You served us well

Liz Herbert

THE long-serving personal assistant to Oldham’s police chiefs is leaving Greater Manchester Police tomorrow after almost half-a-century of service.

Elizabeth Hibbert MBE has worked for seven of the borough’s chief superintendents over the past 44 years.

She helped out during many large-scale operations in the borough from the 2001 riots to the miners’ strike of the 1980s. Now she is set to say a fond farewell to the force, ending her run as the longest-serving employee at GMP.

The 63-year-old, from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, joined Oldham Borough Police, which later became Greater Manchester Police, as a shorthand typist with the prosecutions office on November 1, 1967. She became secretary for the head of division 23 years ago, a job which has merged into her current personal assistant role.

Mrs Hibbert has worked for seven chief superintendents, from Walter Elder to current police boss Tim Forber, and is proud to have only taken a fortnight off in sick leave during her 44 years.

Mrs Hibbert, who was awarded the MBE in 2004, said: “When I first started, there were only 13 police staff members compared with over 100 now.

“I started on an ordinary typewriter, then moved to an electric version and now it’s all on computer.

“Over the years I’ve done lots of different things such as being seconded out to the murder teams and note-taking at Wakefield Crown Court during the miners’ strike.

“I also answered calls from all over the world during the Oldham riots and helped make sure we had enough officers on the streets at the time.”

After years of dedicated service, Mrs Hibbert has decided to take voluntary redundancy as part of the current GMP shake-up.

Both she and her husband David plan to visit former Oldham Chief Superintendent David Baines in the Cayman Islands where he is currently the Commissioner of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

But she won’t be leaving the police entirely as the pair will become volunteers with the incident team at West Yorkshire Police.

They also plan to fundraise for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield.

Mrs Hibbert said: “I’m finding leaving very hard as I’ve had some great times.

“Being with GMP has been like a family, and I’ve loved being a part of it.

“The current changes are affecting a lot of staff but given time, I’m sure that everything will settle down and that GMP will continue as it was.”

Oldham Chief Superintendent Tim Forber paid tribute to Mrs Hibbert.

He said: “Liz was really helpful in providing me with support as a new member of GMP and being new to the town of Oldham.

“She has superb organisational skills and a long and distinguished history in Oldham, and her service was recognised when she was awarded an MBE in 2004.

“Everybody knows her and her office is a real focal point in the station.

“She’s a much-loved member of staff and will be very much missed.”