The Men in Blue and Me

In the 1960s I worked on building sites travelingapproach to the M1 a man was thumbing a lift. I
from site to site in a caravan. There was mystopped and let him in saying "Liverpool all right"
mate and I, my mate had his wife and little girlhe did not say much.
with him. Working in Liverpool, we left that lateAbout 12pm we got to a place I think was called
one evening in 1963 to go to a site closer toNatwich or Northwich and took a wrong turning.
London. Arriving late at night the first thing weBacking out of this turning a policeman stepped
had to do is find a site for the caravan. We foundout. "Is this your motor" he said "yes" I said "can
a farm that still had their lights on. The farmer letyou prove it" he said "not here, all the docs are at
us stay in his field righ next to the now famoushome" I said.
Bridge.The policeman got in my car and said "Take me
By the way my mate had his wife and baby girlto the police station to find out if it had been
with him plus their little poodle. We got up had ourstolen." When we got to the station all three of us
breakfast and went to work, leaving the caravanwent in. Sitting in the police station, My passenger
there.said "I will get the map" and went to the car.
Driving to work, we listen to the news on theAbout two minuets later the policeman came out
radio, talking about "The great train robbery" andholding a wanted poster with my passenger face
how they were looking for a caravan with a babyon it, he had just escaped from jail.
and a white poodle. My mate said to me "whatThe policeman asks me to drive him around
the hell has she been up to now".looking for my passenger, as the police cars are
Working though the day, Police cars wereall at another attempted mail train robbery at
speeding one way then the other all day. At theYork and the trains on fire. We drove around for
end of the day we went back to the caravan.about 2 hours we kept seeing him bobbing about
The farm gate was open and there was loads ofin the dark, but he just disappeared in the night.
wheel track in the mud by the gate.As the policeman got out of my car he said he
When we got to the caravan my mates wife hadwould pay for the petrol used. I thought to
been crying, she said "that morning the policemyself the cars got no road tax, so I said, "no
came from everywhere started pulling thethat would be alright, it's on me" and drove off.
caravan to bits". "What for?" we asked, "TheyAs things happen in three's, I'm still waiting for the
think we had something to do with the robbery"third. But wait a minuet there was the time on
she sobbed clutching the baby.holiday in Africa, I had hired car mini. There are
She then said, "They phoned your firm up, to seenot many roads where we were, so I just
where we were at the time of the robbery". Thefollowed the coastal road and came to a tee
police found out that we could not have beenjunction. There were two policemen slowing me
there at the time of the robbery, leavingdown. They did not speak English but pointed a
Liverpool at the time we did.gun at my head and made gestures for me to go
If we had robbed the train, would we gone tothat way.
work with £5million in our tool bags? EvenAfter about 4 or 5 miles they pointed for me to
footballers did not earn that salt of money then!turn left. On looking I saw a big ion gate with
The next few days I saw the police looking for"JAIL" written on top. The gates opened we
the loot everywhere. There was a car breakersdrove in the gate shut. The two policemen run
yard with cars piled high, that we could see fromoff.
our site. They moved the entire stock looking forWaiting about half an hour another policeman
some clues as to where the money was put. Atcame over put his head in the window and said
least they left us alone!"Thank you for brining my mates home" and
Well a few weeks later my mate was sent to aopened the gates, we shot out waving our hands.
different site to me, I had to go back toDo you think that make the three?
Liverpool. I left home in London about 8pm, at the