Ranulph Bacon
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Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ranulph Robert Maunsell Bacon (6 August 1906 – 30 March 1988) was a British police officer. Bacon was born in
Westgate-on-Sea Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent, England. It is within the Thanet District, Thanet Districts of England, local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy ...
, Kent, and educated at
Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...
and
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...
. He joined the Metropolitan Police as a
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 officer within a police service. Other peo ...
in 1928 and was selected for
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 ...
in 1934, passing out with the Baton of Honour. At the outbreak of the
Second World War 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 ...
, Bacon was eager to enlist, but was not given permission to do so. Finally in May 1940 he was commissioned into the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
as a
provost marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French (Modern French ). While a provost marshal is now usually a senior c ...
on the
General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...
. By December 1941, when he was
mentioned in despatches 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 ...
for his service in the
Western Desert In Egypt, the Western Desert is an area of the Sahara that lies west of the river Nile, up to the Libyan border, and south from the Mediterranean Sea to the border with Sudan. It is named in contrast to the Eastern Desert which extends east fro ...
, he held the local rank of major, although his substantive rank was lieutenant. He was later promoted lieutenant-colonel and in 1942 was appointed deputy provost marshal of the Ninth Army. In November 1943, he was seconded to the Colonial Police Service as deputy inspector-general of the
Ceylon Police Sri Lanka Police (; ) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the p ...
, and was promoted inspector-general in 1944. His deputy inspector-general was John Waldron, another Hendon graduate who was later to succeed him as both assistant commissioner "A" and deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. In 1947, he returned to Britain as chief constable of the Devon County Constabulary, and held the post until his appointment as assistant commissioner "A" (operations and administration) of the Metropolitan Police on 1 November 1961. He was awarded the King's Police and Fire Services Medal in the
1953 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1953 for the United Kingdom were announced on 30 December 1952, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1953. This was the first New Year Honours since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The ''Honours list'' ...
. In 1963, he was appointed assistant commissioner "C" (crime), in charge of the
Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...
. At a press conference on 31 December 1964, he urged the public to "have a go" if they saw an armed robbery taking place, which was criticised as irresponsible by many. He was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
in the
1966 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...
. In 1966, he briefly served as
deputy commissioner A deputy commissioner is a police, income tax or administrative official in many countries. The rank is commonplace in police forces of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, usually ranking below the Commissioner. Australia In all Aust ...
, from 8 April to his retirement in October."Two Police Chiefs Promoted", ''
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 ...
'', 16 March 1966


Footnotes


References

*"Metropolis Post for Chief Constable", ''
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 June 1961 *Biography, ''
Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...
''


External links


Photographic portraits of Bacon in the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Ranulph 1906 births 1988 deaths People from Westgate-on-Sea People educated at Tonbridge School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge British Army General List officers British Army personnel of World War II British colonial police officers Sri Lankan Inspectors General of Police British Chief Constables Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Deputy Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Knights Bachelor English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal People from British Ceylon