A photo of Sergeant Harry Darbyshire - founder of Surrey Police's Dog School - has been released from the archives by the Commissioner to mark the 175th anniversary of Surrey Police.
Taken in 1949, the picture shows Darbyshire with Peter - the first ever Doberman at the dog unit.
It was Chief Constable Joseph Simpson who was interested in having dogs involved in police work, following the Second World War.
Simpson contacted a well-known dog trainer from the Met Police, DC Harry Darbyshire, who owned a captured German war dog that had a strong track record at working dog trials.
DC Darbyshire was offered a transfer to Surrey Constabulary to set up a dog unit in late 1947 and they were ready to attend their first incident in February 1948.
Early positive results at the dog unit led to its expansion with new officers and dogs, and a dog training school was eventually opened at Mount Browne Headquarters in Guildford in September 1950.
To this day, Surrey Police’s dog school is widely admired and provides training programmes to many forces across the country, as well as customs, prison services and private security companies.
