Arthur Harold Dickinson CMG

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

KPM (5 October 1892 – 23 November 1978) was a British senior colonial police officer who served as Inspector-General of the Straits Settlements Police from 1939 to 1942.

Early life and education

Dickinson was born on 5 October 1892, and was educated at

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

Career

In 1912, he joined the Colonial Police Service as a cadet, was appointed police probationer and served in the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

. In 1928 he was promoted to Superintendent of Police, Singapore. From 1931-32 he was sent on special missions to study police methods, to Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Batavia, Bangkok and Saigon. On his return to the Straits Settlements he was appointed Chief Police Officer,

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

, and then Chief Police Officer,

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

. In 1937, he was awarded the first officership of the

ever conferred upon a member of the police force for his "tactful handling" of serious strikes in the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

. In 1939, after serving as Chief Police Officer of Singapore, he was promoted to Inspector-General of Police of the Straits Settlements. The same year, he established and headed the Malayan Security Service which was responsible for political and security intelligence, replacing the Malayan Police Special Branch. On 15 February 1942, he was at the meeting of senior officers, as the only member of the civilian government, which decided to surrender Singapore to the Japanese army. From 1942 to 1944, he was a prisoner of war (

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

) in Singapore. He retired in 1946.

Personal life and death

Dickinson married Ethel Constance Kitchen in 1920 and they had a son and a daughter. He died on 23 November 1978.

Honours

Dickinson 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 ...

in 1928. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (

) in the 1938 New Year Honours. He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George ( CMG) in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 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, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginn ...

Early life and education

Career

Personal life and death

Honours

References

See also