Roderick Ross

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

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 ...

KPM (24 May 1865 – 6 March 1943) was Chief Constable of

Edinburgh City Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fettes ...

from 1900 to 1935. Ross was born in

West Helmsdale West Helmsdale is a small settlement lying on the right bank of the River Helmsdale, on the east coast of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. The village of Helmsdale lies on the left bank of the River ...

in the parish of Kildonan, Sutherland, the son of a

crofter A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

. His namesake, his grandfather, a

Chelsea Pensioner A Chelsea Pensioner, or In-Pensioner, is a resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is home to 300 retired British sold ...

, had been evicted from Kildonan during the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulte ...

. Aged 16 he was apprenticed to a Helmsdale tailor, but soon moved to Edinburgh where he was employed by

Sir Andrew McDonald ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, an eminent clothier and later Lord Provost from 1894 to 1897. On coming of age at 21 he joined the police. Firstly, the Linlithgow Burgh Police, before moving after a year to

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and then

Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east of ...

, where he met Robert Peacock. Peacock took him to Kent when he assumed the position of Chief Constable of

Canterbury City Police 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 ...

in 1888. By 1891 Ross was a

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 ...

and had married a local Canterbury girl. He left Canterbury in 1891 to go to Ramsgate Borough Police as

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 ...

. Three years later, when the Chief Constable's post became vacant, such was the ability he had shown and such was the high esteem he had earned, that the watch committee appointed him Chief Constable without advertising the post. He left Ramsgate in 1898 to take up the position of Chief Constable of

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, When at Bradford in charge of 354 men he commenced a programme of reform and started the police band. He left two years later to take up the post of Chief Constable of Edinburgh, a post he held from 1900 to 1935. He was succeeded in Bradford by

Joseph Farndale Joseph Farndale (1864 – 22 February 1954) was a British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Bradford City Police from 1900 to 1938.Obituary, ''The Times'', 24 February 1954 Farndale was born in Wakefield and educated at Field Hou ...

. When appointed the new Chief Constable of Edinburgh he sponsored the re-establishment of the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band, now known as the

Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fettes ...

Pipe Band. Prior to his appointment the band had struggled as an occasional ''ad hoc'' enterprise. The band wore for many years as its tartan the Ancient Red Ross in his honour, only giving it up shortly after his death and the end of World War II. Ross introduced

police box A police box is a public telephone kiosk or callbox for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police. It was used in the United Kingdom throughout the 20th century from the early 1920s. Unlike an ordinar ...

es to Edinburgh in 1933. Edinburgh had at the time a population of over 427,000, and an area of over ; it was the largest urban police area in Scotland. He was appointed Member 4th Class of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in September 1905,

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 1920 civilian war honours, and

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 July 1934. 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

1922 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1922 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 1921. The recipients of honours are displayed here ...

. He retired to

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

, Edinburgh and died on 6 March 1943 after a short illness in a nursing home at 19 Great King Street, Edinburgh. He is commemorated by a police golfing trophy, the Roderick Ross Challenge Cup, open to serving or retired Chief Officers. In 1891 Ross married, Elizabeth Mills, the daughter of a Canterbury fruit merchant and former

licensed victualler A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the te ...

. The couple had thirteen children, the first six born in England. Of the children, one was named after his mentor Sir Robert Peacock and another after his friend

Sir Thomas Lipton Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup ...

. Ross bore a remarkable resemblance to King Edward VII. Ross and two of his sons were Chief Constables at the same time.

Donald Angus Ross Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

(born 1896) was Chief Constable of

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

from 1927 to 1961''Glasgow Herald'', 20 July 1961
/ref> and Douglas George Ross (born 1897) was Chief Constable of

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

from 1933 to 1962.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Roderick 1865 births 1943 deaths People from Sutherland British Chief Constables Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Scottish recipients of the Queen's Police Medal