Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Sir Philip Reginald Margetson (2 January 1894 – 5 December 1985) was an Assistant Commissioner 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 ...

Military service

Margetson was educated at

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

and then went on to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

. In 1915 he was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Mar ...

. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 25 December 1915, and temporary

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 ...

on 20 February 1916. He reverted to Lieutenant on 27 April 1916. In the 1916

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for gallantry in action. In January 1918 he became an instructor with an officer cadet unit as an Acting Captain. In 1919 he became

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

of the 1/4th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers (

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

) (which was then part of the Army of Occupation) in the rank of Acting

. On 1 January 1923 he was finally promoted to the substantive rank of captain, while serving as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the 1st Battalion. On 1 October 1928 he became

Staff Captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

of the

54th (East Anglian) Division The 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) as the East Anglian Division. During the First World War the division fo ...

, an appointment he held until 1 October 1932. On 1 January 1933 he became a

Brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

Major.

Police career

On 31 December 1933, Margetson retired from the

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 ...

, transferring to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers. He joined the

, entering directly as a

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 ...

and taking the position of senior administrative officer at No.4 District (South London) headquarters on 1 December 1933. He was later 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 "R"

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

(

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

). In August 1936 he was promoted to Chief Constable and became deputy commander of No.2 District (North London). In February 1938 he was transferred to the same post in No.1 District (West Central London), and in October 1938 to the same post in No.3 District (East London). In February 1940 he was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner at "A" Department (Operations and Administration) of

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 ...

and in August 1940 he was given command of No.1 District. In March 1946 he received the new rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

. In June 1946, he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner "D" (Personnel and Training) and in October he transferred to become Assistant Commissioner "A" (Operations and Administration). In 1950, he applied for the vacant office of Commissioner of the City of London Police. The job went to one of his colleagues, Arthur Young, who had succeeded him as Assistant Commissioner "D". In 1947 he was made an Officer of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

. He was created a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(CVO) in the

1948 New Year Honours The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Britis ...

and raised to Knight Commander (KCVO) in the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in ''The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The reci ...

. In 1955 he was promoted to Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John. He received the

Queen'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 of Nations, Commonwealth countries, most of whic ...

(QPM) for Distinguished Service in the 1956 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Later life

He retired on 2 January 1957 (his 63rd birthday) and joined the board of

Securicor Securicor plc was one of the United Kingdom's largest security businesses. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with Group 4 Falck in 2004. History The Company was founded by Edward Shortt, a former Liberal Cabinet Minister, ...

, serving as chairman from 1960 to 1973, when he became honorary president. He was instrumental in the disarming of

cash in transit Cash-in-transit (CIT) or cash/valuables-in-transit (CVIT) is the physical transfer of banknotes, coins, credit cards and items of value from one location to another. The locations include cash centers and bank branches, ATM points, large retaile ...

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

s in 1964, having always disliked the idea of private guards carrying firearms. In 1918, Margetson married Diana Thornycroft, daughter of Sir John Thornycroft. They had two sons; the elder was killed in action in 1943. The National Portrait Gallery holds two 1957 photographic portraits of Margetson by Elliott & Fry.

Notes

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 ...

'', 11 December 1985

External links

Photographic portrait of Margetson in the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margetson, Philip 1894 births 1985 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Military Cross English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal People educated at Marlborough College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst