PW_3_2019

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We stand upon the shoulders of such pioneers: The life and times of Lilian Mary Elizabeth Wyles of the Metropolitan Police Beverley Edwards , Chair of the MWPA, Thames Valley IPA Branch Lilian Wyles was the very first woman to serve as a fully attested officer in the C.I.D. She had already been amongst the first women to serve in the Metropolitan ‘Women Police’ instituted just after the First World War. L ilian attended Thanet Hall girls’ boarding school in Margate, before completing her education in Paris. She served as a the confidence of the Chief Constable of the CID, Frederick Wensley, who called upon her to work in several notable cases. Garry Trapp with his mother Lilian Trapp stand alongside the banner which was displayed in St. Sennen’s Church.

Lilian was 35 when she applied to join the Police. Her previous experience listed work as an unpaid volunteer in the Women’s Patrol, a children’s Governess, and some experience of social work in the East End of London. The minimum height requirement was 5’4”; women with dependant young children could not apply and they had no pension. Lilian joined Mrs Stanley’s group and along with 20 other women, went to the Peel House Training School on 30th December 1918 to train alongside the men. Her brother bet her £100 that she wouldn’t last as a police officer, a debt that she later collected. On 17th February 1919 Lilian signed her one-year contract of employment, and began her police career as one of the first newly promoted Police Woman Sergeants. She was given the Central and East End of London to supervise, which included the docks and Chinatown; both areas where the white slave trade was flourishing. After finishing their training, the new female recruits went straight to Harrods for the fitting of their new uniforms, as Mrs Stanley had an account there. These outfits arrived in time for their first appearance in uniform on 17th May 1919 at Westminster Abbey. In 1921, she was promoted to Inspector 2nd class, but the year after, due to the post war economic situation, cuts were made, which became known as the Geddes Axe. The Commissioner said that women officers were not doing ‘proper’ police work and were to be abolished. Lilian was a survivor, as one of only 20 officers who were retained. In December 1922 she became the first woman in CID, specifically employed as a sex statement taker. It wasn’t until April 1923 that she signed the Attestation Book, thereby receiving a Power of Arrest. Lilian was instrumental in ensuring that women officers, not civilian assistants, took statements from women in sexual assault cases. For these statements to be admissible in court, detailed knowledge of the rules of evidence were required. As the first women CID officer, Lilian’s relations with male colleagues were uneasy, although she enjoyed

hospital nurse during WWI and then, on return to London, she saw women patrolling the streets. The Women Police were organised by the National Union of Women Workers, under the leadership of Sophia Stanley. Lilian got an interview with Mrs Stanley and began her training in August 1918. The male officers kept a friendly eye upon them and assisted if necessary as they walked their beats, protecting the many young women attracted to London during the war. The patrols had no authority, dealing only with the welfare of women and girls. Many gave their time without payment. Mrs Stanley extended her Women Patrols to ordnance and arms factories. In September 1918, Lilian was posted to Woolwich Arsenal as Assistant Patrol Leader. On 11th November 1918, the

Lilian became an Inspector First class in 1935, equivalent to a Chief Inspector today. By the time she retired in 1949, there were 338 Metropolitan Police Women, 21 of whom were in the CID. Her Record of Service shows six commendations relating to sexual assault cases. She was the first woman to retire on completion of 30 years’ service. For this achievement, she was awarded the British Empire Medal. By the time of her retirement, women police were awarded a pension; Lilian received £340 per year. She wrote her memoirs, A Woman at Scotland Yard published in 1952, and lectured on police matters and child welfare. Lilian died unmarried in Penzance on 13th May 1975 and was interred in Sennen, her final resting place unmarked for more than 40 years, until a special service of blessing of a gravestone took place on 10th March, 2019, one hundred years after she first joined the Women’s Police Patrols in London.

sirens sounded at 11 o’clock and the First World War ended. With the factories now closed, the Women Patrols’ future was uncertain. The Home Secretary and Met Commissioner announced an ‘experiment’ of employing women police in the Met. Sir Edward Henry cancelled his contract with the National Union of Women Workers for their Women Patrols, but offered Mrs Stanley the job of first Superintendent of Women Police at £200 per year. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Cressida Dick CBE, QPM joined by other senior police officers share a moment of reflection in St. Sennen church yard.

The newly erected gravestone. Serving and retired Metropolitan Police Officers were able to place pebbles with warrant numbers written on them in lieu of flowers.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No.3, 2019