Arthur Ernest Bassom

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

KPM (14 June 1865 – 17 January 1926) was a British police officer and one of the main pioneers of traffic policing with the

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Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. Bassom joined the Royal Marine Artillery as a gunner at the age of 17 and gained the highest possible marks in his gunnery examinations and therefore almost certain promotion. However, in 1886, just before he reached 21, the minimum age at which he could be promoted, he left to join the Metropolitan Police as a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

. He was posted to "D" Division (

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), and the following year was transferred to the Public Carriage Office at

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

, where he spent the rest of his career. At the PCO his hard work, encyclopaedic memory and innate understanding of traffic problems led to rapid promotion. In 1901 he was promoted to chief inspector in charge of the branch. In 1903 he saw the introduction of London's first motor cab. After completing a course in motor engineering at the Regent Street Polytechnic, he produced the Metropolitan Police Regulations for the Construction and Licensing of Hackney (Motor) Carriages, 1906 (The Conditions of Fitness for Motor Hackney Carriages). This included the requirement for a turning circle, and influenced the design of London cabs for a century. In 1906 he was promoted to superintendent on merit. It was said that he could visualise any part of the 700 square miles of the

Metropolitan Police District The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the Greater London region, excluding the City of London. The Metropolitan Police District was create ...

and give an analysis of its traffic problems and possible solutions.

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Sir Nevil Macready admitted that Bassom was the one man in the Metropolitan Police who was indispensable, so much so that when he reached the retirement age of 60 for officers below Chief Officer rank in 1925 he was promoted to chief constable and given the title of Director of Traffic Services in order to retain him. He died the following year, still in office. He had a detailed knowledge of motor mechanics. He visited nearly every town in the United Kingdom and many in Europe to observe their traffic problems. He framed "

the Knowledge Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about ...

", the test undertaken by all London taxi drivers, and devised the Bassom System of London bus route numbers. He was awarded the King's Police Medal (KPM) in 1919 and appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours.

References

* Obituaries, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 18 January 1926 and 19 January 1926 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassom, Arthur 1865 births 1926 deaths Metropolitan Police chief officers Royal Marines ranks Officers of the Order of the British Empire English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal