Lawrence Byford

Sir Lawrence Byford CBE QPM DL (10 August 1925 – 10 February 2018) was an English police officer who served as Chief Inspector of Constabulary from 1983 to 1987.[1] His inquiry into the failings of the Yorkshire Ripper investigation by West Yorkshire Police earned him the description "the man who changed the face of modern policing" because it "led to fundamental changes in the way serial killer investigations would be carried out in future across the world".[2][3]

Sir

Lawrence Byford

CBE QPM DL
Born(1925-08-10)10 August 1925
Normanton, Yorkshire, England
Died10 February 2018(2018-02-10) (aged 92)
OccupationPolice officer
OfficeChief Inspector of Constabulary
Term1983–1987
PredecessorJames Crane
SuccessorRichard Barratt

Early life

Byford was born the son of a coal miner in Normanton, West Yorkshire.[4] He left school without any qualifications and became an apprentice electrician at a local pit. In 1944, Byford was conscripted and saw service during the latter months of World War II with the Royal Signals in France, Belgium and Germany.[2]

Career

Byford's police career began in 1947 as a constable with the West Riding Constabulary, where he rose to be the Commander of the Huddersfield Division. He also graduated from the University of Leeds with a law degree in 1956.[2] He left in 1968 to join the senior leadership team of Lincolnshire Police, and was Chief Constable from 1973 to 1977. He was a Regional Inspector of Constabulary from 1978 until his appointment to the top job. In retirement he served as President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1991 to 1999.[5][6]

Honours

He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 1974 New Years Honours List. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979, and was knighted in 1984.[7] He was appointed as the Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of the County of Lincolnshire on 24 November 1987.[8] He was appointed as the Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of the County of North Yorkshire on 31 March 1998.[9] On 10 August 2000 he was moved to the retired list in both counties upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.




RibbonDescriptionNotes
Knight Bachelor (Kt)
Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Order of St John
Queen's Police Medal (QPM)
  • 1 January 1974
  • "For Distinguished Service"
  • [12]
1939-45 Star
France and Germany Star
War Medal
Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

[13]

Personal life

In 1950 he married Muriel Campbell Massey: they had three children, one of whom was Deputy Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation and head of BBC Journalism from 2004 to 2011.[14]

Later life

Byford was President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1990 to 1999;[5] and a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire from 1992.[15]

References
  1. ‘BYFORD, Sir Lawrence’, Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2015 ; online edn, November 2015 accessed 14 May 2016
  2. Earnshaw, Tony (14 February 2018). "Tributes to Sir Lawrence Byford the man who changed the face of modern policing". Examiner Live. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  3. "Sir Lawrence Byford report into the police handling of the Yorkshire Ripper case". GOV.UK.
  4. Byford, Mark (18 February 2018). "Sir Lawrence Byford obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  5. "The Yorkshire County Cricket Club Past Presidents - The Club". Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
  6. "Chief Inspector of Constabulary who found glaring errors in the Yorkshire Ripper investigation" The Daily Telegraph Issue no 50,615 p 27 dated Tuesday 13 February 2018
  7. "No. 49696". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 April 1984. p. 1.
  8. "Deputy Lieutenant Commissions LIEUTENANCY OF THE COUNTY OF LINCOLN". The London Gazette. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  9. "Deputy Lieutenant Commissions LIEUTENANCY OF THE COUNTY OF YORKSHIRE". The London Gazette. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  10. "Knights Bachelor 31 December 1983". The London Gazette. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  11. "CBE Appointment 31 December 1978". The London Gazette. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  12. "Queen's Police Medal Appointment 1 January 1974". The London Gazette. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  13. Earnshaw, Tony (14 February 2018). "Tributes to Sir Lawrence Byford". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  14. Midgley, Neil (11 October 2010). "BBC's Mark Byford made redundant". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  15. "Sir Lawrence Byford, former HM Inspector of Constabulary". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
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