“I was always just a policeman doing my job,” Mr Edwards said. 

The former sergeant in charge of Scone Police Station now counts himself as a professional grandchild sitter, in between operating his small cattle farm at Moonan Brook with his wife Donna.

When approached by The Scone Advocate to share his interesting story, the experienced and grounded man with a black and white persona, tells it how he sees it and how he feels 12 years after leaving the police force. 

Mr Edwards grew up at Beresfield and as a young fellow pursued careers as a boiler maker and truck driver before being inspired for a career change. 

At 27-years-old the young man decided to join the NSW Police Force so commenced his basic training at the Redfern Police Academy some 40 years ago now. 

Throughout his initial training the young probationary officer was sent to various stations within Sydney’s metropolitan commands including Darlinghurst and Kings Cross, which he said provided a good grounding for the career path he had decided to take. 

Mr Edwards’ path to the Upper Hunter then began to start paving, as after three years in the city he was posted to Wallsend for about nine years, before transferring to Cessnock and then Kurri Kurri before he was transferred to the Hunter 21 years ago. 

In those days Muswellbrook and Scone were still separate divisions as the Hunter Valley Local Area Command had not been established and Mr Edwards was one of about 19 police officers at Scone.

On occasions, he would also provide relief support at Moonan Flat Police Station.

Having experienced some of the worst incidents imaginable from stabbings and suicides to fatalities, murders and more, the years in the force took their toll, but it will still always be a role Mr Edwards is proud to have served within the community. 

He reflects on his time as ‘good and bad’, as he said it was not always a good position to be in. 

While he built some tremendous relationships with people and is still well known as a great man that people often call on for advice, Mr Edwards said police are open to a lot of scrutiny and criticism and in a way a policeman becomes a victim of their own profession. 

“Police officers do get a lot of recognition and they stand out from other members of a community, but throughout the 30 years I realised that a policeman is just one other part of a community,” Mr Edwards said. 

“The real heroes of the community are not the police, the real heroes are the mums and dads who get up every morning and look after their children, the milk man who gets up every morning and delivers the milk to the community, the nurses who go to work and put up with as much, if not more, than police do and the teachers who go to school every day doing a task which a lot of parents don’t even give a second thought to.”

When Mr Edwards walks down the main street of Scone he will often bump into members of the community who greet him with ‘Hi Boss’ or ‘G’day Serg’.

Some of these people may have been bailed out or supported, as Mr Edwards believes in a fair go for all as not all people who go to jail are bad people. 

Mr Edwards said he has seen some great people that have come out of jail.

He said he has three major beliefs that stand out – there are a number of really good police out there who receive criticism from the public which they are not responsible for, not all people who go to jail are bad people and not everyone who puts on a police uniform is a good person. 

“I think the system has been unjust to a lot of police, there are a lot of honest hard working police out there, but unlike so many professions it only takes a couple of dishonest police to bring       discredit to everyone,” Mr Edwards said. 

Being the sergeant in charge on and off in Scone for about eight years, many people are fond of Mr Edwards as he is known for his old fashioned, earthy and salty personality and he received many commendations for his duties throughout his career. 

After retiring from the force, Mr Edwards took on a fill in temporary role for Barry Lymbery at his service station on the outskirts of Scone (now Scone Auto Port), which turned into a five year position which he really enjoyed. 

For the past eight years, the father and grandfather has been working for the National Parks and Wildlife Service carrying out three month stints of maintenance and dog baiting in the parks around the region. 

Since moving to the Upper Hunter, he has also been a volunteer on the Moonan brigade of the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Mr Edwards said he still has a lot of people come to him for advice and while he is no longer a police man he said he can give advice but can’t do any more. 

“I don’t mind at all, a police officer is only as good as his community.

“The community can help the police to a massive extent without expecting any gratitude or payment,” he said.

“As a retired police officer, I can’t see why I can’t give people advice.”