Robert Branford (police officer)

Last updated
Superintendent

Robert Branford
Born(1817-09-01)September 1, 1817
DiedAugust 14, 1869(1869-08-14) (aged 51)
NationalityBritish
OccupationPolice Officer
Employer Metropolitan Police
Spouse(s)Sarah Branford

Robert Brandford was a police officer in the Metropolitan Police in the 1800s. He is reputed to be the first black police officer in London.

Little is known about Brandford, and no photographs of him exist. He joined the Metropolitan Police on 24 September 1838, and was posted to Stone's End Police Station, near Borough High Street. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1846, and then inspector in 1851. By 1856 he was recorded as Superintendent of M Division, covering what is now Southwark. [1] Branford was also commended for his performance by a magistrate at Southwark Court. [2]

He was described, in the 1893 book "Scotland Yard, Past and Present", as “Not an educated man: but what to my idea was of much greater importance, he possessed a thorough knowledge of police matters in general. I should say he was about the only half-caste superintendent officer the Met ever had.” [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

Scotland Yard Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster, Greater London

Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing the 32 boroughs of London. Its name 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 the public entrance to the police station, and over time the street and the Metropolitan Police became synonymous. The New York Times wrote in 1964 that, just as Wall Street gave its name to New York's financial district, Scotland Yard became the name for police activity in London.

Metropolitan Police English territorial police force

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in Greater London. In addition, the Met Police is also responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom; these responsibilities include co-ordinating and leading national counter-terrorism measures and the personal safety of specific individuals, such as the Monarch and other members of the Royal Family, members of the Government, and other officials.

Brian Paddick, Baron Paddick British Liberal Democrat Politician

Brian Leonard Paddick, Baron Paddick, is a British politician and retired police officer, currently sitting in the House of Lords as a life peer. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral elections of 2008 and 2012. He was, until his retirement in May 2007, Deputy Assistant Commissioner in London's Metropolitan Police Service.

The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The squad's purpose is to investigate robberies.

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Head of Londons Metropolitan Police Service

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Stephen House took over as acting commissioner on 10 April 2022, after Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February.

Ian Blair

Ian Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, is a British retired policeman who held the position of Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest-ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1974 under a graduate scheme, and served 10 years in London. As deputy chief constable of Thames Valley Police, he handled the protests over the construction of the Newbury bypass, and then became chief constable of Surrey Police, before being appointed deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and then commissioner in January 2005. His term of office saw the mistaken shooting of an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes, which resulted in contradictory police reports, and his comments on race caused some controversy among ethnic-minority police officers.

Jack Kenneth Slipper was a Detective Chief Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police in London. He was known as "Slipper of the Yard". He was mainly known for his role in investigating the Great Train Robbery of 1963, and in tracking down Ronnie Biggs after he escaped from prison in 1965, although he had to leave Brazil without Biggs.

Cressida Dick Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in London (born 1960)

Dame Cressida Rose Dick is a British senior police officer who served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2017 to 2022. She is both the first female and first openly homosexual officer to lead the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), or the Met, in London.

Sir James William Olive KBE was Assistant Commissioner "A" of the London Metropolitan Police from 1920 to 1925. As such, he was in charge of administration and uniformed operations and was the Commissioner's deputy. From 1922, he became the first officer formally to be granted the title of Deputy Commissioner.

Sir Kenneth Leslie Newman was a senior British police officer. He was Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) from 1976 to 1980, and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1982 to 1987. He is best known for initiating a major reform and restructure of the Metropolitan Police during his tenure as Commissioner and for seeing the RUC replace the British Army as the dominant security force in Northern Ireland during his tenure as Chief Constable.

Jamshid Ali Dizaei is a former Commander in London's Metropolitan Police Service, Iranian-born with dual nationality, and formerly one of Britain's more senior Muslim police officers. Dizaei came to prominence as a result of his outspoken views on racial discrimination in the London Metropolitan Police and various allegations of malpractice on his part. He had received advancement after his criticism of the force following his claims of racism. He was a frequent media commentator on a variety of issues, mainly concerned with ethnicity and religion. In April 2008, he was promoted to Commander, responsible for West London.

Stephen House Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police

Sir Stephen House is a Scottish police officer who is currently the Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. After beginning his career at Sussex Police in 1981, House held positions in Northamptonshire Police and West Yorkshire Police, then became Assistant Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police in 1998. In 2001, he joined the Metropolitan Police as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner, remaining there until 2007, when he was appointed Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police. Following the establishment of Police Scotland in 2012, House was appointed the new force's first chief constable, but stood down in 2015 following a series of controversies. In 2018 House returned to the Metropolitan Police as an Assistant Commissioner, becoming Deputy Commissioner to Cressida Dick later that year. In 2022, Dick resigned, after which House became Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police pending the appointment of a permanent successor.

Millennium Dome raid Attempted robbery of diamond exhibition

The Millennium Dome raid was an attempted robbery of the Millennium Dome's diamond exhibition in Greenwich, South East London occurring on 7 November 2000. A local gang planned to ram-raid the De Beers diamond exhibition which was being held in the riverside Dome at the time. The gang had then planned to escape via the Thames in a speedboat.

The history of the Metropolitan Police in London is long and complex, with many different events taking place between its inception in 1829 to the present day.

Robert Alan Hunt was a senior British police officer. He served as Assistant Commissioner from 1990 to 1995 with responsibility for operations at all police stations throughout the Metropolitan Police Service.

Balcombe Street siege 1975 hostage incident

The Balcombe Street siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and London's Metropolitan Police lasting from 6 to 12 December 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA members and the release of their two hostages. The events were televised and watched by millions.

Norwell Lionel Roberts is a British former police constable—the first black police officer to join London's Metropolitan Police. He eventually rose to the rank of Detective Sergeant. During his career, he was considered to be the first black police officer in the United Kingdom, although it has since been discovered that he had been preceded by Metropolitan Police Superintendent Robert Branford and Constable John Kent in Carlisle, both in the 19th century.

<i>The Railway Viaduct</i>

The Railway Viaduct is the third title in the Railway Detective series of detective mystery novels written by Keith Miles under the pseudonym Edward Marston. Set in 1852, it is about a murder on a train which is investigated and ultimately solved by two Scotland Yard detectives, Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming. The title place is the Sankey Viaduct on the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The novel was published in 2006 by Allison & Busby of London. The graphic on the book cover is from T. T. Bury's 1831 depiction called Viaduct across the Sankey Valley in his Liverpool and Manchester Railway series of paintings. According to the publishers in a 2018 news release, the series has been optioned for television adaptation by Mammoth Screen.

Gurpal Singh Virdi is a former local councillor for the London Borough of Hounslow between May 2014 and May 2018, previously serving for the Metropolitan Police from 1982 as the first officer from Asian descent from Hounslow to join the police force. Virdi retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2012 following what he described as institutional racism and discrimination within the Police Force.

Leroy Hugh Logan is a former police superintendent. He was both a founding member of the Black Police Association and its chairman for 30 years.

References

  1. "The Met's first black officer who rose through ranks to become superintendent - in 1856". Southwark News. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  2. "Trailblazing black Metropolitan Police officer Robert Branford remembered, 200 years on". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  3. Cavanagh. (1893). Scotland Yard, Past and Present Experiences of Thirty-Seven Years. London: Chatto & Windus. OCLC   1155249897.
  4. "Historian hopes the story of a mixed-race policeman in Victorian Southwark will inspire new generation of black officers". Southwark News. Retrieved 2022-05-30.