Staffordshire police dogs pioneer dies at age of 98
A former Staffordshire Police Chief Constable who helped pioneer the role of police dogs has died on his 98th birthday.
Stanley Peck had joined the Metropolitan Police before the Second World War where he was put in charge of a new division at Scotland Yard that oversaw the training of police dogs.
He became a strong advocate of the use of dogs in the prevention and detection of crime.
When he moved to Staffordshire as Assistant Chief Constable in 1954, Mr Peck started up a dog section in the county.
During his time as Chief Constable, from 1960 to 1964, he launched a review of dog training throughout Britain, visiting all the main training schools and establishing the National Police Dog Trials — an annual event to provide a platform for officers and their dogs to demonstrate their skills and expertise.
A trophy for best obedience work is named the Stanley Peck Trophy in his honour. He was appointed HM Inspector of Constabulary in 1964, and continued to attend the trials, and when he became a member of the British Rail Board Police Committee following his retirement, he did much to encourage the revival of a police dog section within the British Transport Police.
He was born in 1916 on January 24 in Shanghai where his father was serving in the municipal police force. Aged 11, he was sent on the six-week boat journey back to England to take up a place at Chigwell House prep school, later going on to Solihull School.
After school, he briefly studied dentistry at the University of Birmingham before he signed up for the Metropolitan Police and was one of 197 trainees to be recruited to the Hendon Police College. Mr Peck returned to police duties just before the outbreak of the war, first as a sergeant and then as a junior station inspector in north London. In 1941 he joined the RAF and trained as a pilot in South Africa, before becoming a flying instructor.
After the war he returned to the Met, serving in the vice squad before becoming an inspector at Wimbledon in 1949 and moving to Scotland Yard two years later. From 1969 to 1974 he was president of the UK Branch of the Royal Life Saving Society; his success in restructuring the society led to his appointment as CBE in 1974.
In 1939 Mr Peck married Yvonne Jessop, who died in 1994. In 1996 he married Elizabeth Beddows, who survives him with the two sons and two daughters of his first marriage and a stepson and stepdaughter. He died on January 24 2014.
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