Llewellyn William Atcherley

Llewellyn William Atcherley was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel F T Atcherley, 30th Foot, of Marton, Shropshire. He was commissioned in the East Lancashire Regiment in 1890, but within four years had transferred to the Army Service Corps. This least glamorous (but vital) branch of the British armed services was often seen as a haven for officers short of money.

Atcherley’s fate, however, was not the dull round of administration but the blast of war. He soon found himself on active service in the Ashanti Expedition (1895-6), followed by the South African War (1899-1902). In 1905, however, he left the army in the rank of major to take up the post of Chief Constable of Shropshire, his native county. He was only 34. 

In 1908 he became Chief Constable of the West Riding of Yorkshire, a post he retained throughout the Great War, despite his return to the colours from the Reserve of Officers in 1914. He was DA&QMG V Corps from April 1915 until June 1916. After the war Brigadier-General Atcherley was HM Inspector of Constabulary (1919-36 and 1940-45). He was knighted in 1923.