Captain Popkess CBE- Notts Ex Chief Constable

16th April 2026 - Captain Popkess- Tom Andrews

Hands up anyone who has heard of the subject  of this evenings Biography?  

No member of Club were admitting to hearing about him before. 

Our speaker this evening gave a very detail account of the life of 

Captain Athelstan Horn Popkess CBE OStJ QPM (23 November 1893 – 29 April 1967) who was Chief Constable of Nottingham City Police from 1930 to 1959 

Tom Andrews presented club members with a detailed life story of this virtually unremembered chief constable

However, as a result of his transformations in modernising policing he could be considered to be the twentieth century's greatest police officer in the UK - according to a 2020 biography by Tom

He achieved particular notoriety following an investigation into corruption in Nottingham City Council in an incident which became known as "The Popkess Affair" due to the false suspicion that he had leaked information.

His many innovations are recorded is a book written by our speaker who was a serving front-line uniformed police officer for nearly 13 years, leaving at the rank of sergeant. He joined academia in order to train and develop new student police officers, as well as allow additional time for research - especially within the area of police history. 

Since 2021, he has been the editor of the Journal of the Police History Society which is published annually for members of the PHS. 

He is the author of The Greatest Policeman: A Biography of Capt. Athelstan Popkess CBE, OStJ, Chief Constable of Nottingham City Police 1930 - 1959  - the focus of this evenings presentation

Tom displayed a real enthusiasm for his subject 

Bill Banner offered the clubs thanks for the opportunity to learn about one of Nottinghams noted creative policemen     BB