Norwell Lionel Roberts (né Gumbs; born 23 October 1946) is a British former

police 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 ...

—the first black police officer to join London's Metropolitan Police. He eventually rose to the rank of

Detective 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 ...

. During his career, he was considered to be the first black police officer in the United Kingdom, although it has since been discovered that he had been preceded by Metropolitan Police Superintendent

Robert Branford Robert Peter Branford (born 23 November 1993) is an Australian speedway rider. Career Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he is the son of former Australian rider Darrell Branford.John Kent in Carlisle, both in the 19th century.

Early life

Norwell Roberts was born Norwell Lionel Gumbs on 23 October 1946 in Anguilla, in the Leeward Islands in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. His grandfather was a police sergeant, and three uncles were high-ranking officers, one of whom was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for his services. They all attended 12-week courses on the familiarisation of police procedure at

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 ...

, where Roberts later trained. His father died when he was three years old and his widowed mother, lured by promises of job opportunities and a better life, sailed for England in 1954. Roberts was left behind, to be raised by his strict preacher grandparents. His grandmother was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

deaconess. When he misbehaved, he recalled with some horror, his grandmother would send him to the local shops wearing her dresses. He arrived at the port of Dover at nine years old, when his mother secured employment as a housemaid in London. Roberts and his mother found life in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

difficult, as with most post-war immigrants; securing housing was hard due to racial prejudices at the time. At home in Anguilla, Roberts' mother had run several neighbourhood shops but in London she took any domestic jobs she could get. Roberts and his mother eventually settled in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. In 1956, Roberts was the only Black child in his primary school, and when he passed the eleven-plus, the headmistress told his mother that Roberts would not be going to grammar school because he had to 'learn the English ways'. As a result, Norwell instead went to the local secondary modern school in

, where the older sixth form students dropped him head first to the ground in order to see the colour of his blood. He still carries the scar on his forehead, but never once complained to his mother, because he understood that she had been powerless to act. In 1959, his mother remarried and moved to Camden Town, North London, where Roberts went to Haverstock Hill Comprehensive School. He did not have a good relationship with his stepfather and he left his London home when he was just fifteen years old. Having passed

O-Levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

in Religious Knowledge and Chemistry, Roberts started work as a scientific laboratory technician in the Botany Department at

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. In 1966, while working at Westfield College, Roberts responded to a newspaper advertisement and completed the police recruitment application form. While on day release to Paddington Technical College, one of his fellow students who read the ''Daily Telegraph'' saw a headline which read ‘London to have first coloured Policeman soon’. Roberts enlisted on 28 March 1967. This intake also included

Paul Condon Paul Leslie Condon, Baron Condon, (born 10 March 1947) is a British retired police officer. He was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1993 to 2000. Education Condon read Jurisprudence at St Peter's College, Oxford and was made ...

, now Baron Condon, who went on to become Metropolitan Police Commissioner. After constant misspelling of the name "Gumbs", he changed his name in 1968 by deed poll, taking his mother's maiden name of Roberts.

Police career

On 3 April 1967, when Roberts was 21, he officially joined the Metropolitan Police and achieved media and public attention because he was the first black police officer in the Met, which covers the Greater London area. At that time the only black people in uniform were working for London Transport on the buses or the underground and British Rail. Under the scrutiny of the popular press of the time, Roberts completed his initial training at

. Roberts stated about his early years with the Met that, "nobody should be subject to that treatment, ever". He was initially stationed at

Bow Street Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge. The street was developed in 1633 by Francis Russell, 4 ...

Police Station, in Covent Garden,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, where the first words his reporting sergeant said to him were, "look you nigger, I'll see to it that you never pass your probation". Police chiefs outwardly presented Roberts as an example of progressive policing, while Roberts faced racial abuse, harassment and persecution from his own colleagues. Colleagues that talked to him at work were ostracised, including some of those that trained with him, so would only speak to him at the section house. Roberts later claimed he would cope by weeping in the bath at the section house privately, since he feared showing weakness. He found the police station so hostile he would avoid eating with fellow officers, preferring to visit members of the community that invited him in for tea. One sunny afternoon outside the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

the driver of a police car passing Roberts shouted, "black cunt" and drove on while other colleagues in the car laughed and Roberts stood embarrassed in front of members of the public. Roberts crossed the road into the police station opposite and reported the incident immediately to the Chief Superintendent who responded, "what do you want me to do about it?". This response left Roberts feeling he had lost his fight for acceptance, since it was his first complaint and all that had been acknowledged was his vulnerability. Roberts didn't go to the press with his experiences at the time since he thought it wouldn't have encouraged others to join the police, though in an interview in 2020 he said, "what I regret most was that I'd like for someone who was about then, to come to me and say, "I know what it was like", you know, "I'm sorry about that". That's all. But they're always in denial." He joined 'A' Relief and quickly became a popular member of the team due to his humour and dedication. He was disciplined verbally once for driving with fellow officers around the West End with a toilet roll hanging from the police van radio aerial. As the first black policeman in London, he was the most conspicuous man in the force. His every move whether walking the beat or holding back protesters in Trafalgar Square hit newspaper headlines at home and abroad. He made tabloid cartoons and was even on the cover of ''Private Eye''. In newspapers in America in the Southern States the headlines read 'London's first negro cop'. During Roberts' service, he policed anti-Vietnam demonstrators paraded outside of the American Embassy. He was withdrawn from his post outside

Rhodesia House Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

after suffering abuse from anti-apartheid protesters who were protesting the hanging of three black Rhodesians. In 1969, Roberts was photographed linking arms with his colleagues during protests on the arrival of the

South African rugby team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. Roberts transferred to

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

at West End Central as a Temporary Detective Constable and later became a fully fledged Detective Constable in 1977 where he worked in the drugs squad and was occasionally seconded in undercover policing roles. Roberts was stationed at several police stations across London including Bow Street; Vine Street; West End Central; West Hampstead; Albany Street; Kentish Town; Acton; Ealing; Southall Ruislip; Wembley, Barnet; Borehamwood and Golders Green. On his retirement in 1997, a leaving party was held at the banqueting rooms in Finchley. 600 people attended, including then Commissioner

and his then-Chief Superintendent, Peter Twist.

Personal life

Roberts has lived in Harrow with his wife Wendy since 1976. He is an active Freemason under the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

, initiated in 1985, and a member of Beauchamp Lodge No 1422 (West Kent) and Radlett Lodge No 6652 (Hertfordshire); he is also a member of the

Holy Royal Arch The Royal Arch is a degree of Freemasonry. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft ('mainstream') Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant ('additional') order. Royal Arch Masons meet ...

and other

Masonic orders There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders or appendant bodies (or ...

Honours and awards

Roberts received police commendations on three occasions, one of which was for his involvement in 1985 when he was part of a squad who arrested five people in six days for a contract killing. Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir

Robert Mark Sir Robert Mark (13 March 1917 – 30 September 2010) was a senior British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Leicester City Police, and later as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1972 to 1977. Mark was the first Metr ...

praised Roberts' contribution towards better relations between white and black communities. In 1995, Roberts' was awarded 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 countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

for distinguished service. On 15 March 1996, Roberts attended Buckingham Palace where he was presented with the medal by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

, then the Prince of Wales. During the presentation, he told Roberts that "We need more people like you."

References

https://www.chubmagazine.com/2017/04/27/full-list-of-winners-of-2016-ca-awards-by-c-hub-magazine/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Norwell 1945 births Living people Metropolitan Police officers Anguillan emigrants to the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Black British police officers

Early life

Police career

Personal life

Honours and awards

See also

References