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Lawrence Byford

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Sir
Lawrence Byford
CBEQPMDL
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

Sir Lawrence ByfordCBEQPMDL(10 August 1925 – 10 February 2018) was an English police officer who served asChief Inspector of Constabularyfrom 1983 to 1987.[1]His inquiry into the failings of theYorkshire Ripperinvestigation byWest Yorkshire Policeearned 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]

Early life

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Byford was born the son of a coal miner inNormanton, West Riding of 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

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Byford's police career began in 1947 as a constable with the West Riding Constabulary, where he rose to be theCommanderof theHuddersfieldDivision.He also graduated from theUniversity of Leedswith a law degree in 1956.[2]He left in 1968 to join the senior leadership team ofLincolnshire Police,and wasChief Constablefrom 1973 to 1977. He was aRegional Inspector of Constabularyfrom 1978 until his appointment to the top job. In retirement he served as President ofYorkshire County Cricket Clubfrom 1991 to 1999.[5][6]

Honours

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He was awarded theQueen's Police Medal(QPM) in the1974 New Years Honours List.He was appointed a Commander of theOrder of the British Empirein 1979, and wasknightedin 1984.[7]He was appointed as theDeputy Lieutenant(DL) of theCountyofLincolnshireon 24 November 1987.[8]He was appointed as theDeputy Lieutenant(DL) of theCountyofNorth Yorkshireon 31 March 1998.[9]On 10 August 2000 he was moved to the retired list in both counties upon reaching themandatory retirementage of 75.




Ribbon Description Notes
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

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In 1950 he married Muriel Campbell Massey: they had three children,one of whomwas Deputy Director General of theBritish Broadcasting Corporationand head of BBC Journalism from 2004 to 2011.[14]Byford's daughter, Jill, is mother of comedianMaisie Adam.[15]

Later life

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Byford wasPresidentofYorkshire County Cricket Clubfrom 1990 to 1999;[5]and aDeputy LieutenantofNorth Yorkshirefrom 1992.[16]

References

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  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 2015accessed 14 May 2016
  2. ^abcEarnshaw, Tony (14 February 2018)."Tributes to Sir Lawrence Byford the man who changed the face of modern policing".Examiner Live.Retrieved25 November2019.
  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.Retrieved24 October2022.
  5. ^ab"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 TelegraphIssue 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.Retrieved9 December2022.
  9. ^"Deputy Lieutenant Commissions LIEUTENANCY OF THE COUNTY OF YORKSHIRE".The London Gazette.Retrieved9 December2022.
  10. ^"Knights Bachelor 31 December 1983".The London Gazette.Retrieved9 December2022.
  11. ^"CBE Appointment 31 December 1978".The London Gazette.Retrieved9 December2022.
  12. ^"Queen's Police Medal Appointment 1 January 1974".The London Gazette.Retrieved9 December2022.
  13. ^Earnshaw, Tony (14 February 2018)."Tributes to Sir Lawrence Byford".YorkshireLive.Retrieved25 November2019.
  14. ^Midgley, Neil (11 October 2010)."BBC's Mark Byford made redundant".Daily Telegraph.Retrieved14 May2016.
  15. ^Downey, Mike (9 June 1999)."Once Again, Many Brits Think We've Overdone It".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved11 February2020.
  16. ^"Sir Lawrence Byford, former HM Inspector of Constabulary".The Yorkshire Post.Retrieved19 September2020.
Police appointments
Preceded by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
1983–1987 		Succeeded by
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