Henry William Madoc

Epithet: Chief constable of the Isle of Man and ornithologist (1870-1937)

Record type: Biographies

Biography: From ‘New Manx Worthies’ (2006):

Henry Maddock, as his name was originally spelt, was born into an upper middleclass English family. His father and grandfather were Anglican clergy; a great-grandfather was Bishop of Hereford and brother of Lord Grey, author of the Reform Act of 1832. Brought up in Malvern, where his father was the vicar, Henry was educated at Highgate, a public school in London.

In 1889, he started his career in the South African Imperial Police Force, and soon altered the spelling of his surname to avoid being confused with a namesake, another officer in the force. The Isle of Man Examiner Annual for 1912 states that during the Boer War (1899-1902), he 'saw considerable service and gained high distinction in connection with the defence of Kimberley and the relief of Mafeking'. He served in the Cape Mounted Riflemen, and commanded seven troops of mounted police during the latter stages of the war. He was awarded the Queen's and the King's Medals, and was promoted to the rank of major in 1900. According to a Manx newspaper report of 1914, he also had 'considerable experience in connection with the concentration camps which were formed for the reception of Boer prisoners of war'.

Madoc married his first wife during the war, but the marriage failed, and he successfully petitioned for divorce in 1905 when his lawyer was Jan Christian Smuts, later famous as prime minister of South Africa. In 1906, he remarried at St George's Presbyterian Church, Johannesburg, Isabel Messer (néeSmart), widow of an engineer and daughter of a stationer from Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. Their first son, Reginald, usually known as Rex, was born in Pretoria in 1907, to be followed by a second son, Guy, in 1911.

When the Boer War ended, Madoc was Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the Western Transvaal District. After the war, he continued his police career, and by 1910 was Acting Commissioner of the Transvaal Police. But the foundation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, and the resulting amalgamation of the Boer and British police forces, denied him further advancement and led him to seek employment in Britain. In July 1911, assisted by a recommendation from Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, Colonel Madoc was appointed Chief Constable of the Isle of Man.

He took up his duties in September, telling the 60 or 70 men under his command that 'I am accustomed never to spare myself when there is work to be done, and I expect it from those under my command'. His first duty was to arrest his predecessor, Lieutenant-Colonel Freeth, on charges of embezzlement and forgery (Freeth was acquitted, but his reputation never recovered). As a new broom, Madoc initiated several changes in the three years before the outbreak of World War I, improving the terms and conditions of the employment of his men: leave entitlement was increased, meal breaks and widows' pensions were introduced, and in 1914 a police cadet scheme began.

In September 1914, Colonel Madoc was appointed as commandant of the Douglas internment camp, situated in Cunningham's Holiday Camp on Victoria Road. He handed over responsibility for the day-to-day running of the police force to his deputy for the duration of the war. In November 1914, a riot in the camp dining hall resulted in six Germans being shot dead and 18 wounded by the soldiers who were guarding them. In Madoc's view, the riot was due to the influence of 'agitators', though he recognised that camp conditions were unsatisfactory due to overcrowding, tented accommodation in appalling weather, contaminated food and unruly soldiers. On 5th November, a fortnight before the riot, he had recorded in his journal his sympathy for the prisoners and his view that 'the camp is quite unfit to live in as it is at present'. Although he could be a stern disciplinarian, he was genuinely concerned for the prisoners' welfare, and one of the men shot dead left a memoir in which he described Madoc as 'quite a gentleman'. In the aftermath of the riots, with the growth of Knockaloe camp and the construction of huts to replace the tents, the pressure of overcrowding was removed, and conditions were greatly improved in the Douglas camp. Madoc was in general a popular commandant, and remained in charge there until April 1919, when he returned to his post as Chief Constable and was awarded a CBE for his wartime responsibilities.

During the postwar years, if not before, he became one of the most familiar and well-known figures in the Island, especially as a motorist who drove or was driven from one end of the Island to the other in the course of his duties. He attended the Governor at official functions and royal visits, taking an especial pleasure in uniforms and ceremonial occasions. He was particularly interested in motoring and closely involved with the development of the TT Races. His greatest enthusiasm, to which he was introduced during World War I, was bird-watching, a hobby for some 20 years which resulted in his small book Bird Life in the Isle of Man, 1934. Tennis and cricket were among his other interests, and also support for various local charities.

A tall, burly man, he walked with difficulty, limping along with a stick because of an injury sustained when riding in South Africa. His deeply conservative views were tempered by a realistic pragmatism and a sense of humour, especially in relaxed family surroundings. He served for 25 years, making him the longest-serving Chief Constable to date, but enjoyed only a few months of retirement before his death at the age of 66. This followed a heart attack incurred after, characteristically, he insisted on motoring from Norfolk to Liverpool to get home while he was ill.

One of 'the old school', Colonel Madoc was typical of the upper middle class Englishmen with imperial or service backgrounds who held powerful positions in the Island during the first half of the 20th century. Yet he was widely respected, identifying himself with the Isle of Man and being described in his obituary as a 'great Manxman by adoption'. Buried in St George's Churchyard, Douglas, he was also commemorated by a monument on Langness, his favourite bird-watching haunt. His surviving official diaries, though incomplete and difficult to decipher due to his appalling handwriting, are enlivened by expressions of his personal opinions. They are a valuable historical source, and are now in the Manx National Heritage Library.

His two sons, Rex and Guy, both educated at King William's College, followed him into the army and imperial policing, and his granddaughter Fenella was head girl at the Buchan School. The death, in 1999, of Brigadier Guy Madoc who lived at Port-e-Vullen brought to an end the Madoc family's close connection with the Island for 88 years.

Biography written by Robert Fyson.

(With thanks to Culture Vannin as publishers of the book: Kelly, Dollin (general editor), ‘New Manx Worthies’, Manx Heritage Foundation/Culture Vannin, 2006, pp.291-3.)

Culture Vannin

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Gender: Male

Date of birth: 15 November 1870

Date of death: 7 January 1937

Name Variant: Madoc, H.W., Colonel

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