Pioneer officer Violet was PW1
UGC for Lynn News
YESTERDAY saw the funeral at Lynn of 90-year-old Violet Swaine, who was the town’s first policewoman.
Throughout her 25-year career in the police force she was known as PW1, and she also became the first woman sergeant in the Norfolk Constabulary.
Mrs Swaine joined the former Lynn Borough Police as a uniform constable in August 1946. At that time, the police station for the 26-strong force was situated beside Lynn Town Hall.
After two years’ service, she became a detective constable for nine years and was on duty at the time of the 1953 flood when rising water caused the fuse boxes in the police station to blow.
After being carried out of the flooded station by two police sergeants, she went to a nearby butcher’s shop to phone the fire brigade and later helped with rescue work in the badly-hit South Lynn area.
In 1958, Mrs Swaine was promoted to sergeant, in charge of nine women officers in various towns across the county, after the Lynn force had been absorbed into Norfolk Constabulary. She continued holding the highest women’s rank until 1967.
By the time she retired in August 1971, through ill health, she had received 19 commendations from magistrates and chief constables.
Mrs Swaine was born at Lowestoft and educated in that area.
After leaving school, she was an apprentice with a grocery chain store and during World War II, as managers were called up for military service, she was manageress of all 15 of its branches in East Anglia, finally settling at Lynn.
She married Douglas Swaine, a British Transport Commission police officer, in 1964. He died in July 1999.
The couple went to Norfolk House in County Court Road, Lynn, in 1991 and she stayed there until moving to a care home in Mundesley a couple of years ago to be near her niece and nephew, Christine Amis and David Broom.
Mrs Swaine, a devout Methodist, was a regular worshipper at the church in London Road, Lynn, where yesterday’s funeral service took place.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Saturday 26 May 2012
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