MET. POLICE - EARLIEST DAYS

[Mervyn Mitton]

Some splendid historical archive material has been appearing on the Forum in recent weeks - and now there has been some research revealed on the early Metropolitan Police Medals.

This seems , then , to be an ideal time to show these two early hand painted engravings of the Metropolitan Police. The descriptions from their backs clearly show the dates of printing - and , remember the first uniformed police only ' marched out ' in 1829. These first Police were viewed with great suspicion by the population at large - and this antagonism clearly shows in the prints - the Police are not 'friends' at this time.

(copyright remains at all time with M.A.Mitton)

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Mervyn Mitton]

[Mervyn Mitton]

Note the Duty Arm Band on the left sleeve has the blue bands running horizontally.

[Brian Wolfe]

This is a very entertaining and informative post Mervyn.

I'm not sure if the other members have such items in their collections or not but given the age of the material these must be quite rare.

We tend to forget the beginnings of the modern police force.

The other day I had occasion to utter the expression, "Bob's your uncle" and then, of course I had to explain the meaning and origins of the expression.

I could not resist explaining the origins of "Bobby" and "Peeler", though the person I was talking with was too young and uninformed to have known or even heard of a Peeler. Here's the kicker, she asked my if I knew what a Beetle was, this she knew!

Ok, she read it in a Dickens novel.

Regards

Brian

[Mervyn Mitton]

It is sad how quickly our history is forgotten. Your Specials section filled a void and was much needed - to my mind that is because people who become Specials have an interest in the subject and follow the history. Regulars seem to often have narrower interests - my posts on subjects such as these incredibly rare engravings will probably be lucky to have 40 people look at them.

[Brian Wolfe]

It is sad how quickly our history is forgotten. Your Specials section filled a void and was much needed - to my mind that is because people who become Specials have an interest in the subject and follow the history. Regulars seem to often have narrower interests - my posts on subjects such as these incredibly rare engravings will probably be lucky to have 40 people look at them.

That's probably true but 40 of the best of the best members. Ha ha

Oh yes...lets not forget "best" and the most humble.

I suspose there is room to argue, but it is my opinion (and remember how humble I think I am), that the period from which these engravings come has so much history to offer the historian and collector/researcher. The formation of the first police force, the British Empire in general and great literature like Dickens' works as just a few examples. That era even produced the most recognizable serial killer, Jack the Ripper. I wouldn't call that a high point but it is a world renown case. That was in H Division if I recall and please correct me if I am wrong.

Regards

Brian

[Mervyn Mitton]

Thankyou Brian - at least we 'chat' amongst ourselves.... 'H' Division is my old one and No. 3 Beat had three of the sites of Jack the Ripper murders. The others were 'across Commercial Street ' and in the City of London. Thousands still visit the area every year to walk around. The subject and the area would warrant a post - however, I'm not sure how much interest there would be - and it would involve a lot of work.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Ello, ello... What's all this, then!?

Secret meetings of members behind closed doors.... right suspicious if you ask me!

[Mervyn Mitton]

Yeah ! We ' gossip ' about you, Chris....