Southwark Police have paid tribute to Robert Branford, possibly the first Black heritage police officer to serve in the Metropolitan Police.
Despite joining the force in 1838, the same year that slaves were freed in the colonies, he rose to the rank of Superintendent for M Division in Southwark in the area covering the Borough and Bermondsey.
This would have been one of the most dangerous parts of Victorian London yet historical records show Branford distinguished himself, receiving special recognition for his work during the Great Fire of Tooley Street in 1861.
Local historian Stephen Bourne, whose research has revealed fresh details about his life, said: “We shouldn’t just assume that Black people were always downtrodden victims of racism.
“Branford demonstrates that there would have been some, although not many, exceptions to the rule. He was not only an exception, but an exceptional human being.”
Thanks to Mr Bourne’s research, Borough Commander Seb Adjei Addoh became aware of Branford’s story and named the Peckham Police Station briefing room after him on October 3, 2023.
Robert Branford was born in 1820 in Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk, to a white mother, Hannah Branford, and a Black father, of whom little is known.
By 1838 he had joined the Metropolitan Police Service, lying on his form to say he was born in 1817.
He would spend his entire career serving the Borough and Bermondsey, stationed at Stone’s End Police Station, behind The Ship pub which, almost 200 years later, is still popular with local bobbies finishing their shifts at Southwark Police Station.
Branford was made a sergeant in 1846 and later a superintendent in 1856, the highest rank in the division.
He lived in Newington and the plethora of historical documents referencing him show he quickly established himself as a valued local officer and leader.
In 1861, the Great Fire of Tooley Street struck, a huge blaze that began at Cotton’s Wharf and raged for two entire weeks.
Thought to have been caused by the unsafe storage of hemp and jute, it killed firefighter Superintendent James Braidwood when a warehouse collapsed on him.
One article in the Morning Advertiser, published in the wake of the fire, said local churchgoers paid special tribute to Branford for his service during the chaos in a ‘testimonial’ – a ceremony paying thanks to the officer.
The article said: “The parishioners of St Olaves, Southwark, presented a very handsome and valuable testimonial to Branford as a mark of respect for his services and those of the police under his command under the Great Fire of Tooley Street”.
Evidence of his Black heritage mainly rests on an extract from Scotland Yard Past and Present (1893) by retired Victorian policeman Timothy Cavanagh.
Using an outdated epithet, Cavanagh wrote that Branford was “about the only half-caste superintendent the service ever had”.
He added: “Mr Branford was not an educated man; but what to my idea was of much greater important, he possessed a thorough knowledge of Police matters in general.”
However, Cavenagh’s writings also showed the racism Branford would have faced, saying that some colleagues referred to him as the N word when he wasn’t present.
Research by historian Stephen Bourne has also added weight to the belief that Branford was Black. An internal police form described him as being of ‘dark’ complexion with ‘black’ hair.
But despite the obstacles he must have faced, the fanfare at his retirement indicates he was a talented and highly-respected leader.
On his retirement in 1866, The South London Journal reported that “a very large meeting of officers” and local tradesmen gathered on Kennington Lane to celebrate his tenure.
Amid “enthusiastic cheers’ he was given a gift of a silver inkstand “liberally subscribed for by all members of the force”.
“He could without egoism say that by perseverance he had raised himself to the highest post in this division,” the article said.
Historian Stephen Bourne says the reception he received on leaving the force shows that Branford wasn’t defined by his ethnicity.
He said: “It’s not so much about his race, it’s about the example he set to his officers.
“His race was incidental but he set a fantastic example as someone who started with nothing and worked his way up. In any profession, that’s quite something to do.”
He was then able to enjoy his retirement with his wife Sarah who he’d married at the Trinity Church near Newington Causeway in 1841. They had no children.
Despite spending his career in the hustle and bustle of inner London, it seems Robert was always attracted by the rural life of his childhood.
He moved to Little Waldingfield where he died from kidney failure in 1869, just three years after retiring.
In 2017, after locating his final resting place in the churchyard of Little Waldingfield, Stephen Bourne attended a memorial service at his graveside, organised by the Metropolitan Police.