Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.
You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
On Thursday, we celebrated the 100th birthday of former police sergeant, Howard Arthur, at Pontardawe police station.
Howard, from Clydach Vale, joined the force in April 1952 and served the communities of Neath, Resolven, Pontardulais, and Upper Killay. He remembers riding his bicycle from farm to farm each month to sign the cattle movement books.
![]() |
![]() |
After his promotion to sergeant in 1968, Howard moved into Pontardawe police station with his family, where he remained until his retirement in 1980. Today, he returned to his former patch with his two sons, Wynford and John, to celebrate his centenary and share his secrets of staying young.
ACC Joanna Maal spoke at the event and presented Howard with a special gift on behalf of the force.
She said:
“It was so good to meet Howard today on his old patch at Pontardawe and hear him recall his memories of serving communities across the western part of our force.
“Howard is an inspiration, and his experiences allow us to understand just how different policing is today compared to how it was when he walked the beat.”