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"Truly a Great Victorian
A quiet man before whom rogues trembled"
This book is a biography of Sir Edward Bradford, who was Commissioner at Scotland Yard from 1890 - 1903. The son of a clergyman, young Edward suffered from illness at school but was recruited into the cavalry of the East India Company and in 1854, at the age of 17, found himself as a member of the Madras Light Cavalry. He saw action in the Persian War and then experienced the troubled times of the Indian Mutiny, when he became a senior officer within Mayne's Horse, a cavalry regiment raised by Henry Otway Mayne, a distant cousin of Sir Richard Mayne, the first Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and three Chief Constables.
The tiger hunt which cost Sir Edward his left arm is described in detail, as are some of his military exploits, and the 1887 shipwreck in which he lost his possessions during his return from India. Sir Edward was involved with the visit of the prince of Wales to India in 1875-6 and some aspects of the court of Queen Victoria. He was a great character who rode his horse with the reins in his teeth, and was Commissioner when Edward Henry, who had also seen service in India, brought fingerprints to Scotland Yard.
102 pages long, this book was compiled and written by Mrs Constance Bradford who married Sir Edward's grandson, and donated Sir Edward's medals to the Metropolitan Police museum. Copies of the book are available, priced £12, from Mrs C Bradford, c/o 32 Warren Road, Orpington, Kent, England BR6 6HY. Cheques payable to C Bradford.