Harold Challenor
Encyclopedia
Harold Gordon "Tanky" Challenor, MM
(16 March 1922 – 28 August 2008) was a wartime member of the SAS
, decorated for his part in Operation Speedwell
. After the war he joined the Metropolitan Police
, spending much of his career in CID
. In 1963, when holding the rank of Detective Sergeant, he was charged with corruption offences
and was subsequently found to have been suffering from mental health problems and deemed not to be fit to stand trial. He was sent to a secure hospital, and on his release, he joined the firm of solicitors which had defended him. A public enquiry was held into his actions and why his health problems had not been noticed by his superiors.
in North Africa and Italy between 1942 and 1944 before joining 62 Commando, which later formed part of the Special Air Service
, as a lance-corporal. He later described himself as "the most aggressive medical orderly the Commandos ever had". He received the nickname of "Tanky" after losing his commando beret and having to borrow one from the Tank Corps
.
From 7 September 1943, he took part in Operation Speedwell
in which he helped derail three trains behind enemy lines. Following the operation, Challenor was twice captured but managed to escape each time, eventually reaching safety. He was one of only two out of the six soldiers involved in the operation to survive.
Challenor was awarded the Military Medal
on 9 November 1944.
The citation read:
In later service, Challoner began to show a propensity for violence towards prisoners. In describing an occasion when he was in charge of some captive Gestapo
officers, he recalled that "[o]ne of them made the mistake of smiling at me. The gaze I returned had him backing away. Then I took them out one by one and exercised them with some stiff fisticuffs." He was already showing signs of delusions at this stage of his career. Challenor eventually reached the rank of company quartermaster sergeant
before completing his military service in 1947.
in 1951. During his police career, he served in the CID
and the Flying Squad
before eventually moving to West End Central Police Station in Mayfair
in 1962, from here he was involved in policing the Soho
area of London. At one point, he had a record of over 100 arrests in seven months and he eventually totalled 600 arrests and received 18 commendations. By the end of his career, Challoner's modus operandi
included punching a suspect from Barbados
while singing "Bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't want to leave the Congo
".
Various of his defendants claimed to have been beaten up or have had evidence planted on them but, at first, this did not prevent conviction.
However, Challenor met his match on 11 July 1963 when he arrested Donald Rooum
, a cartoonist for Peace News
, who was demonstrating outside Claridge's
hotel against Queen Frederika of Greece. He told Rooum "You're fucking nicked, my beauty. Boo the Queen, would you?" and hit him on the head. Going through Rooum's possessions, Challenor added a half-brick, saying, “There you are, me old darling. Carrying an offensive weapon. You can get two years for that.” Rooum, a member of the National Council for Civil Liberties who had read about forensic science, handed his clothes to his solicitor for testing. No brick dust or appropriate wear and tear were found and Rooum was acquitted, although other people Challenor arrested at the demonstration were still convicted on his evidence.
By the time Challenor appeared at the Old Bailey
in 1964, charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, he was deemed to be unfit to plead and was sent to Netherne mental hospital with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. More recently it has been suggested that he might have been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
. Three other detectives (David Oakley, Frank Battes and Keith Goldsmith) were sentenced to three years in prison.
The case of Challenor was raised in parliament on several occasions. A statutory inquiry headed by Arthur James
was eventually set up - the first such under the Police Act 1964
. It was considered by some to be a whitewash and to have allowed police corruption to continue within the Metropolitan police unabated. In the report, Challenor's mental illness was blamed for the false arrests rather than a systemic policy of framing suspects. The lack of a follow-up prosecution of Challenor after he was discharged from hospital was also criticised as establishment corruption. Because of this, "doing a Challenor" became a police slang expression for avoiding punishment and prosecution through retiring sick from the force. "According to Mary Grigg
's The Challenor Case, a total of twenty-six innocent men were charged during Challenor's corrupt activities. Of these thirteen were imprisoned spending a total of thirteen years in gaol. On his release from the hospital, Challoner worked for the firm of solicitors which had defended him during his trial.
