William Gentle

Sir William Benjamin Gentle (1865 - September 2 1948) was known for his work in fighting racecourse crime and was jointly responsible for promoting greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.

He entered the Ordnance Survey in 1882, aged 17. One year later he went to South Africa and served in the Cape Mounted Rifles for three years. When he returned to England in 1887 he joined the Metropolitan Police. Ten years later he moved to Reading and became Chief Constable of Brighton in 1901. He held the post for 19 years and became well known for his work in combating race course gangs. He was knighted Sir William Gentle for his work in 1916.

He retired to Thetford in Norfolk where he was four times mayor and in 1938 was High Sheriff of the county.

During his retirement he worked alongside Brigadier Alfred Critchley in forming the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) which introduced greyhound racing to the UK. He was the first chairman of the GRA. He was also Chairman of the Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester from 1925 to 1928.

Gentle was married and had two sons. His wife died in 1941. His son Frank Gentle was also a director of the GRA and went on to manage the GRA's Harringay Stadium.

He died leaving an estate valued at £460,950. ["The Guardian", Page 3, December 3rd, 1948]

: Source: "The Guardian", Page 8, September 3rd, 1948.

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