Frank Richardson (1851–1938) was an English policeman. He joined the Birmingham City Police in 1873 as a constable third class. Within one year he was promoted to constable second class and one year later to constable first class. In 1878 he was promoted to sergeant within the same force, and in 1882 he applied to be chief constable of Hereford, Herefordshire and was successful. He remained in this post, receiving the King's Police Coronation Medal in 1912The King commanded a new decoration for long and meritorious service and being decorated at Buckingham Palace in 1917. He was at that time the "Most Senior Chief Constable of England"Most Senior Chief Constable was a title given by the Chief Constables Association, at that time, by virtue of his length of service in that post- 34 years to date in Richardson's case. He had married in 1870 and had nine children of which seven were sons with only one not joining the police service. In total he and his family provided 176 years service to the constabularies of England and South Africa. Between 1903 and 1920 there were three Chief Constable Richardsons in office.Newspaper, The Hereford Times, Oct 1931. He was also the chief fire brigade officer of Hereford, adding many innovations to the fire service.Fire Service, Distributing hand held extinguishers, documented Hereford Museum. Steam driven Fire Appliances. Documented at Hereford Record Office. Fire Service uniforms and protective headgear, held at Hereford Museum. Motorized Fire Engine made by Dennis with turntable in 1908.
Early life Frank Richardson was baptised Frank Richardson Green.He was to change his name later by dropping "Green". Deed Poll, dated 8 January 1886. Lodged at Somerset House, London. Viewed 1995. He was the fifth child of James (1823–1885) and Alvina (1828–1886) Green, of Upton St Leonards, near Gloucester, Gloucestershire.Census of England, Parish Upton St Leonards, The Portway. April 1851. His father was a builder, stonemason and bricklayer, who usually employed about five or six men. He was also a deputy overseer.City Police Intelligence, Complaint, Gloucester and Cheltenham Journal 24 April 1858James Green, gives Character reference, man accused of being drunk in the village, Gloucester and Cheltenham Journal 9 November 1867
At the age of five he went to the village school. From the age of eleven until seventeen he attended a prestigious school in central Gloucester. Like his brothers and sisters, he also had to work on the family smallholding. His father and grandfather had a strong work ethic which was passed on to all the children and in Richardson Green's case it led to him using his home knowledge to set up his own business in Gloucester at the early age of seventeen. At twenty he married Mary Taylor (1851–1894)Details unknown but they renewed their vows in Cheltenham in 1885. and they immediately moved to Birmingham where he started another business.Census of England 1871. Newtown View, Birmingham. 141. Page 15. Later in the year Frank Richardson Green and his wife returned to Gloucester, where their first child was born. For a while he ran a successful business in central Gloucester but in August 1872 they returned to Birmingham where he joined the Birmingham Police Force.
Birmingham At this point Frank Richardson Green dropped his surname and became Frank Richardson. He joined the City of Birmingham Police Force on 21 August 1873.Police Entrants Book. Frank Richardson, Warrant number 4810. Assigned to Division 4. Page 394. West Midlands Police Museum, Sparkhill, Birmingham, viewed 2012. He was stationed as a uniformed police officer at Moor Street Police Station, a central station in the heart of the city. The family lived in a court, a collection of houses forming a square and overlooking a courtyard, very characteristic of Birmingham city centre at this time. Birmingham in this period was controlled by gangs and was a violent city.Police Records book, page 349, West Midlands Police Museum, Sparkhill, Birmingham, viewed 2012. During his time in Birmingham, he worked closely with Detective (later Chief Superintendent) Gerard Van HeldenVan Helden, born in the Netherlands, was promoted very rapidly in the Birmingham Detective Office. He worked frequently with Frank Richardson on cases and later he became the mentor for Frank Richardson's second son Alfred Herbert Richardson when he joined the police in 1891. Van Helden died very suddenly, in office, in June 1901. Frank Richardson, along with four other chief constables attended his funeral with A.H.Richardson, now a detective inspector, acting as a pall bearer. Birmingham Daily Post, article "The Late Supt. Van Helden", 21 June 1901. who was to become very well known later. Richardson was promoted to constable second class, in August 1874 which coincided with the birth of his second son Alfred Herbert Richardson (who was to become chief constable of Halifax). In March 1875 he was again promoted, to constable first class and in 1878 to sergeant. Promotion brought a move in accommodation to an improved location but still within the city centre. This was considered to be a very rapid rate of promotion.Promotion Record, Frank Richardson, pages 394 and 349. West Midlands Police Museum Viewed 2012. In 1882, the City of Hereford advertisedCity of Hereford, Schedule and Duties for post. Particulars. Richardson Private Family Archives.Watch Committee Notice, Records Page 191, dated 16 November 1882. for the office of superintendent of police and chief fire brigade officer. It was very unusual to have a post within the Constabulary which combined both police and fire chief. Richardson applied and went for his first interview in November of that year.Watch Committee Minutes, page 195. Meeting held at the Mansion House, Hereford, on 20 November 1882. Chairman and Mayor Mr. M. Scobie. Seven councilors present, 23 candidates were interviewed on this day. Physical characteristics of Frank Richardson recorded as, Well built. Height 5ft 10½ inches One week later after further selectionsCity of Hereford Watch Committee minutes, 20 November 1882, pages 195 and 196. Richardson was offered the post.Newspaper The Birmingham Daily Post. Article, "Presentation to a Police Sergeant". December 1882.
