Interested in other Suffolk Firefighter tales then check out “The Suffolk Hyde Affair” athttp://thesuffolkhydeaffair.blogspot.com/
7th August 1998
Following 2 days leave X returned to normal duty in the Brigade Training Department at 09.00 hours.
At about 09.10 hours X was about to register his attendance in the attendance sheet as normal routine. X found that the attendance sheet was missing from its normal location in the Department office.
X made his way along the 1st floor corridor to the office of ADO Paul Hayden to ask if he had seen it. He replied ‘Yes it is in my possession.’ He further added that he would issue a substitute. T/ADO Saward was present in the office at the time.
X made his way back to the instructors office and noted that his memo’s requesting leave for 5th and 6th August were missing from Station Officer Jim’s office where he had been instructed to place them by ADO Paul Hayden on 4th August 1998.
At approx 1200 hours ADO Paul Hayden came into the instructors office and told X to come with him to his office. In response X asked why he wanted him to go to his office. ADO Paul Hayden’s response was ‘it’s a surprise, follow me and you will find out.’
Entering ADO Paul Hayden’s office it was found that DO Colin Hodge was present and immediately with some hostility confronted X.
X told both immediately that he was uncomfortable in their presence and requested a union representative should be present before any other interaction took place. That provoked an aggressive “Fuck off” from DO Colin Hodge. He then said ‘is there one on station.’
X answered ‘No.’
To which DO Colin Hodge then erupted loudly with ‘well seems you will have to do without one as I sure ain’t gonna wait for one to arrive.’
DO Colin Hodge continued and offered X a brown enveloped adressed to him and marked PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL and ordered him to open it.
X said he would not in the presence of DO Hodge and ADO Hayden without union representation. Whereupon the wildman eyed DO Colin Hodge ripped the envelope open and orated it contents to X. To this was post scripted an order from the wild-eyed DO Colin Hodge that X should sign a confirmatory receipt.
At that point X withdrew from ADO Paul Hayden’s office with the so called Private and Confidential letter still held in DO Colin Hodge’s leathery hands ( He sustained bad burns at Haleys Lowestoft some years earlier – hence the skin of a Leather-backed Turtle).
With X walking down the corridor back to the Instructors office he turned round to see that DO Hodge had by now reacted and was chasing him, complete with yelling like a banshee, down the 1st floor corridor. Following on behind calling ‘Colin, Colin, Colin stop, calm down, don’t do anything silly ’ was ADO Paul Hayden. At the end of the corridor X zipped down the staircase and away from DO Colin Hodge who had presumably by now been restrained from inflicting physical violence on X by ADO Paul Hayden.
X then proceeded to book sick with the Duty Lowestoft Station Sub Officer Roy Mitchell. Reason being acute severe stress resulting from the altercation orchestrated by DO Colin Hodge.
