Barbara Lilian Kelley (26 August 1920 – 2 March 1998) was a British

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

officer with the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Metropolitan Police. She was the first woman in the country to be promoted to the rank of

Detective Chief Superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the United Kingdom, British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief S ...

. Kelley was born in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. She enlisted in the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during the World War II, Second World War. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak ...

(WAAF) on 6 June 1940 and was discharged with the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

on 17 January 1946. She was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

on 8 August 1944. She joined the Metropolitan Police on 2 December 1946. In the late 1940s, she served as a

Detective Constable A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

at West End Central Police Station with Shirley Becke, later to become the first female

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in the Metropolitan Police. The two officers persuaded their

Divisional Detective Inspector Divisional detective inspector (DDI), also known as first class detective inspector, was a rank in the Criminal Investigation Department of London's Metropolitan Police, equivalent to sub-divisional inspector in the uniformed branch. It was seni ...

to allow them to serve on all cases instead of the limited range of cases (mainly involving women and children) to which women detectives had previously been restricted. This paved the way to full integration of female detectives. By 1972 Kelley had reached the rank of Chief Superintendent and was serving in the

Murder Squad Murder Squad is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1993 in Stockholm. It is a side project of two Dismember members and two Entombed members. The band is highly influenced by the American group Autopsy. On their second album ''Raven ...

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 London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

. Kelley was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(MBE) in the 1973 New Year Honours. She retired in August 1975.

Footnotes

References

* "Policewoman's lot is not an unhappy one", in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 29 April 1974.
"British Police Are Facing Female Chauvinism", in ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'', 5 July 1974
1920 births 1998 deaths People from Bridgwater Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Metropolitan Police officers Women Metropolitan Police officers Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub