Lillian May Armfield ISM KPFSM (3 December 1884 – 26 August 1971) was an Australian nurse and pioneering

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

female police detective, one of the first women to serve in that role.

Early life

Lillian May Armfield was born in

Mittagong, New South Wales Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands (New South Wales), Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is si ...

, on 3 December 1884 to George Armfield and Elizabeth Armfield (née Wright). Her first job in 1907 was as a nurse at the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane in Callan Park,

. She left that role for a pioneering position as a female police detective in the

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

on 1 July 1915. When recruited as probationary special constable, she was 5 ft 7¾ ins (172 cm) tall, weighed 12 st. 10 lbs. (81 kg), and had light brown eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion. She was described by her interviewing-officer as 'very intelligent, tactful, shrewd, capable ... Character undoubtedly good and a very suitable candidate'. She was appointed along with Maude Marion Rhodes (–1956).

Police career: 1915–1949

For over thirty years, Armfield then served as a female police detective, mainly working in the localities of

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

and

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

. At first a probationary special constable, Armfield was not provided with a uniform, or paid for overtime and ancillary expenses as her male colleagues were. Unlike her male colleagues, she also experienced discrimination in terms of recompense for injuries sustained in the line of duty and had no

superannuation A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "Defined benefit pension pla ...

benefit rights at the end of her career. During that long and distinguished career, Armfield confronted the darker side of Sydney's often violent criminal underworld, confronting

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. She was a nemesis of female underworld ringleaders like Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh, associated with the razor gang violence of the 1920s, and also served as a social worker, warning younger women of bullet wound injuries or razor slashing from associating with male criminals. She was a contemporary of legendary Sydney police officers Ray 'the blizzard' Blissett and Frank Farrell. Despite her valour and dedication, Lillian Armfield was not given adequate recognition during her career as a police professional. She was only slowly promoted, becoming a Special Sergeant (Third Class) in 1923, and Special Sergeant (First Class) in 1943. She was in charge of all N.S.W. Policewomen until her retirement. For most of her police career, it was known that she was the only N.S.W. ''Policewoman'' approved to carry a service revolver.

Acclaim

In 1946, she received official acclaim for her life's work, receiving the King's Police and Fire Service Medal. She was awarded the Imperial Service Medal in 1949, when she retired from the police service aged sixty five. Her life story, ''Rugged Angel - The Amazing Career of Policewoman Lillian Armfield,'' was published in 1961 and became a best-seller. It was written by Vince Kelly, a noted Sydney journalist. In 2001, Armfield was inducted onto the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Comm ...

. In August 2011 the series Underbelly: Razor included a storyline depicting Armfield. This part was played by Lucy Wigmore.

Death

Lillian Armfield lived her final years at a Methodist Hostel in Leichhardt, Sydney. She died at the Lewisham District Hospital on 26 August 1971, aged 86.Sydney Morning Herald - ''28 August 1971''. ''Death Notice'': Lillian May Armfield. Although she was never married and had few relatives, many old colleagues and friends attended her funeral at the

Northern Suburbs Crematorium The Northern Suburbs Crematorium, officially Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, is a crematorium in North Ryde, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It was officially opened on 28 October 1933, and the first cremation t ...

which included a police guard of honour.

Early life

Police career: 1915–1949

Acclaim

Death

See also

References

Further reading