Tigerfish,
I do not accept that kick back. It is plain English, the days of the flying club police aviation unit are over. Past tense. Thats what he said and whether it relates to 1970 [when they started], 1980 [when a few got out of flying club mode], 1990 [when more got into reality], 2000 or more recently that statement holds good as a peice of English recalling where many units passed through at some time in their development.
Nothing to do with the rest of your post .... but as you raised the point of 'torrid times' I think a little reality needs to be inserted here. Air support today has come on in leaps and bounds and capabilities and I guess we might claim without having to bite tongues too much that the air cover is available 24/7/365.
But it isn't is it? And never was, like the perfect dog search.
It got better as time went on and more units launched but when fuel ran low on that aircraft circling you because the weather was good and they could pick you out with the SX16 you returned to 'torrid times' and got on with the job alone secure in the knowledge that it was 2155hrs and they were off duty in five..... but suddenly you needed permission to go on overtime they were never going to get...
We survived, just as we did when the rain rained and the fog drew in.... or it was Sunday....
The first part of that last paragraph is universal even today and variations of 2155hrs are not yet dead and buried. Plod on the ground enters the 'Torrid Zone' at 0255hrs most days of the week somewhere in the UK today just as much as we did in historical times!
And I can still hear the disturbing rustles and padded feet in the undergrowth in the early hours as I 'surrounded' a wood.....
OK we are mainly talking history here but so was WF