Ronald Gregory

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ronald Gregory
Chief Constable
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branch
Second World War

Ronald Gregory,

Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe
.

Having been born in

Second World War. Having returned to civilian life in 1946, he served as a police officer and detective in his home town of Preston. In 1962 or 1963, he was appointed deputy chief constable of Blackpool. He was then chief constable of Plymouth City Police before becoming deputy chief constable of the newly created Devon and Cornwall Police. In 1969, he became chief constable of West Yorkshire Constabulary
, where he would spend the rest of his career.

Early life

Gregory was born on 23 October 1921 in Preston, Lancashire, England.[1] He came from a family of policemen: his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had been officers.[2] He was educated at Harris College, known for its vocational and technical courses.[1][3]

Military service

In 1942, at the age of 20, Gregory volunteered to join the

war substantive).[5]

He transferred to the

Phuket Island by the Japanese: after an emergency landing offshore, the injured Gregory swam out to sea while under heavy fire, before being rescued by a Walrus flying boat.[2] He was demobilised in 1946.[3]

Police career

Gregory began his policing career as a police cadet with the

detective chief inspector.[2]

In 1962 or 1963, he became a chief officer, having been appointed deputy chief constable of Blackpool.[1][2] He became chief constable of Plymouth City Police in 1965.[3] However, only two years later, the city police was merged with its neighbouring forces into Devon and Cornwall Police; he became deputy chief constable of the new force in 1967 or 1968.[1][2]

In 1969, Gregory began his final police appointment: as chief constable of

motorway patrol unit.[8][2]

On 30 October 1975, Peter Sutcliffe killed the first of his 13 known victims: 28-year-old Wilma Mary McCann from Scott Hall, Leeds.[1][9] Sutcliffe would not be arrested until January 1981, after which he confessed to 13 murders.[2] Gregory directly contributed to the delay in finding Sutcliffe through his support of the 'Wearside Jack' cassette tape and letters; these were later revealed to be a hoax but diverted detectives for two years into chasing a non-existent lead.[1][2] The associated press and poster campaign which was fronted by Gregory himself cost the inquiry almost £1 million.[1] That line of inquiry produced "100 per cent rubbish",[2] and, in July 1979, Sutcliffe was interviewed for the fifth time but was dismissed as a suspect because his voice and handwriting did not fit 'Wearside Jack'.[10] Sutcliffe would go on to kill at least three more women.[10] He was finally arrested on 2 January 1981 by a neighbouring force for a traffic offence, although further investigation of the scene the following day revealed a hammer and knife: the 'Yorkshire Ripper' had been found and Sutcliffe readily confessed to 13 murders.[2][10] Gregory swiftly called a triumphant press conference, stating that he was "delighted with developments at this stage" and announcing the immediate scaling-down of the Ripper manhunt.[2] This would become known as the "laughing policeman" press conference,[8] and he was criticised for both his jubilant behaviour and the possibility of prejudicing Sutcliffe's future trial.[2][8]

The later inquiry into the manhunt's failings was highly critical of Gregory's decision to appoint George Oldfield as senior investigating officer: he only undertook the role part-time in addition to his duties as assistant chief constable (crime), and he was not considered to have had the professional competence and charisma to effectively lead such a large inquiry.[11] In addition, when Oldfield took ill in 1979, Gregory was found to have not acted swiftly enough to ensure a clear replacement was appointed.[11]

Gregory retired early from the police in 1983, two years after Sutcliffe was apprehended.

Mail on Sunday for a reported £40,000.[1] This was widely criticised with the families of Sutcliffe's victims describing it as "blood money", Leon Brittan, the Home Secretary, called it "deplorable", and the Police Review called him a hypocrite.[1][8] One survivor of an attack by Sutcliffe was only awarded £17,000 in compensation after a long legal fight,[12] and as chief constable he had banned his officers from speaking to the press.[2]

Personal life

In 1942, Gregory married Grace Ellison. Together they had two sons.[3]

Gregory spent much of his retirement living in Portugal.[2] He died on 9 April 2010, aged 88.[3]

Honours

In the

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of his work as chief constable of West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police.[15]

In popular culture

Gregory is portrayed by Michael McElhatton in The Long Shadow (2023).[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wainwright, Martin (18 April 2010). "Ronald Gregory obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Ronald Gregory". The Telegraph. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  3. ^
    Who Was Who
    . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ^ "No. 36378". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 February 1944. pp. 782–784.
  5. ^ "No. 36629". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 July 1944. pp. 3515–3516.
  6. ^ "No. 36882". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 January 1945. pp. 268–269.
  7. ^ "No. 36859". The London Gazette. 26 December 1944. p. 5921.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituaries: Ronald Gregory". The Yorkhisre Post. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Yorkshire Ripper death: People 'should focus on victims'". BBC News. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Summers, Chris. "Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper". Crime Case Closed. BBC. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  11. ^ a b "The Ripper truth was staring them in the face". The Times. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  12. ^ O’Neill, Sean (27 September 2023). "The Long Shadow: the drama that gives a voice to the Yorkshire Ripper's victims". Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  13. ^ "No. 45262". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1970. p. 28.
  14. ^ "No. 47343". The London Gazette. 6 October 1977. p. 12589.
  15. ^ "No. 48212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1980. p. 8.
  16. ^ Hibbs, James (25 September 2023). "The Long Shadow cast: Full list of actors in ITV true crime drama". Radio Times. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ronald_Gregory&oldid=1220312675"