John Hermon had a grammar school education and gave up an early career in accountancy to join the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1950.
10 Facts About John Hermon
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John Hermon was the first RUC officer to attend the advanced policing course at the British police training college in Bramshill in England in 1963.
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John Hermon became Chief Constable in 1980, after an attachment to Scotland Yard.
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John Hermon retired in 1989, and became the longest-serving Chief Constable of the RUC.
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John Hermon married Jean Webb in 1954, and had a son and a daughter before she died of cancer in 1986.
6.
John Hermon held the North Down seat from 2001 to 2019.
7.
In 1998, John Hermon campaigned for a yes vote during the Good Friday Agreement referendum.
8.
John Hermon suffered from Alzheimer's disease from at least 2004 until his death on 6 November 2008, at age 79.
9.
John Hermon was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1975 Birthday Honours.
10.
John Hermon was knighted in the 1982 New Year Honours and received the Queen's Police Medal in the 1988 Birthday Honours.