Dalton was born in
Watton, East Riding of Yorkshire. He joined the Metropolitan Police as a
Constable in 1911 and in the late 1920s became
Chief Inspector in command of
Thames Division. In December 1933 he was promoted to
Superintendent in command of
"M" Division (
Southwark) and in August 1936 he was transferred to "C" Division (
Vine Street). On 13 February 1938 he became
Chief Constable (deputy commander) of No.2 District (North London), but later that year he was seconded to the
Home Office as police adviser on
Air Raid Precautions. He was in charge of ARP at the Metropolitan Police until the outbreak of war. In February 1940 he was promoted to Acting
Deputy Assistant Commissioner and put in charge of a district. He later became Deputy Assistant Commissioner in charge of No.3 District (East London), but in March 1946 was regraded as a
Commander on the creation of that rank. Later that year he led a police recruiting mission to the
British Armed Forces stationed in the
Middle East. On 6 October 1946 he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner and held the rank until he retired to
Eastbourne,
Sussex in 1956. He was in charge of the huge traffic arrangements for the
coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Interested in road safety, he was involved in implementing
cat's eyes and was vice-chairman of the London Council of the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. and
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1942, and was
knighted in the
1956 New Year Honours, shortly before his retirement. He died in
Bexhill-on-Sea,
Sussex in 1966. Dalton and his wife Susan (who were married in 1915) had a son, Donald, and a daughter, Dorothy. ==Footnotes==