Ashley Brown and Ashley Waterhouse (curator of the Derby Police Museum in the U.K.) holding a Derby CT police patch.
Second Ward Alderman Art Gerckens spent a few weeks visiting family members in England and Scotland, and while it was a family trip, he didn’t forget about his hometown.
They spent the first week visiting Scotland before going on to London, he said. But first they made a stop in Derby, England — the city after which Derby, CT was named.
It was a seven-hour side trip, Gerckens said, but one he was determined to make.
“One thing I insisted on was that we detour to visit our sister city,” he said.
To prepare for the stop, he had contacted Randy Ritter, the scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 3 in Derby who led the troop on their own trip to Derby, England two years ago.
Ritter hooked him up with Richard Felix, a Derby, England historian who arranged for a tour of the the town’s jail, known as the Derby Gaol led by the entertaining Peter Bingham.
The jail, which is centuries old, is now a museum open for tours.
They spent about three hours taking in the sights, and in the museum they saw the police patch that had been given to them by the Derby, CT Police Department.
Seeing that patch gave the museum’s curator, Ashley Waterhouse, an idea, Gerckens said.
“They presented me with a Derbyshire Constabulary badge to take back to our police department,” he said.
A Derbyshire police badge given to the Derby Police Department via Second Ward Alderman Art Gerkens.
Earlier this month Gerckens and Mayor Anita Dugatto handed it over to Police Chief Gerald Narowski during the regular meeting of the Police Commission.
Gerckens said he was especially struck by the inscription on the badge — “Vis Unita Fortior,” which is Latin for “United Strength is Stronger.”
“These words are as true today as in years gone by — we are stronger when we work together,” Gerckens said.
The Alderman thanked the following folks for their assistance, in addition to the people mentioned above: Jo Cooke, Ashley Waterhouse, Ashley Brown, Richard Felix and Peter Bingham.
Derby government officials with the badge they received from England.
