Joseph Simpson
Encyclopedia
Sir Joseph Simpson KBE
KPFSM (26 June 1909 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Joe Simpson to his men, was Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
, the head of the London Metropolitan Police
, from 1958 to 1968. He was the first Commissioner who began his police career as an ordinary Constable
.
in Shropshire
and educated at Ashdown House
and Oundle School
, where he was captain of rugby football
and athletics
and was Public Schools
Champion in long jump
in 1927 and 1928, when he set a public school record, and also in 440 yards
in 1928.
He then went on to Manchester University College of Technology. He represented the university at rugby
and athletics
and was World's University Champion in the 400 metre hurdles in 1930. He also played cricket
and was a good rifle
shot (as Commissioner he was a great supporter of sport in the police).
In his early sporting career he won medals and other trophies with The London Athletic Club, The Birchfield Harriers and the Keswick Athletic Club; while in Lincoln and later as Chief Constable of Surrey, he was an active member and medal-winner of Lincoln County Rifle Club, The Surrey County Small Bore Rifle Association, Affiliated Rifle Association, and the National Short Range Rifle League (defunct), based at Bisley
and elsewhere.
industry for a short period he joined the Metropolitan Police in 1931 and was posted to "X" Division
(Wembley
), and later to "E" Division (Bow Street
). In 1934 he was selected by competitive examination to attend the first course of thirty students at Hendon Police College
, beginning the course on 10 May, and was promoted to Acting Station Inspector
on graduation at the top of his class in 1936, when he became an instructor at the college.
by Gray's Inn
. In July the same year he left the Metropolitan Police to become Assistant Chief Constable
of Lincolnshire Constabulary. In 1939 he was seconded (as Acting Inspector of Constabularies) to the Regional Commissioner's Offices for Nottinghamshire
and then for Cambridgeshire
and in 1943 was appointed Chief Constable
of Northumberland Constabulary
. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in the 1946 New Year Honours
for his services to civil defence. He transferred as Chief Constable to Surrey Constabulary later in 1946. He was awarded the King's Police and Fire Services Medal in the 1952 New Year Honours.
, in charge of traffic policing. During this appointment he visited USA and Canada, with the Transport Minister Ernest Marples
who subsequently introduced parking meters in London. On 20 January 1957 he was appointed Deputy Commissioner
, and on 1 September 1958 he became Commissioner.
ed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1959 New Year Honours.
He was elected Vice-president of The Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales (ACPO) in 1966 and President in 1967. In 1963 He was elected President of the Medico-Legal Society for two years. He was Vice-patron of the Amateur Athletic Association and Vice-president of the Middlesex RFU
.
Simpson was a fair and tolerant man, but also expected the same high standards of others that he set for himself and was a great believer in discipline. He believed in a more equal police force, where senior officers and lower ranks had a closer relationship. This was somewhat marred by the promotion of fellow Hendon graduates as Deputy Commissioner and all four Assistant Commissioners; the short-lived Hendon experiment was never popular with most officers, although actually these appointments were made by the Crown on the advice of the Home Secretary
. He strove, with some success, to improve the deteriorating relationship between the police and the public and encouraged the public to "have a go" against crime, although he did issue a warning against tackling armed criminals. He was an enthusiastic supporter of crime prevention and the use of police dog
s, and also greatly expanded the Police Cadets. He established the Obscene Publications Squad, Drugs Squad (1963), Special Patrol Group
(1961), Art Squad (1967), and Antiques and Philately Squad (1967), laid the foundations for the Scenes of Crime Branch established shortly after his death, and greatly expanded the Flying Squad
. He introduced personal radios and the Unit Beat system (1967), whereby the use of panda car
s was greatly expanded for patrol purposes. He reorganised the Metropolitan Special Constabulary
to integrate them more into the divisions. He introduced traffic warden
s and fixed penalty parking fines.
four years later at the age of 58, his early death probably brought on by stress
caused by overwork. His funeral was held with full honours at Westminster Abbey
on 29 March 1968, with all Metropolitan Police officers who were able to do so observing a one minute's silence at 11am.
On 4 June 1970 a memorial service was held in the Crypt of St Paul's Cathedral where a memorial plaque in the Chapel, comprising a profiled head in bass-relief, by John Skelton was unveiled by James Callaghan, then Home Secretary.
back to the uniformed branch. Some inaccurate press reports say he was dismissed but his BSAP Record of Service rates his conduct as having been 'very good'. Mark Simpson then served briefly in the Rhodesian Army and the Department of Internal Affairs from which he resigned in 1964 because of imminent political change (UDI
). He later served for thirty-one years in the Hong Kong Police/Royal Hong Kong Police. The younger son, Ben, was appointed JP for Gloucestershire in 1971, later transferring to Oxfordshire; he was appointed a Magistrate Member of Thames Valley Police Authority in 1991 and re-appointed as an Independent Member in October 2008. Ben Simpson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year Honours 2010 for services to the community in Oxford.
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...
KPFSM (26 June 1909 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Joe Simpson to his men, was Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
, the head of the London 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...
, from 1958 to 1968. He was the first Commissioner who began his police career as an ordinary Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
.
Early life, education and sporting career
Simpson was born in DawleyDawley
Dawley is a small town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. Today it forms part of the new town of Telford...
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and educated at Ashdown House
Ashdown House, East Sussex
Ashdown House is a mixed independent preparatory school in Forest Row, East Sussex. There are currently 169 pupils from the ages seven to thirteen, currently comprising around 110 boys and 59 girls.-Headmaster:...
and Oundle School
Oundle School
Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...
, where he was captain of rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
and was Public Schools
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
Champion in long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
in 1927 and 1928, when he set a public school record, and also in 440 yards
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
in 1928.
He then went on to Manchester University College of Technology. He represented the university at rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
and was World's University Champion in the 400 metre hurdles in 1930. He also played cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and was a good rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
shot (as Commissioner he was a great supporter of sport in the police).
In his early sporting career he won medals and other trophies with The London Athletic Club, The Birchfield Harriers and the Keswick Athletic Club; while in Lincoln and later as Chief Constable of Surrey, he was an active member and medal-winner of Lincoln County Rifle Club, The Surrey County Small Bore Rifle Association, Affiliated Rifle Association, and the National Short Range Rifle League (defunct), based at Bisley
Bisley
-Places:* Two villages in the United Kingdom:**Bisley, Surrey**Bisley, Gloucestershire*Bisley Ranges is near the Surrey village and is the headquarters of the National Rifle Association, UK -Others:...
and elsewhere.
Early police career
After working in the cottonCotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
industry for a short period he joined the Metropolitan Police in 1931 and was posted to "X" Division
Police division
A division was the usual term for the largest territorial subdivision of most British police forces. In major reforms of police organisation in the 1990s divisions of many forces were restructured and retitled Basic Command Units , although some forces continue to refer to them as divisions.The...
(Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
), and later to "E" Division (Bow Street
Bow Street
Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It features as one of the streets on the standard London Monopoly board....
). In 1934 he was selected by competitive examination to attend the first course of thirty students at Hendon Police College
Hendon Police College
Hendon Police College is the principal training centre for London's Metropolitan Police Service. Founded with the official name of the Metropolitan Police College, the college is today officially called the Peel Centre, although its original name is still used frequently...
, beginning the course on 10 May, and was promoted to Acting Station Inspector
Station Inspector
Station Inspector is the third highest non-commissioned officer rank in the Singapore Police Force, below that of Senior Station Inspector....
on graduation at the top of his class in 1936, when he became an instructor at the college.
Provincial police career
In 1937, Simpson was called to the BarBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
by Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
. In July the same year he left the Metropolitan Police to become Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant chief constable is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and...
of Lincolnshire Constabulary. In 1939 he was seconded (as Acting Inspector of Constabularies) to the Regional Commissioner's Offices for Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and then for Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
and in 1943 was appointed Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
of Northumberland Constabulary
Northumberland Constabulary
Northumberland Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Northumberland, England, until 1974.Northumberland Constabulary absorbed Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Police in 1921 and Newcastle upon Tyne City Police and Tynemouth Borough Police in the late 1960s, more than doubling...
. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
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...
(OBE) in the 1946 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
for his services to civil defence. He transferred as Chief Constable to Surrey Constabulary later in 1946. He was awarded the King's Police and Fire Services Medal in the 1952 New Year Honours.
Return to the Metropolitan Police
On 1 March 1956, Simpson rejoined the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner "B"Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, usually just Assistant Commissioner , is the third highest rank in London's Metropolitan Police, ranking below Deputy Commissioner and above Deputy Assistant Commissioner. There are usually four officers in the rank...