's Wednesday Play television series included Clive Exton
's The Boneyard whose main character - a psychotic police officer - was based on Challenor. Challenor was the subject of the novel The Strange Affair
by Bernard Toms and of the 1968 film of the same name. He also was the model for Inspector Truscott in the play Loot
by Joe Orton
, which also became a film. Challenor himself produced a memoir in 1990 entitled SAS and the Met. It was co-written with Alfred Draper.
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
(16 March 1922 – 28 August 2008) was a wartime member of the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, decorated for his part in Operation Speedwell
Operation Speedwell
During World War II, Operation Speedwell was an early Special Air Service raid against Italian rail targets near Genoa starting on 7 September 1943. The fourteen-man group split into a number of smaller units to destroy track and ambush trains. The raiders returned to friendly lines by foot after...
. After the war he joined the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
, spending much of his career in CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
. In 1963, when holding the rank of Detective Sergeant, he was charged with corruption offences
Police corruption
Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
and was subsequently found to have been suffering from mental health problems and deemed not to be fit to stand trial. He was sent to a secure hospital, and on his release, he joined the firm of solicitors which had defended him. A public enquiry was held into his actions and why his health problems had not been noticed by his superiors.
War service
During the Second World War, Challenor served as a member of the Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
in North Africa and Italy between 1942 and 1944 before joining 62 Commando, which later formed part of the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, as a lance-corporal. He later described himself as "the most aggressive medical orderly the Commandos ever had". He received the nickname of "Tanky" after losing his commando beret and having to borrow one from the Tank Corps
Royal Tank Regiment
The Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is made up of two operational regiments, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment...
.
From 7 September 1943, he took part in Operation Speedwell
Operation Speedwell
During World War II, Operation Speedwell was an early Special Air Service raid against Italian rail targets near Genoa starting on 7 September 1943. The fourteen-man group split into a number of smaller units to destroy track and ambush trains. The raiders returned to friendly lines by foot after...
in which he helped derail three trains behind enemy lines. Following the operation, Challenor was twice captured but managed to escape each time, eventually reaching safety. He was one of only two out of the six soldiers involved in the operation to survive.
Challenor was awarded the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
on 9 November 1944.
The citation read:
In later service, Challoner began to show a propensity for violence towards prisoners. In describing an occasion when he was in charge of some captive Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
officers, he recalled that "[o]ne of them made the mistake of smiling at me. The gaze I returned had him backing away. Then I took them out one by one and exercised them with some stiff fisticuffs." He was already showing signs of delusions at this stage of his career. Challenor eventually reached the rank of company quartermaster sergeant
Company Quartermaster Sergeant
Company quartermaster sergeant is a military rank or appointment.-Canada:A Company Quartermaster Sergeant in the Canadian Forces is the non-commissioned officer in a company who is in charge of supplies. The CQMS also serves as deputy to the Company Sergeant Major and is the second most senior NCO...
before completing his military service in 1947.
Police service
Challenor joined the Metropolitan policeMetropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
in 1951. During his police career, he served in the CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
and the Flying Squad
Flying Squad
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Specialist Crime Directorate, within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Squad's purpose is to investigate commercial armed robberies, along with the prevention and investigation of other serious armed crime...
before eventually moving to West End Central Police Station in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
in 1962, from here he was involved in policing the Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
area of London. At one point, he had a record of over 100 arrests in seven months and he eventually totalled 600 arrests and received 18 commendations. By the end of his career, Challoner's modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
included punching a suspect from Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
while singing "Bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't want to leave the Congo
Civilization (song)
"Civilization" is a pop song. It was written by Bob Hilliard and Carl Sigman, published in 1947 and introduced in the 1947 Broadway musical Angel in the Wings, sung by Elaine Stritch...
".
Various of his defendants claimed to have been beaten up or have had evidence planted on them but, at first, this did not prevent conviction.
However, Challenor met his match on 11 July 1963 when he arrested Donald Rooum
Donald Rooum
Donald Rooum is an English anarchist cartoonist and writer. He has a long association with Freedom Press who have published seven volumes of his Wildcat cartoons....
