm them in the station cooker to drive away the ensuing damp that was the curse of the station. They started immediately after my ministrations; not at all before them.

I then had to persuade the station utility - a God-awful Bedford CA Utilibrake - into action. Not quite so straightforward!