The Uk's first black policewoman has died at her home in Jamaica aged 83.
Sislin Fay Allen made history after she joined the Met Police in London in 1968 after she saw replied to a newspaper advert.
The trailblazer cop was on her lunch break and was working as a nurse at Queens Hospital in Croydon, south London, at the time.
Last October Mrs Allen was given a lifetime achievement award at a virtual event celebrating black, Asian and minority ethnic female officers.
The mum-of-two's family released a statement announcing the sad news.
It reads: "It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of her beloved mother, Sislin.
"She passed away at her home in Jamaica, Ocho Rios.
"As the first black female police officer in the Metropolitan police force, she not only paved the way for so many other minority and female officers, she set the bar."
Mrs Allen recalled last year how she saw the job advert and thought ‘why not?’.
She told Sky News that the Met Police posted some forms for her to apply for the role and she "specifically" wrote on it that she was black.
"I didn’t want that if I had succeeded and when they saw me, they didn’t know I was black," she said.
‘So, I specifically wrote there that I was black."
Mrs Allen became a policewoman at the age of 29 and spent her first year at Croydon before being posted to the Missing Persons Bureau at Scotland Yard.
She was later transferred to Norbury police station and resigned from the Met Police in 1972.
She moved to Jamaica with her husband and two daughters where she continued her police career.
Tributes have poured in for Mrs Allen on social media.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: "In the late 1960s, Sislin Fay Allen, a former nurse became the UK's first black woman police officer. Ignoring the racism her appointment sparked, she worked on the beat & at Scotland Yard. She died this week. My condolences to her family, friends & colleagues in the UK & Jamaica."
Former policeman Leroy Logan MBE, whose story about being a black police officer featured in the BBC’s ‘Small Axe’ series, tweeted: "I know how tough it was for me to join the @metpoliceuk in the early 80’s, but it pales into insignificance in comparison to the remarkable Seslin Fay Allen as the 1st UK black female officer in 1968. She sadly died today in Jamaica, knowing she’d inspired many others to serve."
Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick paid tribute to Mrs Allen saying her legacy 'lives on'.
She said: “I was so sad to hear that Sislin has passed away at the age of 83.
“Sislin was a pioneer of her time and an inspiration for many when she became the first black female police officer in the Met and the UK. She paved the way for so many women that have followed in her footsteps and joined the Met after her.
“Sislin’s legacy lives on and today we will remember her life and her unique contribution to policing.”
