Book review: What’s Tha Up To?: Memories of a Yorkshire Bobby by Martyn Johnson

But in these days of endless rules and regulations, former Sheffield bobby Martin Johnson and his colleagues would not even have qualified to join a modern police force.

In the 1960s and 1970s when Johnson was patrolling his patch in the poverty-ridden streets of the city’s East End, wages were low, there was no paid overtime and the job was more of a vocation than a profession... but to a man, the bobbies were totally dedicated.

As Johnson observes in his eye-opening, warm and funny memoir of policing in a bygone age, ‘There was no political correctness. We just applied common sense and got on with the job.’

This could mean squaring up to local lads spoiling for a fight and giving as good as they got, turning a blind eye to thefts that were ‘for need’ rather than ‘for greed’ or enjoying a free glass of beer at the local pub.

No two days were ever the same for Johnson who joined the police after working for a few years as a blacksmith because all he ever wanted was to be on the beat, ‘working with people, not against them.’

Come rain or come shine, he patrolled his patch with a sharp eye for troublemakers and a kind word for those in need of a friend.