Very popular in its day but largely forgotten now, before George Dixon the first popular beat officer that the nation regularly tuned in for was the ex-Public School, Hendon trained Police Constable Archibald Berkeley-Willoughby, P.C. 49, known as Archie to his friends, and Fortynine to his superiors, in the BBC Light Programme's light comedy-thriller The Adventures of P.C. 49.
P.C. 49 (played by Brian Reece) pounds the beat for Q Division of the Metropolitan Police, getting involved in solving cases in the hope of getting a job with the plain clothes division, much to the chagrin of the detectives, Detective Inspector Wilson (played by Leslie Perrins) and Detective Sergeant Wright (played by Eric Phillips). Fortynine was often assisted by his girlfriend (later wife) Joan Carr (played by Joy Shelton).
Like most comedies and light pieces of its time it had it’s catchphrases; Fortynine was prone to exclaiming “Oh my Sunday helmet” when things went wrong and Sergeant Wright would shout "Out you go, Fortynine!" after Archie had said something to annoy the detectives to which Fortynine would usually respond "Yes Sarge! Good morning all!" Joan Carr refers to her boyfriend as her "copper boy."
