Barbara Kelley
Encyclopedia
Barbara Lilian Kelley MBE
(26 August 1920 – 2 March 1998) was a British
police
officer with the London
Metropolitan Police
. She was the first woman in the country to be promoted to the rank of Detective Chief Superintendent.
Kelley was born in Bridgwater
, Somerset
. She enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
(WAAF) on 6 June 1940 and was discharged with the rank of Sergeant
on 17 January 1946. She was Mentioned in Despatches on 8 August 1944.
She joined the Metropolitan Police on 2 December 1946. In the late 1940s, she served as a Detective Constable at West End Central Police Station with Shirley Becke
, later to become the first female Commander
in the Metropolitan Police. The two officers persuaded their Divisional Detective Inspector
to allow them to serve on all cases instead of the limited range of cases (mainly involving women and children) to which women detectives had previously been restricted. This paved the way to full integration of female detectives. By 1972 Kelley had reached the rank of Chief Superintendent and was serving in the Murder Squad at Scotland Yard
.
Kelley was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours. She retired in August 1975.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(26 August 1920 – 2 March 1998) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officer with the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
. She was the first woman in the country to be promoted to the rank of Detective Chief Superintendent.
Kelley was born in Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. She enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
(WAAF) on 6 June 1940 and was discharged with the rank of Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
on 17 January 1946. She was Mentioned in Despatches on 8 August 1944.
She joined the Metropolitan Police on 2 December 1946. In the late 1940s, she served as a Detective Constable at West End Central Police Station with Shirley Becke
Shirley Becke
Shirley Cameron Becke OBE QPM , née Jennings, was a British police officer. She was the fourth and last commander of the London Metropolitan Police's A4 Branch , from 1966 to 1973, and the first woman officer in the United Kingdom to reach Chief Officer rank when she was promoted to Commander in...
, later to become the first female Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
in the Metropolitan Police. The two officers persuaded their Divisional Detective Inspector
Divisional Detective Inspector
Divisional detective inspector , also known as first class detective inspector, was a rank in the Criminal Investigation Department of London's Metropolitan Police, equivalent to sub-divisional inspector in the uniformed branch...
to allow them to serve on all cases instead of the limited range of cases (mainly involving women and children) to which women detectives had previously been restricted. This paved the way to full integration of female detectives. By 1972 Kelley had reached the rank of Chief Superintendent and was serving in the Murder Squad at Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
.
Kelley was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours. She retired in August 1975.