Sir William Derrick Capper (3 January 1912 – 21 March 1977) was an English police officer and the first Chief Constable of

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, ...

Early life and education

Derrick Capper (as he preferred to continue being known after knighthood) was born in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

on 3 January 1912, son of John Herman Capper, a farmer, of Downton Farm,

Upton Magna Upton Magna is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. (''Magna'' is Latin, meaning "great". Therefore, the translation of Upton Magna is "Great Upton".) Nearby are the villages of Uffington, Rodington and Withington, as well as the ...

near Shrewsbury. He was educated at

the Priory Grammar School for Boys, Shrewsbury The Priory Grammar School for Boys was a maintained (state-funded) grammar school for boys located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. It was established in 1910 and the last grammar school students left in 1983. History Th ...

in Shrewsbury and the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, where he read mathematics.

Career

Capper became disillusioned with university life and, during time of the 1930s depression, decided on a police career. He studied at

Hendon Police College Hendon Police College is the principal training centre for London's Metropolitan Police. Founded with the official name of the Metropolitan Police College, the college has officially been known as the Peel Centre since 1974, although its origi ...

between 1937 and 1939, following which he joined the Metropolitan Police, as a

Police 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 ...

, serving into the years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in London's East End. Apart from an interval detached as an Assistant Superintendent with the Nigerian Police from 1944 to 1946, the first half of his career was spent in the 'Met', during which time he was Station Inspector (1946–49), Chief Inspector (1949-51), Superintendent (1951–57), ultimately Chief Superintendent (1957–58). He moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

when appointed Assistant Chief Constable of

Birmingham City Police Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of Birmingham from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West M ...

in January 1959. In May that year he was promoted Deputy Chief Constable and later appointed as the Chief Constable in 1963. When interviewed about his new role, Capper stated that although fighting crime was a priority, he also had an interest in road traffic and vowed to tackle challenges in this area of policing. Capper was involved in the

Battle of Saltley Gate The Battle of Saltley Gate was the mass picketing of a fuel storage depot in Birmingham, England, in February 1972 during a national miners' strike. When the strike began on 9 January 1972, it was generally considered that the miners "could not ...

in 1972, a confrontation between police and picketing miners in the

Saltley Saltley is an inner-city area of Birmingham, east of the city centre. The area is part of the Washwood Heath ward, and was previously part of the Nechells ward. It is part of the Ladywood constituency in the city. History Saltley was originally ...

area of Birmingham during the UK miners' strike. Capper continued his role as Chief Constable upon the creation of the West Midlands Police on 1 April 1974 after the introduction of the Local Government Act 1972. During his service, Capper was also made the president of the

Association of Chief Police Officers The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...

. He remained at West Midlands Police until his retirement on 30 June 1975. He was succeeded by Philip Knights

Honours and awards

Capper was made a Knight Bachelor in the

1968 Birthday Honours The 1968 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplemen ...

. He was also made an Officer of the Order of St John in 1965 and later promoted to Commander in 1974. He was awarded the Queens Police Medal in 1962.

Personal life

Capper married in 1939 Muriel, daughter of Alfred Woodhouse of Shrewsbury. The couple had two daughters. In 1973 he stood tall "in policeman's boots". Capper was a member of the Freemasons, and keen player of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

and athletics sports. In 1976 he became the first deputy-chairman of the West Midlands Council for Sport and Recreation and at the time of his death he was president of the Shrewsbury Rugby Football Club. Following his retirement from the police service he lived in Shrewsbury at 18 Sandiway,

Radbrook Radbrook Green, usually known locally as simply Radbrook, is the name of a small suburb of Shrewsbury, situated to the south-west of the town, approximately 1.5 miles from the town centre. Construction of the estate started in the late 1970s, wi ...

. He died aged 65, after two operations, at Shrewsbury Nuffield Nursing Home on 21 March 1977 and was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

.Death notice, ''Shropshire Star'', page 2, 22 March 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capper, Derrick 1912 births 1977 deaths People from Shropshire English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Chief Constables of West Midlands Police Birmingham City Police Knights Bachelor People educated at The Priory Boys' Grammar School, Shrewsbury Metropolitan Police officers Nigerian police officers