, a cartoonist for Peace News
Peace News
Peace News is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union , and from 1990 to 2004 was co-published with War Resisters' International.-History:Peace News was...
, who was demonstrating outside Claridge's
Claridge's
Claridge's is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, central London. It is located at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street.-History:Claridge's is a traditional grand hotel. Its extensive and old connections with royalty have led to it being referred to as an "extension to Buckingham Palace"...
hotel against Queen Frederika of Greece. He told Rooum "You're fucking nicked, my beauty. Boo the Queen, would you?" and hit him on the head. Going through Rooum's possessions, Challenor added a half-brick, saying, “There you are, me old darling. Carrying an offensive weapon. You can get two years for that.” Rooum, a member of the National Council for Civil Liberties who had read about forensic science, handed his clothes to his solicitor for testing. No brick dust or appropriate wear and tear were found and Rooum was acquitted, although other people Challenor arrested at the demonstration were still convicted on his evidence.
By the time Challenor appeared at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
in 1964, charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, he was deemed to be unfit to plead and was sent to Netherne mental hospital with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. More recently it has been suggested that he might have been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
. Three other detectives (David Oakley, Frank Battes and Keith Goldsmith) were sentenced to three years in prison.
The case of Challenor was raised in parliament on several occasions. A statutory inquiry headed by Arthur James
Arthur James (judge)
Sir Arthur Evan James was a British judge and was a member of the Court of Appeal from 1973 to his death.-Early life:...
was eventually set up - the first such under the Police Act 1964
Police Act 1964
The Police Act 1964 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that updated the legislation governing police forces in England and Wales, constituted new police authorities, gave the Home Secretary new powers to supervise local constabularies, and allowed for the amalgamation of existing...
. It was considered by some to be a whitewash and to have allowed police corruption to continue within the Metropolitan police unabated. In the report, Challenor's mental illness was blamed for the false arrests rather than a systemic policy of framing suspects. The lack of a follow-up prosecution of Challenor after he was discharged from hospital was also criticised as establishment corruption. Because of this, "doing a Challenor" became a police slang expression for avoiding punishment and prosecution through retiring sick from the force. "According to Mary Grigg
Mary Grigg
Mary Victoria Cracroft Grigg, Lady Polson, MBE was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.She represented the Mid-Canterbury electorate in Parliament from 1942 after the death of her husband Arthur Nattle Grigg who she had married in 1920, and who had held the seat from 1938...
's The Challenor Case, a total of twenty-six innocent men were charged during Challenor's corrupt activities. Of these thirteen were imprisoned spending a total of thirteen years in gaol. On his release from the hospital, Challoner worked for the firm of solicitors which had defended him during his trial.
In film and literature
In 1966, BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Wednesday Play television series included Clive Exton
Clive Exton
Clive Exton was a British television and film screenwriter, sometime playwright, and former actor. He is best known for his scripts of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster, and Rosemary & Thyme.-Early career:He was born Clive Jack Montague Brooks in Islington, London,...
's The Boneyard whose main character - a psychotic police officer - was based on Challenor. Challenor was the subject of the novel The Strange Affair
The Strange Affair
The Strange Affair is a 1968 British crime film directed by David Greene.-Cast:* Michael York - Peter Strange* Jeremy Kemp - Peirce* Susan George - Frederika 'Fred' March* Jack Watson - Quince* George A. Cooper - Kingsley...
by Bernard Toms and of the 1968 film of the same name. He also was the model for Inspector Truscott in the play Loot
Loot (play)
Loot is a two-act play by the English playwright Joe Orton. The play is a dark farce that satirises the Roman Catholic Church, social attitudes to death, and the integrity of the police force....
by Joe Orton
Joe Orton
John Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
, which also became a film. Challenor himself produced a memoir in 1990 entitled SAS and the Met. It was co-written with Alfred Draper.
External links
- Parliamentary answers on Challenor for 2 July 1964
- Parliamentary statement on James Report by the Secretary of State for the Home Department and questions, 5 August 1965
- Parliamentary questions on the James Report 4 November 1965
- Documents held by The National Archives relating the enquiry into Challoner.