Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ranulph Robert Maunsell Bacon (6 August 1906 – 30 March 1988) was a British police officer. Bacon was born in

Westgate-on-Sea Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent, England. It is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy beaches have remained a popular touri ...

, Kent, and educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

and

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. He 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 1928 and was selected for

Hendon Police College Hendon Police College is the principal training centre for London's Metropolitan Police. Founded with the official name of the Metropolitan Police College, the college has officially been known as the Peel Centre since 1974, although its origi ...

in 1934, passing out with the Baton of Honour. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Bacon was eager to enlist, but was not given permission to do so. Finally in May 1940 he was commissioned into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as a

Provost Marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...

on the

General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

. By December 1941, when he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for his service in the Western Desert, he held the local rank of Major, although his substantive rank was Lieutenant. He was later promoted

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

and in 1942 was appointed Deputy Provost Marshal of the Ninth Army. In November 1943, he was seconded to the

Colonial Police Service Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

as Deputy

Inspector-General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...

of the

Ceylon Police (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

, and was promoted

in 1944. His Deputy Inspector-General was John Waldron, another Hendon graduate who was later to succeed him as both Assistant Commissioner "A" and Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. In 1947, he returned to Britain as Chief Constable of 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 ...

, and held the post until his appointment as Assistant Commissioner "A" (Operations and Administration) of the Metropolitan Police on 1 November 1961. He was awarded the

King's Police and Fire Services 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 ...

in the

1953 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1953 for the United Kingdom were announced on 30 December 1952, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1953. This was the first New Year Honours since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The ''Honours list'' ...

. In 1963, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner "C" (Crime), in charge 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 ...

. At a press conference on 31 December 1964, he urged the public to "have a go" if they saw an armed robbery taking place, which was criticised as irresponsible by many. He was

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

1966 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

. In 1966, he briefly served as Deputy Commissioner, from 8 April to his retirement in October."Two Police Chiefs Promoted", ''

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 ...

'', 16 March 1966

Footnotes

References

*"Metropolis Post for Chief Constable", ''

'', 29 June 1961 *Biography, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

External links

Photographic portraits of Bacon in the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Ranulph 1906 births 1988 deaths People from Westgate-on-Sea People educated at Tonbridge School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge British Army General List officers British Army personnel of World War II British colonial police officers Sri Lankan Inspectors General of Police British Chief Constables Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Deputy Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Knights Bachelor English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal People of British Ceylon