Ivan Crandon, former chairman of the Police Service Commission, president of the Guyana Legion and a military veteran of World War II, died on 27 September, aged 80.
Ivan Theophilus Crandon spent nearly half of his long life clothed in either a soldier’s khaki or a policeman’s navy blue uniform. Even after retirement, his public service continued in the Guyana Legion and as a member of the Police Service Commission.
Ivan Crandon’s attraction to uniformed service began when, just 16 years and nine months old, he enlisted as an infantryman in the British Guiana Garrison on 27 January 1943. Nevertheless, he was good enough to be adjudged the best recruit on his initial infantry training course. He served briefly at Mackenzie in upper Demerara where his unit provided security for boats which were transporting bauxite, then a strategic mineral in the allied war effort, to Trinidad.
As the war worsened for the allies, the United Kingdom cobbled together military units from its far-flung empire. With other Guianese volunteers, Ivan Crandon then travelled to Trinidad where the South Caribbean Force was being assembled and then to Jamaica to join the North Caribbean Force where the two combined to form the 1st Battalion of the Caribbean Regiment. Then it was on to Virginia, USA, for further battlefield training and equipping before travelling in a trans-Atlantic convoy to Italy.
Ivan Crandon served in Italy and North Africa as a corporal in the regiment’s intelligence unit (1944 -1946). At the end of the war, he returned home, serving briefly in the British Guiana Garrison before being demobilised in April 1946. After a brief spell of civilian employment, he was drawn again to uniformed service and joined the British Guiana Police Force as a constable on 15 September 1949.
As a policeman, he first worked in the commissioner’s Office as a clerical assis-tant and also as secretary to commander, Joint Forces, in Berbice, during the 1953 state of emergency. He improved his clerical qualifications by attending courses in accountancy, shorthand and typing but quickly discovered that these, together with his military service in the intelligence unit, contributed to stereotyping him as an office worker. He had reached the rank of corporal in 1954 but he sensed that his career was in danger of stagnating.
He broke the mould with his appointment as station sergeant at Mahaicony police station. In a comical but typical incident, he tried to overcome his unfamiliarity with rural police procedure by appearing on the premises in plain clothes without disclosing his identity to the subordinate officer on duty. He simply sat and observed how the station was being run.
This attitude helped to accelerate his career. A sergeant in 1956, he became an inspector in 1960 and was ‘gazetted’ as assistant superintendent 1966. After independence, he continued to rise through the ranks of superintendent, assistant commissioner and, eventually, deputy commissioner. During his service, he held several appointments including commander of the Tactical Service Unit and several rural divisions, until he retired as deputy commissioner responsible for operations in 1982.
In his twenty-five years of retirement, Ivan Crandon continued to be active in both private enterprise and public service. He acquired a small farm at Perseverance in the Mahaica-Berbice Region which helped to finance his children’s professional education overseas. He also found time to serve as president of the Guyana Legion and chairman of the Public Service Commission.
Born on 13 May 1927, Ivan Crandon attended St Phillip’s Primary School and Enterprise and Washington High Schools in Georgetown. His professional training was completed at the Scottish Police College, in the UK. He also attended a Senior Police Administration and Com-mand Training Course on which he received specialised instruction in riot control and counter-insurgency operations, in the USA.
For his military service, he was awarded the 1939-45 War Medal, Defence Medal and Star of Italy medal. For his police service, he was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for Meritorious Service; Guyana Independence Medal and the Disciplined Services Medal. He also received awards from the Canadian Legion for service to the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League and from the Guyana Legion on the occasion of their 75 Anniversary.
A man of unquestioned patriotism and professionalism, Ivan Theophilus Crandon set standards of performance which present day policemen would do well to emulate.
