BARBARA STOCKER of Shirley, Southampton, just could not believe her eyes when she turned to a recent Hampshire Heritage feature on Southampton as it was back in the 1930s.

"There was a photograph of my dad, I knew it was as soon as I saw the picture,'' said Barbara, whose late father, George Stocker was one of Southampton best known local policeman.

A member of the old Southampton Borough Force, George joined the police when constables pounded a regular beat, they were a familiar and well known face in the community and when point duty was an important part of the job.

"Dad was on point duty the day I was born and someone had to tell him that he had a baby girl,'' said Barbara, who previously worked for Toogood's the former Southampton seed merchants that had their headquarters in Millbrook.

George Stocker was fully committed to his job and during his career he was awarded a total of five commendations for his actions as a policeman.

According to Barbara her father joined the force in July 1927 at the age of 25 and was based at the police station that was once next door to the Bargate in the middle of Southampton.

"It was during the Second World War that he rescued a family from the rubble after an enemy bombing raid in 1940,'' said Barbara.

"He was given the King's Commendation, equivalent of being Mention in Dispatches, which meant he could wear an oak leaf on his war medal. At that time my grandmother ran the Black Horse public house in Church Street, Shirley, and I can remember my dad coming home covered in dirt where he had been working in the debris after the bombing.''

Later in his career George, who died in 1995 at the age of 93, moved on to the police cars before he retired after 28 years in the force. Afterwards he became the landlord of Sam's Hotel.