John Calthorpe, former Yarmouth policeman, dies aged 97

And John Calthorpe's wish was granted when family and friends brought a cardboard cut-out of him to a celebration of his life at the Pier Hotel in Gorleston. 

Mr Calthorpe, who died in February at the age of 97, was a former police sergeant and one of the people behind Crimestoppers which was first set up in Great Yarmouth in 1983. 

His daughter Tricia Miles-Crust said: "He had always wanted to be at the celebration in person, and the best we could do was a life-size cutout." 

Cardboard cutout of John Calthorpe with his daughter Tricia Miles-Crust. (Image: Supplied by family)

Mr Calthorpe was born on August 6, 1923 in Southtown in Great Yarmouth. 

He attended Edward Worlledge School and then Great Yarmouth Grammar School. 

In 1942, during the Second World War, he had his appendix taken out – and when the call-up came for military service, he was enlisted in the Home Guard. 

After the war, he did various apprenticeships before joining the police, a job which saw him oversee some of the emergency response to the devastating East Coast floods of January 1953. 

He also met his future wife, May, in the early 1950s, and was later promoted to police sergeant. 

Those were the heydays of Great Yarmouth's tourism industry. Sometimes, when all the B&Bs and hotels were already fully booked, and holidaymakers couldn’t find anywhere to stay, they would go to the police station to ask about accommodation. 

Some of those visitors ended up staying in Mr Calthorpe's family home after a quick phone call back to his wife. 

When he retired as sergeant, he remained with the police in a civil role and was part of the team which launched the first ever Crimestoppers service in the UK. 

Blue plaque commemorating the launch of Crimestoppers in Great Yarmouth in 1983. (Image: Archant library)

The crime detection scheme was set up in June 1983 by Det Ch Insp Michael Cole of Norfolk Police and Jim Carter, manager of the town’s Woolworths. 

Mr Calthorpe would call local businesses to raise money for the service and also helped to set up the computer system.   

"He really enjoyed the job,” Ms Miles-Crust said. "He was always very proud of Crimestoppers, because it was successful.” 

After Mr Calthorpe retired, he enjoyed playing lawn bowls in Gorleston and whist with his wife. 

He also travelled as much as he could and his last trip was to South Africa when he was in his early 90s. 

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He baked cakes up until his last year and would call his granddaughter for advice about recipes. 

Ms Miles-Crust said that her father was generous, family-oriented and very chatty. 

"He would have enjoyed his celebration of life. He really liked meeting new people and liked being around family,” she said.  

The celebration saw 45 people including family, friends and some local police officers gather at Maudes Bar in the Pier Hotel. 

They then scattered his ashes on Gorleston seashore. 

Residents of Cobholm, Great Yarmouth outside F.W. Hayhow Stores during the 1953 floods. (Image: Archant)

MEMORIES OF THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1953 

In unpublished memoirs, Mr Calthorpe wrote about his experience during the Great Floods of 1953. 

He was enjoying a weekend off when the flooding started but as soon as he learned of it the next morning, he went to one of the worst-hit districts, low-lying Lichfield and Cobholm. 

He was wearing “civvies” because when he left home, he was unaware that the scale of the problem meant he would become heavily involved.  

Despite not being in uniform, he commandeered boating lake rowing boats from Gorleston, and council lorries carted them to Southtown. 

Over the following days, he helped evacuate hundreds of people from their homes. 

“I found my work during this disaster one of the most rewarding periods of my career,” he wrote.  

“The public and all the services I came into contact with were wonderfully co-operative. People only wanted organising and they would do anything to help.”