Herbert Hards Sanders (1873–1941) was a British police officer and Chief Constable, serving in the London Metropolitan and Plymouth Police forces from 1894 to 1929. Sanders was noted as a strong supporter of the needs of rank and file officers, and as well as being properly outfitted and paid, he encouraged those under his command to be philanthropists, Samaritans and "good sports." It was his unwavering belief that no police officer could be good at his job without first being a good sportsman. He also introduced female regular officers to the Plymouth City Police force.
Early life and family
Sanders was born in 1873 in Dover, Kent, to Thomas Osborne Sanders and Eliza Ann Batcheler. His father was Chief Constable of the Dover Police. At age 21 he worked in the clerical department at W.H. Crundall & Company, a timber merchant. In 1899 he married Bertha Kemp, and with her had three children, Thomas, Bertha and Herbert.
On 16 July 1888 his brother Stephen was murdered in Ladonia, Texas, by brick manufacturer T.E. Kilgore. Kilgore had become unhappy at Stephen's rate of work and they ended up in a fight which resulted in Stephen's death. His father Thomas was notified by letter by the Texas authorities that his son had been "foully murdered" and the offender had been caught.
London Metropolitan Police
Sanders joined the London Metropolitan Police in 1894, eventually serving with Special Branch at Scotland Yard and reaching the rank of Divisional Detective Inspector. He worked on a significant number of cases, chiefly the arrest of Nathalia Janotha, the Kaiser's Court pianist, in 1915. Janotha was considered a dangerous "enemy alien" who was suspected to be in cohorts with a member of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's staff in order to receive information on the bestowing of titles. During the investigation Sanders also arrested Baron von Elssen, brother of the German Governor of Brussels (whom had ordered the execution of a nurse) and Bertha Trost, who was suspected of sending information to Germany long before the outbreak of the First World War.
Sanders prosecuted a large number of persons concerned with the Mile End, Poplar, West Ham and Stepney Guardians, in a case lasting well over three years, and also investigated the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels, which had disappeared in 1908.
France
In his role as Divisional Detective Inspector of Special Branch, Sanders for a short time served alongside the French authorities in Dieppe, before returning to London to lead 'F' Division in the Criminal Investigations Department.
Plymouth Police
Sanders was sworn in as Chief Constable of the Plymouth Borough Police on 1 April 1917, succeeding Joseph Davidson Sowerby who had retired. Common with Chief Constables of the era, he was also sworn in as Chief of the Fire Brigade. Sanders was a strong advocate of change, improvement and evolution, and in 1919 saw in the employment of two women police constables, those being Audrey J. Canney and Isobel F. Taylor, sworn in as Inspector and Constable respectively. He would also see in the introduction of the first motor fire engines and proper uniforms for the Plymouth Police Fire Brigade, and introduce police call boxes to allow the public to communicate easier with the police, fire and ambulance services. He also introduced an up-to-date system of fire alarm bells for the purpose of calling in the fire brigade. He strongly opposed any reduction in police pay and generously awarded both officers and public alike whenever acts of bravery and exceptionally good work were observed, often with uniquely engraved finery.
He was a self-proclaimed philanthropist, and showed great interest in improving the lives of the poor and distressed, something Plymouth had a large problem with due to the frequent arrival of underprivileged persons at the Devonport Dockyard. He set up a depot at the dockyard where the poor were encouraged to send their tattered clothing for cleaning and repair, which would be done personally by Mrs Sanders and a small number of friends. Further efforts would see the raising of considerable amounts of money for relief of the poor, seeing in over one thousand cases of extreme poverty per year of his tenure.