Barbara Lilian Kelley (26 August 1920 – 2 March 1998) was a British

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officer with the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

. She was the first woman in the country to be promoted to the rank of

Detective Chief Superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief Superintendent.png ...

. Kelley was born in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. She enlisted in the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

(WAAF) on 6 June 1940 and was discharged with the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

on 17 January 1946. She was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

on 8 August 1944. She joined the Metropolitan Police on 2 December 1946. In the late 1940s, she served as a

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

at West End Central Police Station with

Shirley Becke Shirley Cameron Becke (née Jennings; 29 April 1917 – 25 October 2011) was a British police officer. She was the fourth and last commander of the London Metropolitan Police's A4 Branch (Women Police), from 1966 to 1973, and the first woman o ...

, later to become the first female

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in the Metropolitan Police. The two officers persuaded their

Divisional Detective Inspector {{unreferenced, date=October 2008 Divisional detective inspector (DDI), also known as first class detective inspector, was a rank in the Criminal Investigation Department of London's Metropolitan Police, equivalent to sub-divisional inspector in t ...

to allow them to serve on all cases instead of the limited range of cases (mainly involving women and children) to which women detectives had previously been restricted. This paved the way to full integration of female detectives. By 1972 Kelley had reached the rank of Chief Superintendent and was serving in the

Murder Squad Major Investigation Teams (MIT) are the specialised homicide squads of the Metropolitan Police in London, England. Forming part of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, there are 24 MITs within the Met. MITs investigate cases of murder, manslau ...

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 ...

. Kelley was appointed

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours. She retired in August 1975.

Footnotes

References

* "Policewoman's lot is not an unhappy one", in ''

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 ...

'', 29 April 1974.
"British Police Are Facing Female Chauvinism", in ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'', 5 July 1974
1920 births 1998 deaths People from Bridgwater Members of the Order of the British Empire Metropolitan Police officers Women Metropolitan Police officers Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub