Superintendent Frank Castle Froest (1858,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

– 7 January 1930,

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

) was a British

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

and

crime writer True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

. Froest was described by a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

as being "...short, thick-set, full-faced, Mr. Froest in uniform looked more like a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

field-marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

than anything else. Out of uniform (which he generally was) he was always immaculate in silk hat, patent leather boots, and carrying a carefully rolled umbrella." Called 'the man with iron hands', Froest was incredibly strong, and could tear a pack of cards in half and snap a sixpence 'like a biscuit'.

Police career

Frank Froest joined 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 ...

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 ...

in 1879 and worked his way up to

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

2nd Class 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 ...

by 1894,

Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

in 1903 and

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

(CID) of the Metropolitan Police from 1906 to his retirement in 1912.

Famous cases

As one of the country's top detectives, he had important responsibilities, including the return of the disgraced financier

Jabez Balfour Jabez Spencer Balfour (4 September 1843 – 23 February 1916) was an English businessman, British Liberal Party politician and fraudster. Life Balfour was born in Marylebone, London to James and Clara Lucas Balfour. He was Member of Parliament ...

from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in 1895, in what was essentially a kidnapping. ''The Times'' obituary described him as having 'all the appearance of a prosperous and ingenuous country gentleman, but he was a man of shrewdness and resource ... highly esteemed for his professional ability'. On 18 February 1896 Detective Inspector Froest boarded the S.S. Harlech Castle at

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, and arrested 26 officers and 399 other ranks who were prisoners after having taken part in the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched Raid (military), raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the emplo ...

. It was the largest

mass arrest A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. ...

in the history of British law enforcement. In 1898 Froest was involved in bringing international jewel-thief William Johnson, known as 'Harry the Valet', to justice. Johnson stole jewellery then valued at £30,000 from Mary Caroline (

nee Nee or NEE may refer to: Names * Née (lit. "born"), a woman's family name at birth before the adoption of another surname usually after marriage **The male equivalent "né" is used to indicate what a man was originally known as before the adopt ...

Michell),

Dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a "dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchy, monarchical and aristocracy, aristocratic Title#Aristocr ...

Duchess of Sutherland {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The Duchess of Sutherland is the wife of the Duke of Sutherland, an extant title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833. Duchesses of Sutherland * Elizab ...

while she was travelling by train from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to London with her husband, Sir

Albert Rollit Sir Albert Kaye Rollit (1842 – 12 August 1922) was a British politician, lawyer, and businessman. Career Born in Hull, he became a solicitor and went on to become president of the Law Society. He later became a shipowner. He was Mayor of H ...

MP, and her brother, his wife and the Duchess's footman and maid. Froest investigated the case together with Inspectors

Walter Dinnie Walter Dinnie (26 December 1850 – 7 May 1923) was a New Zealand police commissioner, private detective and land board chairman. He was born on 26 December 1850. References 1850 births 1923 deaths New Zealand police officers {{Ne ...

and

Walter Dew Detective Chief Inspector Walter Dew (17 April 1863 – 16 December 1947) was a British Metropolitan Police officer who was involved in the hunt for both Jack the Ripper and Dr Crippen. Early life Dew was born at Far Cotton, in Hardingstone, ...

. They tracked Johnson, who by now was spending large amounts of money, to lodgings in London's

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

. Despite receiving a seven-year

prison sentence In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for multipl ...

, Johnson refused to disclose the whereabouts of the Duchess's jewels, and only £4,000 worth were ever recovered. Froest was Dew's superior officer during the hunt for

Dr. Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (September 11, 1862 – November 23, 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American Homeopathy, homeopath, ear and eye specialist and medicine dispenser. He was hanged in HM Prison Pentonville, Pentonville Prison in L ...

and his mistress

Ethel Le Neve Ethel Clara Neave (22 January 1883 – 9 August 1967), known as Ethel Le Neve, was the mistress of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, a homeopath hanged for the murder and mutilation of his wife in 1910. She was born in Diss, Norfolk, the eldest child o ...

in 1910. It was on his initiative that wireless was used to organise the arrest of

Dr Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (September 11, 1862 – November 23, 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopath, ear and eye specialist and medicine dispenser. He was hanged in Pentonville Prison in London for the murder of his wife C ...

, the first time it was used in this way.

Later years

On his retirement, he was awarded an MVO and moved to

Weston-Super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

and became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and member of

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

. He was the author of a number of

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

crime stories,Hamilton (2011) p.265 including ''The Grell Mystery'' (1913), ''The Crime Club'' (1915), and ''The Rogues' Syndicate'' (1916). He died in Weston-super-Mare, aged 73. His last resting place can be found at the old Church of St Nicholas, Uphill, Weston-super-Mare. Two of his novels, ''The Grell Mystery'' and ''The Maelstrom'', were made into films in 1917.

Awards

Froest's other medals were the Jubilee Medal 1887 with clasp for 1897, Metropolitan Police issue (P.S., A Divn.), Coronation Medal 1902, Metropolitan Police (Insp., C.O. Div.); Coronation Medal 1911, Metropolitan Police (Supt.); King’s Police Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (Frank Castle Froest, Supt., Met. Police). These sold at auction in September 2002 for £1,500.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Froest, Frank 1858 births 1930 deaths Writers from Bristol Members of the Royal Victorian Order Metropolitan Police officers English crime fiction writers