Douglas Osmond

Sir Douglas Osmond (27 June 1914 – 20 April 2006) was the chief constable of Shropshire Constabulary and later Hampshire Constabulary. He is regarded as one of the first career chief constables in the UK.

Biography

Douglas Osmond joined the Metropolitan Police in 1935 where he rose to Inspector before joining the Royal Navy during the Second World War. After the war he returned to the police and was appointed as the chief constable of Shropshire Constabulary (now part of West Mercia Constabulary) in 1946. At 32 he was one of the youngest to have achieved this position in the United Kingdom (The youngest was Sir Eric St Johnston who, in 1940 at the of 29, was appointed chief constable of Oxfordshire Constabulary). Equally remarkable was his rise through the ranks at a time when most chief constables were externally appointed.

In 1962 Osmond left to become the chief constable of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary where in 1967 he presided over the amalgamation with the Portsmouth and Southampton city forces. At this point the force was renamed to Hampshire Constabulary and Osmond remained chief constable until his retirement from the post in 1977.

He died on 20 April 2006 aged 91.

Honours

During his life Osmond received the following honours:

• 1958 OBE
• 1962 Queen's Police Medal
• 1968 CBE
• 1971 Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem
• 1971 Knighthood
• 1981 Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire

See also

• Hampshire Constabulary
• Policing in the United Kingdom

References

• Rolling, S. (2006). Obituary - Douglas Osmond. Frontline (Hampshire Constabulary newspaper). June 2005. Portsmouth.
• (2006). Sir Douglas Osmond obituary. Daily Telegraph. 28 April 2006.

Persondata
Name	Osmond, Douglas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 June 1914
Place of birth
Date of death	20 April 2006
Place of death