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Biography · Biography & Culture

Norwell Roberts

1946–

United Kingdom

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Biography

Norwell Lionel Roberts (né Gumbs; born 23 October 1946) is a British former police constable—the first black police officer to join London's Metropolitan Police. He eventually rose to the rank of Detective Sergeant. During his career, he was considered to be the first black police officer in the United Kingdom, although it has since been discovered that he had been preceded by Metropolitan Police Superintendent Robert Branford and Constable John Kent in Carlisle, both in the 19th century.

Sources & collection details

Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗

Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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