Fay Allen

Allen was born in Jamaica,[3][4] and moved to the United Kingdom in 1961[5] or 1962.[6] She lived in Thornton Heath, Croydon.[7] She qualified as a state registered nurse[8] and worked at Queen's Hospital, Croydon, a geriatric facility in south London.[9] She was married to a fellow Jamaican immigrant and had two children.[9]

Allen had always been interested in the police and in 1968 saw a recruitment advertisement in the newspaper, applied, and was selected.[9] The first black officer in the British police since the 19th century, Norwell Roberts, had only joined the Metropolitan Police the previous year. "On the day I joined I nearly broke a leg trying to run away from reporters," she told an interviewer later. "I realised then that I was a history maker. But I didn't set out to make history; I just wanted a change of direction."[10]

After training at Peel House[11] for 13 weeks,[12] she was posted to Fell Road police station in Croydon, where she lived, on 29 April 1968, aged 29.[8] She experienced more prejudice from the black community than from her colleagues or from white people in Croydon,[9] and was met largely with curiosity and considerable interest from the media, although the Metropolitan Police did receive some racist mail about her appointment.[3][9] The threatening and abusive letters she received when she started working at Fell Road made her consider whether she wanted to remain in the force.[13][14][15] After a year in Croydon, she was posted to the Missing Persons Bureau at Scotland Yard for a while before being transferred back to the beat at Norbury police station.[9]

In 1972, she resigned from the Metropolitan Police to return to Jamaica with her family. There she joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force.[9] Eventually, she returned to England; as of 2015, she lived in South London.[9] In 2020, she was given a lifetime achievement award by the National Black Police Association.[16]

She died in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in July 2021, aged 83. Her death was announced on 5 July.[17]