Hereford
The Chief Constable's accommodation was a large one-storey house on its own grounds, known as Security Villa, DeLacey StreetHereford City Council Valuation of all premises in 1901. Security Villa, number 5075. within the City of Hereford Police Complex. This complex of buildings, built in the late 1880s, was very austere without the usual Victorian design extras. The complex also housed the fire station, the firemen's married accommodation, the single constables' accommodation, the police station, the magistrates' court and administration offices. The Hereford Police Station was a former gaol in Gaol Street, Hereford. It was built in 1841The history of the Hereford Police Station, www.heritage-explorer.co.uk. Viewed March 2014. and occupied the whole of the first floor of the building, the magistrates' court (which has a wide glass roof) and the court administration offices occupied the ground floor. The basement housed six cells, a restraining cell and police offices which were used when the court was sitting. A short staircase led from here to the witness box in the courtroom. Chief Constable Richardson in his new position had a large range of duties ranging from the licensing of hackney carriages to being inspector of contagious diseases and a requirement to always appear in uniform.Hereford City Records, Herefordshire County Record Office, Hereford.
City fire departments were in their infancy in 1883 and for an individual to lead both the police and fire departments was an innovation in Hereford. Soon after his arrival, he wrote to the Mayor of Hereford referring to the possible appointment of seven men as firemen.Richardson Private Family Archives. Up until this time policemen carried out fire-fighting, and he wanted a new situation whereby if policemen arrived first at a fire, they would fight the fire but give way to the firemen when they arrived. The letter also suggests that both the police officers and the seven new firemen men should receive training as fire-fighters. This was agreed by the Watch Committee of Hereford City Council.Hereford City Council Records, County Record Office, Hereford. After further discussion, the seven fire fighters were integrated into the police force, using them as constables when there were no fires to be fought. Richardson also introduced a new grey uniform for the fire fighters.Examples held by the Hereford City Museum. A post boy was employed as a runner; one of his duties was to run to the Merton MeadowsMeadows are an area near the river in Hereford. or the Green Dragon Public House in Broad Street, Hereford, to collect two horses to pull a steam driven fire engine named the Nell Gwynne.Book, Policing Hereford and Leominster by G. Forrest and T. Hadley. Page 59. . A charge of five pounds five shillings was made for attendance of the steam fire engine.Pamphlet giving the scale of charges of the Fire Brigade. Hereford City Council Records, County Record Office, Hereford. The fire station had a bell which was tolled to call the fireman out. The seven firemen each had houses in DeLacey Street and electric alarm bells were installed.Letter from Ted Hadley, whose father was a police/fireman. Later to co-write a book Policing Hereford and Leominster, G. Forrest and T Hadley. . The Chief Constable also had an electric bell installed at Security Villa which alerted him of a fire. Also a horse and gig cart from the Security Villa's own small stable was made ready by a policeman. In later years, a taxi would automatically arrive at the front door, again, summoned by the duty police officer. Richardson took great pride in his creation. Apart from the grey uniform, red piping was later added, plus three sets of fire headgear, boots and axes1. Hereford City Museum, Broad Street, Hereford. 2. Newspaper article, Hereford Times. 1885 and a motto "Always Ready". In 1885 300 yards of canvas hose, couplings and stand pipes and a "telescopic fire escape" were added to the equipment. This made the use of the old leather buckets obsolete.Hereford City Museum, Broad Street, Hereford. He distributed hand-held "fire extinguishers", patented in 1868, to public and larger buildings. These contained about a gallon of water in a sealed glass container within a smaller metal canister. There was a weak point created at the top of the glass and the idea was to throw it on the fire where it would spray water. In 1907 a severe fire broke out at Rotherwas House, a country gentleman's mansion with an historic chapel, just outside the city limits. Richardson broke the councils rules by rushing to the scene and prevented the blaze from spreading.This event brought much praise from the owner of Rotherwas and later the council to Richardson. The story leading up to the fire brigade's decision to tackle the blaze received much publicity at the time and the details were reprinted in a Hereford City exhibition of 2007. Horses pulled fire engines in Hereford until 1908 when a motorized unit was purchased. As a further refinement the 1912 "list of beats" for the city police showed that certain city centre night beats were designated "fire escape beats". These were the areas with a higher risk of fire and ensured a rapid response for the heart of the city. This arrangement continued until the 1930s.Hereford City Watch Committee records, County Record Office, Hereford. The officers on the special beat list occupied a row of houses in DeLacy Street, adjacent to the police and fire stations.