Page 14 - WBG March 2025

FEATURE

RETIREMENT

By Eric Shelmerdine

Whether you like the idea of retirement and are looking forward to it or not, it does sort of sneak up
on you, and when it becomes a reality and finally hits you it may cause doubts, anxiety and future
anticipation.

Believe me, I am no expert on this subject but having retired in recent years from a fairly long career in
this profession of ours, I was asked by Siti our eminent Editor of this magazine to share my experience.
Clearly everyone’s reasons and circumstances for retiring will be different.

In my own case I was not forced to make this leap but decided to do so as the steady progression and
speed of technology advancement made me realise that I should be making way for younger smarter minds and skills.

In preparation of this article, I decided to do some research and discovered that one version the word Retire allegedly comes from the mid-
16th century French words “Re” (meaning back) and “Tirer” (meaning draw) and was originally used when giving the order to a fighting Army
to withdraw from action or danger. The word is said to have later meant when people withdraw to a place of privacy, then eventually as we
use today to withdraw from working life.

I know of some colleagues from our profession who turned to writing when they retired and kindly even sent me a copy of their work.
However, those I refer to, chose to write about their own career as an autobiography.

I have always admired those who had the skill to write and during the latter part of my work for ABI, I did produce the associations then
glossy magazine which was mailed to members. I encouraged members to send in their own articles and stories and if suitable would
include them. However, when there was a lack of these contributions, I found myself having to fill in and include a case of my own if I thought
it would be of interest or amusing.

When I thought about writing again, I didn’t want to do an autobiography and drew on my experiences growing up in Manchester as a
teenager in the early 1960s and the good times with those friends sharing their built-in humour. It was then that I decided to try to write
a fictional crime novel based in my birth city to include that humour, which after some time developed into my debut book, “The Unlikely
Evidence Men” published in April 2023, and then my recent sequel novel “The Photographers Final Exposure” published in February this year.

I have been lucky and found myself in the investigation business by chance, or I could even
say by necessity when I was in my early 20s and eventually worked alongside a retired Detective
Sergeant from the local Police Force, then after his retirement taking over the business and
developing the agency, but maybe that story is for another time. I have also been lucky that my
family became an important part of our Detective Agency and as those who know us will attest,
they have always played a supportive role in our membership of The ABI,
WAD and the other European associations we have been members of,
especially my wife Ann, who worked tirelessly at all our conferences and
conventions wherever they were held.

So, if/when retirement does happen to you, and you find yourself sat at home
and suddenly a new person moves into your immediate neighbourhood, don’t
be surprised when you wonder who they might be and what they might do,
when you see what time they leave home each morning and what time they
arrive back home. You note what kind of car they drive and what kind of clothes
he or she wears in case this gives you a clue as to what they do and who they
might be, don’t worry, that will be quite natural.

Good luck.
Eric

Eric Shelmerdine, at the ABI Conference, was presented the highly prestigious Peter
Heims Life-Time Achievement Award 2025, in recognition for maintaining high standards
within ABI and the wider investigation ‘family’ over many years. Congratulations Eric!
12 W.A.D Beyond Global