
From becoming the first unmarried police officer to manage a country station to leading protection of the Queen, this Carlisle woman certainly has a story or two to tell.
Born in Whitehaven, Dorothy Dugdale moved to Penrith aged 19 to join Cumbria police, where she spent three decades serving her local communities.
When she joined the force in 1983, she became the first unmarried police officer to be managing a county station, these were single manned police stations with a house attached and usually located in a village or small town and covered a rural area including smaller surrounding villages and hamlets.
She was also one of the two first female officers to be given a rural police station, prior to that these were only given to married male officers. The other woman was married.
During her career in the force, she was privy to extraordinary opportunities, such as being the close protection officer for the likes of HM the Queen, HRH Prince Phillip, as well as other members of The Royal Family and dignitaries during their visits to Cumbria.
It was several years into her career as a detective that Dorothy decided to focus on helping soothe the families left behind following the crimes that she was working to solve. Becoming a family liaison officer, Dorothy’s final years in the police force were spent dealing with the loved ones of murder or manslaughter victims. By the time her 30th anniversary as a police officer came about, dealing with the bereaved felt like second nature.
“Working with the deceased and their families held no fear for me. As a police officer, I’ve attended numerous sudden death scenes, and have learnt how to help families deal with their overwhelming grief of losing a loved one”, Dorothy said.
Police career ended
It was in 2013 that she decided to conclude her policing career after 30 years in the force, opting for a role in funeral care. Reflecting on the career change, Dorothy said: “Initially, I thought I’d permanently retire after my career as a detective, but I’ve always been a busy bee who never settled for the typical nine-to-five jobs.
“My focus has always been on protecting and looking after the victims, rather than only trying to catch the ‘bad guys’, so when a part-time role in funeral care popped up, it felt like I had the exact skills they needed.”
Since joining Co-op Funeralcare in Carlisle as an administration arranger, back in 2014, Dorothy was quick to climb up the ladder and become the funeral service manager for her region in only a few years.
Looking after nine funeral homes across the Cumbria region, Dorothy takes pride in helping families in her local community remember their loved ones not by how they were when they passed away, rather by what they were like in life.
For example, one of the more memorable funeral services she’s helped organised was for an 88-year-old motorcycle fanatic who would visit the Isle of Man TT races every year alongside her husband.
Celebrating her love for the races, Dorothy suggested to the bereaved husband that her coffin could be personalised to showcase some of the best photographs the couple had taken during their many trips spent enjoying the excitement of the races.
“It meant so much for the husband to not only be able to honour her one last time, but to also truly celebrate the things that brought joy to the both of them during their lives together,” said Dorothy.
“We were also able to personalise the order of service to include additional images they’d taken during holidays to the Isle of Man and a special poem to celebrate their love of the event, making the booklet a really valuable keepsake, rather than something that would eventually be thrown out.”
Dorothy noted that the rewarding nature of her job in funeral care is what keeps her going. Although not regretful of the path she had chosen at 19, she now hopes to reach out to more young people and show them what the funeral sector is all about.
“You may think it’s a sombre line of work, but in reality, it’s all about good communication, strong people skills, and lots of empathy. We treat the families in our care the same way we’d want our loved ones to be treated, and the satisfaction you get from helping them through their bereavement is unmatched,” Dorothy added.