Lilian Mary Elizabeth Wyles (31 August 1885 – 13 May 1975) was an English female police officer who was among the first officers to take statements from female and juvenile assault victims, rather than relying on "assistants".Louise A. Jackson: "Wyles, Lilian Mary Elizabeth (1885–1975)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, September 2010
Retrieved 31 August 2015.
/ref>

Early life

Lilian Wyles was the daughter of Joseph Wyles a brewer in

Bourne, Lincolnshire Bourne is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the eastern slopes of the limestone Kesteven Uplands and the western edge of the Fens, 11 miles (18 km) north-east of Stamford, 12 mile ...

. After her education at Thanet Hall,

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

, and a Paris finishing school, Wyles broke off the legal studies she had begun at her father's instigation, to serve as a hospital nurse in the First World War.

Career

Lilian Wyles started her police career in February 1919 as one of three sergeants in the Metropolitan Women Police Patrols, covering Central London and the East End but without the power of arrest. The patrols met with scorn from male policemen and from members of the public,Louise A. Jackson: ''Women Police. Gender, Welfare and Surveillance in the Twentieth Century'' (Manchester, UK: Manchester UP, 2006), pp. 8
Retrieved 25 October 2015
/ref> "Daunted at first, Wyles became accustomed to her visibility as another London sight, 'along with the Tower and Westminster Abbey'. People stopped and commented within earshot: 'How queer.' 'How unwomanly.' 'Not quite nice, do you think? However, they were given tasks such as escorting lost children. Largely thanks to her efforts, the patrols' women were given attested status within the Metropolitan Police in 1923, i. e. with the power of arrest. As one of the first women in such a position, her relations with male colleagues were uneasy, although she enjoyed the confidence of the chief constable of the CID, Frederick Porter Wensley, until his retirement in 1929. Wyles was instrumental in making it a task for women policemen, not of outside "assistants" to take statements from women in cases of sexual assault, as "detailed knowledge of the rules of evidence was required for a statement to be both useful and admissible. In 1922 Wyles was given responsibility for the taking of statements in all cases involving children and young girls that arose north of the Thames...." (pp. 186–187). Greater respect came in 1928, after the part she took in a case involving alleged sexual misconduct by

Leo Chiozza Money Sir Leo George Chiozza Money (; 13 June 1870 – 25 September 1944), born Leone Giorgio Chiozza, was an Italian-born economic theorist who moved to Britain in the 1890s, where he made his name as a politician, journalist and author. In the early ...

and

Irene Savidge Irene "Marjorie" Savidge became Irene Gentle (9 June 1905 – 26 March 1985) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British factory worker and subject of police interrogation who became involved in a scandal. A charge of indecency ag ...

, despite being initially spurned by Chief Inspector Alfred Collins, who was in charge of the case.Biography of Wyles on the Rhode Island College site (Russell A. Potter
Retrieved 25 October 2015.
/ref> Lilian Wyles was promoted to chief inspector in 1932. She served for 30 years, and only took one sick day. Wyles retired to

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, in 1949. There she wrote her memoirs, ''A Woman 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 ...

: Reflections on the Struggles and Achievements of Thirty Years in the Metropolitan Police''.

Death

Lilian Wyles died unmarried in Cornwall on 13 May 1975. After 44 years in an unmarked grave, her resting place was eventually given a special blessing and a new gravestone at Sennen, Cornwall on 10 March 2019, one hundred years after she first joined the Women's police patrols in London. In March 2023, she was one of a number of notable women with a connection to

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

honoured by South Kesteven District Council.

References

External links

A summary of her career (Rhode Island College)

A 1951 photographic portrait (National Portrait Gallery)

History of women in the police force (in United Kingdom) 1914-1973 - Old Police Cells Museum, Brighton Town Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyles, Lilian People from Bourne, Lincolnshire Women Metropolitan Police officers 1885 births 1975 deaths Metropolitan Police officers