Philip Douglas Knights, Baron Knights CBE

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...

 QPM

Queen's Police Medal

The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...

 (born 3 October 1920) is a retired 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.

Knights was educated in Grantham

Grantham

Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...

. He joined Lincolnshire Police

Lincolnshire Police

Lincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, which are covered by Humberside Police instead.In terms of...

 as a police cadet in 1938, becoming a constable in 1940. In the war, he served in the RAF from 1943-5. He returned to Lincolnshire, reaching the rank of Chief Superintendent

Chief Superintendent

Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces organised on the British model.- United Kingdom :In the British police, a chief superintendent is senior to a superintendent and junior to an assistant chief constable .The highest rank below Chief Officer level, chief...

 in 1957. He moved to Birmingham City Police in 1959 as Assistant Chief Constable. He became Deputy Chief Constable in 1970. In 1972 he moved to Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary as Chief Constable. In 1974, it became South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.The police force covers an area of approximately 1,554 square kilometres which is made up of the county's three boroughs , along with the City of Sheffield. The resident population is 1.2...

. From 1975-85 he was Chief Constable of West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...

. In 1983 he was criticised for not disciplining West Midlands Special Branch

Special Branch

Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...

 officers who investigated the CND

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...

 activist Madeline Haigh.

He was created a life peer in 1987, as Baron Knights of Edgbaston in the County of West Midlands. He sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. He was knighted in 1980, and gained the CBE in 1976.