Norwell Roberts

Early life

Norwell Roberts was born Norwell Lionel Gumbs on 23 October 1945 in Anguilla, in the Leeward Islands in the West Indies.

His grandfather was a police sergeant, and three uncles were high-ranking officers, one of whom was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for his services. They all attended 12-week courses on the familiarisation of police procedure at Hendon Police College, where Roberts later trained.

His father died when he was three years old and his widowed mother, lured by promises of job opportunities and a better life, sailed for England in 1954. Roberts was left behind, to be raised by his strict preacher grandparents. His grandmother was a Methodist deaconess. When he misbehaved, he recalled with some horror, his grandmother would send him to the local shops wearing her dresses.

He arrived at the port of Dover at age nine when his mother secured employment as a housemaid in London. Roberts and his mother found life in England difficult, as with most post-war immigrants, securing housing was hard due to prejudices at the time. At home in Anguilla, Roberts' mother had run several neighbourhood shops but in London she took any domestic jobs she could get. Roberts and his mother eventually settled in Bromley, Kent.

In 1956, Roberts was the only black child in his primary school, and when he passed the eleven-plus, the headmistress told his mother that Roberts would not be going to grammar school because he had to 'learn the English ways'. As a result Norwell instead went to the local secondary modern school in Bromley, where the older sixth form students dropped him head first to the ground in order to see the colour of his blood. He still carries the scar on his forehead, but never once complained to his mother, because he understood that she had been powerless to act.

In 1959 his mother remarried and moved to Camden Town, North London, where Roberts went to the Haverstock Hill Comprehensive School. He did not have a good relationship with his stepfather, who mistreated his mother. Roberts was kicked out of his London home when he was just 15 years old. Having passed O-Levels in Religious Knowledge and Chemistry, Roberts started work as a scientific laboratory technician in the Botany Department at Westfield College, University of London.

In 1966, while working at Westfield College, Roberts responded to a newspaper advertisement and completed the police recruitment application form. While on day release to Paddington Technical College, one of his fellow students who read the Daily Telegraph saw a headline which read ‘London to have first coloured Policeman soon’.

Roberts enlisted on 28 March 1967. This intake also included Paul Condon, now Baron Condon, who went on to become Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

After constant misspelling of the name "Gumbs", he changed his name in 1968 by deed poll, taking his mother's maiden name of Roberts.

Police career

On 3 April 1967, when Roberts was 21, he officially joined the Metropolitan Police and achieved media and public attention because he was the first black police officer in the Met, which covers the greater London area. At that time the only black people in uniform were working for London Transport on the buses, as conductors of the underground and British Rail. Under the scrutiny of the popular press of the time, Roberts completed his initial training at Hendon Police College.

Roberts was initially stationed at Bow Street Police Station, in Covent Garden, London. Despite the early public interest in his career. He joined 'A' Relief and quickly became a popular member of the team due to his humour and dedication. He was disciplined verbally once for driving with fellow officers around the West End with a toilet roll hanging from the police van radio aerial.

As the first black policeman in London, he was the most conspicuous man in the force. His every move whether walking the beat or holding back protesters in Trafalgar Square hit newspaper headlines at home and abroad. He made tabloid cartoons and was even on the cover of Private Eye. In newspapers in America in the Southern States the headlines read 'London gets first negro cop'.

During Roberts' service, he policed anti-Vietnam demonstrators paraded outside of the American Embassy. He was withdrawn from his post outside Rhodesia House after suffering abuse from anti-apartheid protesters who were protesting the hanging of three black Rhodesians. In 1969, Roberts was photographed linking arms with his colleagues during protests on the arrival of the South African rugby team at Twickenham.

Roberts transferred to CID at West End Central as a Temporary Detective Constable and later became a fully fledged Detective Constable in 1977 where he worked in the drugs squad and was occasionally seconded in undercover policing roles. Roberts was stationed at several police stations across London including Bow Street; Vine Street; West End Central; West Hampstead; Albany Street; Kentish Town; Acton; Ealing; Southall Ruislip; Wembley, Barnet; Borehamwood and Golders Green.

On his retirement, a leaving party was held at the banqueting rooms in Finchley. 600 people attended, including then Commissioner Paul Condon and his then-Chief Superintendent, Peter Twist.

Personal life

Roberts has lived in Harrow with his wife Wendy since 1976.

Honours and awards

Roberts received police commendations on three occasions, one of which was for his involvement in 1985 when he was part of a squad who arrested five people in six days for a contract killing. Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Robert Mark praised Roberts' contribution towards better relations between white and black communities. In 1995, Roberts' was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for distinguished service. On 15 March 1996, Roberts attended Buckingham Palace where he was presented with the medal by Prince Charles. During the presentation, Prince Charles told Roberts that "We need more people like you."