Barbara Wilding,

CBE 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 ...

, QPM is the former Chief Constable of

South Wales Police South Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu De Cymru) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Const ...

, the first woman to hold the post. Wilding began her career as a cadet in Jersey Police''Fair Cop: A Century of British Policewomen'', BBC, 2015 in 1967 and was appointed

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 ...

in 1970. The following year she transferred to the

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 ...

where she served as an operational detective at

New 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' ...

. Wilding was involved in the identification of victims from the sinking of the pleasure cruiser ''Marchioness'' on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in 1989. She became an Assistant Chief Constable in

Kent Constabulary Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in the south east of England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed u ...

in 1994. In 1998, she returned to the Metropolitan Police as Deputy Assistant Commissioner, and served as Director of Strategic Resources and also Specialist Operations, where she commanded the Security and Protection Directorate which included protection of Ministers, Royal Family, Special Branch,

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

, covert intelligence and the specialist firearms unit. Wilding was appointed Chief Constable of South Wales Police on 1 January 2004. She was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2006 Birthday Honours. She retired at the end of December 2009 as Britain's longest-serving female chief constable and was succeeded by

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best know ...

. In 2011 she was appointed

High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan The office of High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan was established in 1974 as part of the creation of the county of Mid Glamorgan in Wales following the Local Government Act 1972, and, together with the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan and the High Sheriff ...

. Between 2015 and 2021, Wilding was the Chancellor of

Cardiff Metropolitan University , image_name = Shield of Cardiff Metropolitan University.svg , image_size = 150px , motto = cy, Gorau Meddiant Gwybodaeth , mottoeng = The most valuable possession is knowledge , established = 2011 – Car ...

, prior to which she served as the Chair of the University's Board of Governors. Wilding is married and has two daughters, one of whom is an officer in South Wales Police. She read criminology at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

References

External links

South Wales Police webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilding, Barbara Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British women police officers Women Metropolitan Police officers British Chief Constables Metropolitan Police chief officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British recipients of the Queen's Police Medal High Sheriffs of Glamorgan Alumni of the London School of Economics