At the time of these photographs, cadets throughout Britain progressed to being sworn-in as constables as soon as they reached the age of 19. Shortly afterwards, in what proved to be one of many subsequent government cutbacks and cost-cutting exercises over the next few decades, the minimum age for constables was reduced to 18.5 years.
During the 2-3 years of a typical cadetship, the young person concerned would attend college – in our case the College of Commerce that was only 100 yards from the police headquarters building – and would also be placed on six-month attachments to various departments or divisions within the police, not only to learn about the specific work there but also, of course, to do all the tea-making! 🙂
In both of the above photographs, the main building in the background was the police headquarters at Queens Gardens, Hull, but the last I heard, a few years ago, it was due for imminent demolition.
In 1974, Cadet Wren — nowadays alias ‘Steve Shearwater’, the author of the Cumbria Police Novels — transferred back to his home county of Cumbria, and to use the relevant jargon, “got his numbers up” as a constable.