Sir James William Olive KBE (1856 – 14 January 1942) was Assistant Commissioner "A" of 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 ...

from 1920 to 1925. As such, he was in charge of administration and uniformed operations and was the Commissioner's deputy. From 1922, he became the first officer formally to be granted the title of Deputy Commissioner. Olive joined 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 ...

in September 1872. He was initially posted to "A" Division in

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, but later transferred to

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 ...

as an administrative officer. He was promoted to

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 ...

in January 1877,

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 ...

in July 1886, Sub-Divisional Inspector in December 1890, and

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 June 1893. In May 1903, he was promoted to

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 ...

and took command of Thames Division, responsible for patrolling 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 1905, after reorganising the whole way in which the river was policed, he was transferred to the command of "X" Division ( Kilburn). In October 1918, he was promoted to Chief Constable in charge of the North-Western District, becoming the first former Constable to be promoted past the rank of Superintendent in the Uniform Branch. He 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 March 1920, having already been 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 April 1920, Olive was appointed Assistant Commissioner "A". On 1 December 1922, he became the first officer to be appointed Deputy Commissioner, although this was only a courtesy title and he also remained Assistant Commissioner "A". He was appointed

Knight 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 ...

(KBE) in June 1924. He retired on 31 December 1925 after 53 years' service (which may well make him the longest-serving officer in Metropolitan Police history), and died at his home in Kilburn in 1942. A month after he joined the police, Olive was (as a musician) a founder member of the Police Minstrels, who put on entertainments at

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

s. He later became their president.

References

*Obituary, ''

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 ...

'', 15 January 1941 *Martin Fido & Keith Skinner, ''The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard'', Virgin Books, London: 1999

External links

Metropolitan Police Minstrels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olive, James Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Deputy Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis 1856 births 1942 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire