In his evidence to the commission, Rafter had outlined the preventative work of the women police and also noted that they protected male officers from the sort of complaints "readily and glibly made" by "the class of women who usually come into Police custody". By 1935, the women's police department consisted of seventeen female officers, including uniformed and plain-clothes women constables and a woman enquiry officer attached to the detective department, and had its own office in Steelhouse Lane, adjoining the new central station. Personal life Although Rafter was a strict disciplinarian, summarily dismissing 107 striking policemen after the national police strike in 1919, he was equally interested in police welfare. A long-distance runner in his youth, he encouraged his men to pursue all forms of rational leisure, including sport, reading, and music. He started an annual police sports' day, which was open to public spectators, and initiated inter-divisional competitions to encourage healthy rivalry among his men. He also started an annual police children's party, at which he could be seen dressed as Father Christmas. Rafter was a lover of music, and was keenly interested in the city police band (which was conducted for a time by Sir Adrian Boult) and the Municipal Officers' Guild Choir. Apparently he kept a flute in his office drawer, which he would sometimes pull out to entertain visitors. He was also a keen horticulturalist and spent much of his later leisure time cultivating hothouse plants and flowers at his Birmingham home, Elmley Lodge, Old Church Road, Harborne. After the death of his first wife, he married, on 21 September 1916 in Plymouth, Catherine (born 1882/3), daughter of Denis Griffin, a naval pensioner. Honours and awards Rafter's accomplishments were first recognised in July 1910 with the conferment of the King's Police Medal (KPM), presented by the King at Marlborough House on 2 July, for "a specially distinguished record of administrative service, success in organising his police force, and for special services in dealing with widespread outbreaks of public disorder". He was the first city or borough chief constable to receive the award. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1927 Birthday Honours. He was appointed an officer of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in 1931. A 1931 portrait photograph,