Sir Harry Philip Parnell Lane

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 ...

MVO KPM (3 March 1870 – 24 April 1927) was a British

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officer who served as Chief Constable of Lancashire County Constabulary from April 1912 until his death in 1927.

Biography

Lane was born into a military family in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Devon, the only son of Major Henry Eyre Wyatt Lane and Maria Parnell. His father served in the

Royal Marine Light Infantry The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

, his grandfather Charles Henry John Lane was an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and his great-grandfather was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer. All had at some point served as

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

governors. Lane was also intended for the Army, but instead joined the Essex County Constabulary 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 1887, a very unusual career move for a gentleman at the time. He served as a clerk in the Chief Constable's office. In 1896 he transferred to the

Devon County Constabulary Devon County Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Devon, England, until 1966. The force was formed in 1856. It absorbed Tavistock Borough Police in 1856, Wolborough Borough Police in 1859, Okehampton Borough Police in ...

as a

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 ...

. He served as Deputy Chief Constable of

Kent County 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 ...

from 1900 to 1902, Assistant Head Constable of

Liverpool City Police Liverpool City Police was the police force operating in the city of Liverpool, England, established in 1836. In 1967, the force merged with Bootle Borough Police to create the Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary w ...

from 1902 to 1909, and Assistant Chief Constable of Lancashire from 1909 to 1912. Lane was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order 4th Class (MVO) in 1913 for organising royal visits to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

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 1918 civilian war honours for policing the many

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

factories in the county during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

1925 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1925 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 30 December 1924. The recipients of honours are displayed here ...

. He was awarded the

King's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

(KPM) in the

1921 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1921 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 31 December 1920. The recipients of honours are displayed her ...

. He was one of the first Chief Constables in the country to introduce

motorcycle combination A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''. ...

patrols and

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

communications. He was also one of the few county

constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and som ...

Chief Constables before the latter half of the 20th century to be a career policeman and not a military officer or lawyer. Lane was taken ill suddenly after organising the policing of the 1927

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

, having only recently got over

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. He was moved to a nursing home in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

, but died shortly afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Philip 1870 births 1927 deaths People from Plymouth, Devon British Chief Constables Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal