Walter Stansfield

Sir Walter Stansfield (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 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). 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.

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.

Honours 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.

Publications