Calling Detective Crockford: The story of a pioneering policewoman in the 1950s

This nostalgic and absorbing memoir tells the story of a real-life female police detective in post-war Britain, as she navigates a man’s world.

It’s 1956, and the Berkshire Constabulary has never had a woman detective before. That is, until bright and ambitious WPC Gwen Crockford passes out of Hendon Detective Training School with flying colours…

After five years serving as one of Britain’s first policewomen, Gwen Crockford becomes one of its first female detectives. Swapping crime prevention for detection, she must soon become comfortable with attending murder scenes and post-mortems, investigating sex crimes and going undercover. Her police work is diverse and challenging: dealing with Teddy boy violence, arson, a paedophile ‘war hero’, and solving an unexplained death are all part of her remit.

Gwen is sharp and quick to learn, considered ‘one of the boys’ by her colleagues, DS Kinch and DS Le Mercier. Until, that is, the traumatizing death of a child, the arrival of a new sexist DS, and near-zero opportunity for promotion force Gwen to reevaluate her career.

Written and researched by Gwen’s daughter Ruth from family papers, remembered stories from her mother and contemporary newspapers, this is a fascinating insight into late-1950s society and the challenges faced by female police officers.

This is the second book in the Crockford series, following Calling WPC Crockford - Gwen’s time as a pioneering uniform policewoman in the early 1950s.