Captain Marvel: Female police officers attend London premiere to celebrate 100 years of women in Met Police

‘I’m honoured to represent female officers at this monumental event,’ said police officer Lucy D’Orsi

Sabrina Barr
Thursday 28 February 2019 06:42 EST
Comments
Captain Marvel: 'Don't Give Up' - trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Female police officers have attended the London premiere of Marvel blockbuster Captain Marvel to celebrate 100 years of women in the Metropolitan Police.

The European premiere for the film, which is the first female-led superhero adventure to have been released by Marvel Studios, took place at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair on Wednesday 27 February.

The film's stars, including lead actor Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson, were photographed on the blue carpet with female members of the British armed forces, police officers, scientists and athletes in celebration of the momentous occasion.

"As the first female hero in the Marvel Universe, [Captain Marvel] is a strong leader and relentless protector - like many of our own past and present female officers. We are #100YearsStrong," the Met Police tweeted.

The event was particularly poignant for the female members of the Met Police in attendance, as it marked exactly 100 years since a woman joined the London police force for the first time.

In 1919, Sofia Stanley became the first female police officer enrolled in the Met Police.

Stanley also designed the first women's police uniform, which became known as the Stanley uniform.

The female police officers in attendance at the premiere were in high spirits as they rubbed shoulders with Hollywood A-Listers, including Crazy Rich Asians star Gemma Chan.

"I'm honoured to represent female officers at this monumental event," said police officer Lucy D'Orsi, in a tweet shared by the Met Police.

"We owe it to the pioneering women of our past for securing female heroes within the Met."

Guests in attendance at the premiere watched a short video created in commemoration of women being a part of the Met Police for a century.

In the video, footage of female police officers in shown in the background while a narrator discusses the significance of the police force being "100 years strong".

In 1915, four years before Stanley joined the Met Police, Edith Smith became the first woman to be appointed a police constable in England.

Smith, whose work involved focussing on woman-related cases, was given full power of arrest in accordance with her role.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

The Women's Police Service, a voluntary female-led police force, was founded in 1914 by Nina Boyle and Margaret Damer Dawson.

By 1920, the Women's Police Service had evolved to become the Women's Auxiliary Service.

Early reactions to Captain Marvel have been extremely positive, with one journalist tweeting that the film has made the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe "even brighter".

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in