Walter Stansfield

British police officer and Chief Constable of Derbyshire (1917-84)

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.
Find sources: "Walter Stansfield" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2023)

|

Lieutenant Colonel

Sir Walter Stansfield

Kt CBE CStJ MC QPM CPM

Chief Constable of
Derbyshire Constabulary
In office
1967–1979
Preceded by| William Ewart Pitts
Succeeded by| James Fryer
Chief Constable of
Denbighshire Constabulary
In office
1964–1967
Succeeded by| Abolished (amalgamation with Gwynedd Constabulary)
Personal details
Born| (1917-02-15)15 February 1917
Brighouse, England
Died| 14 December 1984(1984-12-14) (aged 67)
Military career
Allegiance|  United Kingdom
Service/branch|  British Army
Years of service| 1942–1946
Rank| Lieutenant Colonel
Unit| Royal Artillery
Special Operations Executive

Sir Walter Stansfield CBE CStJ MC QPM CPM (15 February 1917 – 14 December 1984) was a British police officer and soldier who was Chief Constable of Denbighshire Constabulary (1964–67) and Derbyshire Constabulary (1967–79).

## Career[edit]

Stansfield was born in Brighouse, Yorkshire, on 15 February 1917, the son of F. and A. G. Stansfield. He was educated at Chartres, France, and at the Heath Grammar School, Halifax, Yorkshire, before joining the West Riding Constabulary in 1939. Three years later, he joined the Royal Artillery and a year later joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE).[1]

He parachuted into France (near Severac, Aveyron), in June 1944 in order to organise maquis groups and direct sabotage and attacks on the retreating Germans. He was Lieutenant Colonel during the Control Commission in Germany during 1945–46 and was seconded to the Special Police Corps in Germany from 1946 until 1950.[2]

Stansfield served in the West Riding Constabulary (1950–56) before being seconded to the Cyprus Police Force from 1956 to 1959.[2] He returned to the West Riding Constabulary in 1959 and was Assistant Chief Constable from 1962 to 1964. He was appointed Chief Constable of Denbighshire Constabulary in 1964, and then became Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary in 1967.[1]

In 1981, he was the Joint Editor (with James Fryer) of the 24th edition of Cecil C. H. Moriarty's handbook of police law, Moriarty' s Police Law: An Arrangement of Law and Regulations for the Use of Police Officers. Stansfield died on 14 December 1984.[1]

## Honours[edit]

Stansfield was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in 1945 and was also the recipient of the French Croix de Guerre (with Palm) in 1947. He received the Colonial Police Medal (CPM) in 1959 and the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in 1969. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1974 New Year Honours. Stansfield became a Knight Bachelor in the 1979 New Year Honours and was appointed a Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (CStJ) later the same year.[1]

## Publications[edit]

* Fryer, James; Stansfield, Walter, eds. (1981). Moriarty's Police Law: An Arrangement of Law and Regulations for the Use of Police Officers (24th ed.). London: Butterworths.

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Stansfield, Sir Walter, (15 Feb. 1917–14 Dec. 1984), Chief Constable of Derbyshire, 1967–79; Chairman, Consolidated Safeguards, since 1983". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U169386. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
2. ^ a b "Private Papers of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Walter Stansfield CBE MC". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

Portals:

* United Kingdom
* Biography
* Law

Authority control databases |

* VIAF

|