Captain Athelstan Popkess - talk by Tom Andrews

About

Tuesday 19th August 2025 I 7pm 
Venue: Arnold Methodist Church
Tickets: £1.00 for members and £3.00 for non-members

Captain Athelstan Popkess (Chief Constable, Nottingham City Police 1930-1959).

Tom Andrews is a former police officer who has transitioned into academia, specialising in the history of policing. He is also the author of a book bearing the same name. Captain Athelstan Popkess, who served as Chief Constable of Nottingham for nearly three decades between 1930 and 1959, is credited by his biographer with revolutionising policing from the Victorian era 'foot beat patrol' model to the modern, highly mobile service that is prevalent today. Known for his forthrightness, Captain Popkess often stirred controversy; notably, he caused significant debate 50 years ago when he advocated for new legislation to curb drinking and driving at a time when there were no legal limits in the 1950s. Due to his transformative efforts in modernising policing, Tom Andrews asserts that Popkess could be regarded as the UK's preeminent twentieth-century police officer, despite the controversies surrounding his tenure.

Tom Andrews is a former police officer turned academic, with a passion and expertise in the history of policing. Captain Athelstan Popkess was the Chief Constable of Nottingham for nearly 30 years between 1930 – 1959, who he argues may have single-handedly revolutionised policing from its Victorian era 'foot beat patrol' model to the modern responsive, highly mobile service that we are familiar with. Author of a book by the same name, he will content that Capt. Popkess was The Greatest Policeman?