George Oldfield (detective)

George Oldfield (11 February 1919 – 4 July 1985) was a British police detective who finished his career as Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police. He is known for leading major criminal inquiries by the force, including the M62 coach bombing and the 'Yorkshire Ripper' series of murders. The latter inquiry put great strain on his health.

Godfrey Alexander Oldfield was born 11 February 1919, the youngest of four children of Alice (née Issott) (1881–1948) and John Oldfield (1875–1928). George's siblings included Maud Lea (1903–1992), Harold, and Evelyn McGuinn (1907–1999). He attended Archbishop Holgate's School in York. During his time there he became known by the name George, as he disliked 'Godfrey'. Throughout his life, his family called him 'Goff'.

In 1944, Oldfield married 21-year-old Agnes Clarkson and had two children, Michael and Linda.

Oldfield had served in the Royal Navy before joining the West Riding police force in 1947. He quickly specialised in the Criminal Investigation Department, and rose through the ranks. In February 1974, Detective Chief Superintendent Oldfield as head of the West Yorkshire CID, took command of the investigation into an Irish Republican Army bomb which had killed 12 people on board a coach carrying members of the British armed services along the M62 motorway on 4 February; he immediately made contact with the Garda Síochána and ordered forensic tests on the wreckage on the motorway. On 19 February the investigation charged Judith Ward with the bombing after she confessed and Griess tests on her hands indicated contact with explosives. Although she later retracted her confession, Ward was convicted of the bombing on 4 November 1974 and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment.

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