Sir William Derrick Capper (3 January 1912 – 21 March 1977) was an English police officer and the first Chief Constable of

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of ...

Early life and education

Derrick Capper (as he preferred to continue being known after knighthood) was born in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

on 3 January 1912, son of John Herman Capper, a farmer, of Downton Farm, Upton Magna near

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. He was educated at

the Priory Grammar School for Boys, Shrewsbury The Priory Grammar School for Boys was a maintained (state-funded) grammar school for boys located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. It was established in 1910 and the last grammar school students left in 1983. History Th ...

in Shrewsbury and the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, where he read

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

Career

Capper became disillusioned with university life and, during time of the 1930s depression, decided on a police career. He studied 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 origin ...

between 1937 and 1939, following which he joined the Metropolitan Police, as a

Police Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...

, serving into the years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in London's East End. Apart from an interval detached as an Assistant Superintendent with the Nigerian Police from 1944 to 1946, the first half of his career was spent in the 'Met', during which time he was Station Inspector (1946–49), Chief Inspector (1949-51), Superintendent (1951–57), and ultimately Chief Superintendent (1957–58). He moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

when appointed Assistant Chief Constable of

Birmingham City Police Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of Birmingham from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West M ...

in January 1959. In May that year he was promoted Deputy Chief Constable and later appointed as the Chief Constable in 1963. When interviewed about his new role, Capper stated that although fighting crime was a priority, he also had an interest in road traffic and vowed to tackle challenges in this area of policing. Capper was involved in the

Battle of Saltley Gate The Battle of Saltley Gate was the mass picketing of a fuel storage depot in Birmingham, England, in February 1972 during a national miners' strike. When the strike began on 9 January 1972, it was generally considered that the miners "could not ...

in 1972, a confrontation between police and picketing miners in the

Saltley Saltley is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, east of the city centre. The area is part of the Washwood Heath ward, and was previously part of the Nechells ward. It is part of the Ladywood constituency in the city. History Saltley was ...

area of Birmingham during the UK miners' strike. Capper continued his role as Chief Constable upon the creation of the West Midlands Police on 1 April 1974 after the introduction of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. During his service, Capper was also made the president of the

Association of Chief Police Officers The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...

. He remained at West Midlands Police until his retirement on 30 June 1975. He was succeeded by Philip Knights.

Death

After two operations, Capper died at Shrewsbury Nuffield Nursing Home on 21 March 1977, and was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

.Death notice, ''Shropshire Star'', page 2, 22 March 1977.

Honours and awards

Capper was made a Knight Bachelor in the 1968 Birthday Honours. He was also made an Officer of the

Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

in 1965 and later promoted to Commander in 1974. He 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 ...

in 1962.

Personal life

Capper married in 1939 Muriel, daughter of Alfred Woodhouse of Shrewsbury. The couple had two daughters. In 1973 he stood tall "in policeman's boots". Capper was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and keen player of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

and athletics sports. In 1976 he became the first deputy-chairman of the West Midlands Council for Sport and Recreation and at the time of his death he was president of the Shrewsbury Rugby Football Club. Following his retirement from the police service he lived in Shrewsbury at 18 Sandiway, Radbrook.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capper, Derrick 1912 births 1977 deaths People from Shropshire English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Chief Constables of West Midlands Police Birmingham City Police Knights Bachelor People educated at The Priory Boys' Grammar School, Shrewsbury Metropolitan Police officers Nigerian police officers