Ballenden

SUB-INSPECTOR GRAHAM BALLENDEN

(Natal Police & South African Police)

Sandra Meyer

Hi Hennie

We last communicated in 2023 re my grandfather, Graham Ballenden, when you were unable to find any information on him.  I am sorting through a very large box of old family documents and came across these – please see attached.  I thought you might find them of interest.

Wiki link to The Earl of Athlone:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cambridge,_1st_Earl_of_Athlone

I am not sure if the photo is at around the same time or not – it is undated.  Graham is in the front in white.

 

Kind regards

Sandra Meyer

Cape Town

Comments by Hennie Heymans

Please read the Commission carefully – it is very interesting!

During 1916 he served as a fingerprint expert in Natal. His South African Police Force Number was 550F, indicating that he had originally enlisted as a foot policeman—a designation typically associated with a man of solid build—and that he had not been part of the Mounted Police.

He joined the Natal Police on 1 December 1904. When the South African Police was established on 1 April 1913, he was re-appointed as a fingerprint expert. He was an English speaker only.

I know that Sir Edward Henry, on his journey from India to London, visited Pietermaritzburg to assist with the pioneer fingerprint bureau established by Colonel JW Clarke. (Sir Edward Henry later became Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard.)

Colonel J. W. Clarke, Chief Commissioner of the Natal Police, was an innovative police pioneer. He introduced both fingerprint identification and tracker dogs as investigative aids in the fight against crime.

At that time, the Natal Police were even ahead of Scotland Yard in the identification and classification of fingerprints.

Comments on the photograph:Detectives with the Commissioner of Police

Front Row: Abraham Cilliers, unknown, Sir Theo Truter, Lt-Col GS Beer, Sub-Inspector Graham Ballenden and unknown.

Centre row: Sub-Inspector Graham Ballenden – completely on the right

Sub-Inspector Pinto-Leite:

Standing: Sub-Insp Pinto-Leite of the CID is on the above photo.

We salute the Natal Police (CID), who were truly the South African pioneers in the science of fingerprint identification and classification.