Sir William Benjamin Gentle (1865 – September 2, 1948) was known for his work in fighting racecourse crime and was jointly responsible for promoting greyhound racing

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....

 in the United Kingdom.

He entered the Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...

 in 1882, aged 17. One year later he went to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 and served in the Cape Mounted Rifles for three years. When he returned to England in 1887 he joined the 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...

. Ten years later he moved to Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 and became 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 Brighton in 1901. He held the post for 19 years and became well known for his work in combating race course gangs. He was knighted Sir William Gentle for his work in 1916.

He retired to Thetford

Thetford

Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...

 in Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, where he was four times mayor and in 1938 was High Sheriff of Norfolk

High Sheriff of Norfolk

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Norfolk. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county and presided at the Assizes and other important county meetings...

.

During his retirement he worked alongside Brigadier Alfred Critchley

Alfred Critchley

Brigadier-General Alfred Cecil Critchley, CMG, CBE, DSO was an entrepreneur and politician in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1934 to 1935....

 to form the Greyhound Racing Association

Greyhound Racing Association

The Greyhound Racing Association is a private company involved in the management of sports venues.It currently operates five sites:*Oxford Stadium*Wimbledon Stadium, London*Hall Green Stadium, Birmingham*Perry Barr Stadium, Birmingham...

 (GRA), which introduced greyhound racing to the UK. He was the first chairman of the GRA. He was also chairman of the Belle Vue Zoo

Belle Vue Zoo

Belle Vue Zoological Gardens was a large zoo, amusement park, exhibition hall complex and speedway stadium in Belle Vue , Manchester, England, opened in 1836...

 in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 from 1925 to 1928.

Gentle was married and had two sons. His wife died in 1941. His son Frank Gentle was also a director of the GRA and went on to manage the GRA's Harringay Stadium

Harringay Stadium

Harringay Stadium was a major greyhound racing and speedway venue in Harringay, North London. It was built and opened in 1927 and closed in 1987.-Construction:...

.

He died leaving an estate valued at £460,950.