, in charge of traffic policing. During this appointment he visited USA and Canada, with the Transport Minister Ernest Marples
Ernest Marples
Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General and Minister of Transport. After his retirement from active politics in 1974 Marples was elevated to the peerage...
who subsequently introduced parking meters in London. On 20 January 1957 he was appointed Deputy Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, commonly referred to simply as the Deputy Commissioner, is the second-in-command of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The rank is senior to Assistant Commissioner, but junior by one rank to Commissioner...
, and on 1 September 1958 he became Commissioner.
Commissioner
He was knightKnight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1959 New Year Honours.
He was elected Vice-president of The Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales (ACPO) in 1966 and President in 1967. In 1963 He was elected President of the Medico-Legal Society for two years. He was Vice-patron of the Amateur Athletic Association and Vice-president of the Middlesex RFU
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
.
Simpson was a fair and tolerant man, but also expected the same high standards of others that he set for himself and was a great believer in discipline. He believed in a more equal police force, where senior officers and lower ranks had a closer relationship. This was somewhat marred by the promotion of fellow Hendon graduates as Deputy Commissioner and all four Assistant Commissioners; the short-lived Hendon experiment was never popular with most officers, although actually these appointments were made by the Crown on the advice of the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. He strove, with some success, to improve the deteriorating relationship between the police and the public and encouraged the public to "have a go" against crime, although he did issue a warning against tackling armed criminals. He was an enthusiastic supporter of crime prevention and the use of police dog
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
s, and also greatly expanded the Police Cadets. He established the Obscene Publications Squad, Drugs Squad (1963), Special Patrol Group
Special Patrol Group
The Special Patrol Group was a unit of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for providing a centrally-based mobile capability for combating serious public disorder and crime that could not be dealt with by local divisions....
(1961), Art Squad (1967), and Antiques and Philately Squad (1967), laid the foundations for the Scenes of Crime Branch established shortly after his death, and greatly expanded the Flying Squad
Flying Squad
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Specialist Crime Directorate, within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Squad's purpose is to investigate commercial armed robberies, along with the prevention and investigation of other serious armed crime...
. He introduced personal radios and the Unit Beat system (1967), whereby the use of panda car
Panda car
The phrase panda car refers to a small or medium-sized police car operated by British police forces. They are used for ordinary patrol work, with larger and more powerful vehicles being used for emergency response, Road Policing Unit duties and as Armed Response Vehicles-History of the term:Panda...
s was greatly expanded for patrol purposes. He reorganised the Metropolitan Special Constabulary
Metropolitan Special Constabulary
The Metropolitan Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer police force of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service. Created nearly 180 years ago under the Special Constables Act of 1831, it currently consists of nearly 5,000 volunteer police officers...
to integrate them more into the divisions. He introduced traffic warden
Traffic warden
A traffic warden is a non-warranted officer employed by a statutory authority in jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Ireland, to assist in regulating the flow of traffic.- Ireland :...
s and fixed penalty parking fines.
Death
Simpson was expected by some to retire in 1964, but stayed in office. He died suddenly at his home in RoehamptonRoehampton
Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...
four years later at the age of 58, his early death probably brought on by stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
caused by overwork. His funeral was held with full honours at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 29 March 1968, with all Metropolitan Police officers who were able to do so observing a one minute's silence at 11am.
On 4 June 1970 a memorial service was held in the Crypt of St Paul's Cathedral where a memorial plaque in the Chapel, comprising a profiled head in bass-relief, by John Skelton was unveiled by James Callaghan, then Home Secretary.
Family
He married Elizabeth May Bowler in 1936. They had two sons, the elder of whom, Mark, served for some four years in the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); he resigned in 1963 to avoid being transferred from the Criminal Investigation DepartmentCriminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
back to the uniformed branch. Some inaccurate press reports say he was dismissed but his BSAP Record of Service rates his conduct as having been 'very good'. Mark Simpson then served briefly in the Rhodesian Army and the Department of Internal Affairs from which he resigned in 1964 because of imminent political change (UDI
UDI
UDI may refer to:* Unilateral declaration of independence, an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states** In particular, the Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence* Unidad de Inversion, Mexican currency funds unit...
). He later served for thirty-one years in the Hong Kong Police/Royal Hong Kong Police. The younger son, Ben, was appointed JP for Gloucestershire in 1971, later transferring to Oxfordshire; he was appointed a Magistrate Member of Thames Valley Police Authority in 1991 and re-appointed as an Independent Member in October 2008. Ben Simpson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year Honours 2010 for services to the community in Oxford.