In 1938 he enlisted in the Highland Light Infantry as a boy soldier and reached the rank of Corporal before transferring to the Army Physical Training Corps in 1941.

He served with the APTC in North Africa and Italy and left the Army in 1946 with the rank of Warrant Officer Class II.

He attended the National Police College in 1954 and was promoted Inspector in 1955 (after the statutory minimum nine years' service) and Superintendent in 1960.

[4] Alderson was frequently portrayed in the media as the polar opposite to James Anderton, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester from 1976 to 1991, who was seen as a champion of hardline, aggressive policing and a more punitive criminal justice system.

He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in 1974 and appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1981.