ocpd71

Mervyn- The first hat is Alexandria Police Department, a medium large size city in the U.S. state of Virginia, located right outside of Washington DC. The hat is interesting for 2 reasons: First the cap badge has a custom city seal which is uncommon,as most police forces use the generic state seal of whatever state they are located in on their badges. Only a few jurisdictions go through the expense and trouble to purchase and issue badges with a custom seal. Second, the badge has the rank title of "patrolman". This used to be common, but is rarely if ever used anymore, in favor of the more gender neutral --and politically correct-- "officer" title. Hope this helps, Jeff

I have a uniform, apparently from the WWI era, that I need help identifying. It is a khaki cotton tunic and trousers with a dark blue shield shaped shoulder patch with a light blue capital letter "E". The buttons do not have the American eagle coat of arms but instead what looks like the letters "BCS" intertwined. I will post pictures as soon as I can. Any ideas as to the origin of this uniform?

Hello- I am trying to find out what the correct head gear for this uniform would be --Peaked cap? Slouch hat? Pith helmet? Any information, or especially pictures, would be helpful. Also, in the attached picture you will notice there are 2 holes on each epaulet infront of the rank insignia. It looks as if a shoulder title of some kind was attached here. Does anybody know what the correct shoulder title for this uniform would be? Thanks for contributing, -Jeff

This uniform has recently come into my collection. Its KD matreial with silver buttons portraying a giraffe's head and "Tanganyika Police". According to some of the documents that came with it, it dates to the mid 1950's. There are 2 metal "pips" affixed to each epaulette. Does anyone know which rank this signifies?

I have been scraping this together piece by piece. I think I have it correct, but some old pictures of this uniform being worn would be helpful! http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2012/post-11639-0-00414000-1330717243.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2012/post-11639-0-61017300-1330717440.jpg

JT - the pin is a dead giveaway as a fake. Badges of the period from when the simple "pie plate" style star shaped badges were used, almost invariably use the saddle type catch for the pin. And also, the pin and catch would be welded directly to the badge. Maybe the pin is a replacement, but it does not appear authentic...

Thanks for posting the great pics of the old SAP uniforms. That "lead grey" summer dress is especially sharp! Was this worn with the Sam Browne and cross strap on a daily basis?

Thank you for your reply! It was exactly the information I needed. My current collecting "project" is putting together a complete SA police uniform. Thus far I have manged to put together the dress blue cap, blue long sleeve tunic, collar and shoulder brass, Sam Browne belt w/ cross strap, and the P-38 pistol. Im still trying to find the trousers and correct holster for the uniform. I am also keeping my eye out for the blue short sleeve "safari" jacket. Old South African Police items are very hard to come across here in the States, so if you know of any collectors' resources, id be glad to here it. Also, was there a name plate or any other emblems other than the collar insignia and SAP shoulder titles worn on the dress tunic? Thanks again for all the information. -Jeff P.S. -Yes, I am a serving law enforcement officer here in NY state.

Mervyn - Yes, still active duty law enforcement here in the 'states. Love the forum! Some very good knowledge exchanged here. -Jeffrey

You have a very desirable USAF military law enforcement badge. The old shields with the "Air Police" title date back to the 1950's. The title on the badges was changed to "Security Police" in the 1960s, I believe, to reflect the changing mission to include perimeter defense of air bases in conflict zones in addition to traditional police duties on the air force base. Thye title on the badge was changed again in the 1990's to "Security Forces" for reasons only to be guessed at. If you search the internet, you can find some cool photos of the old 1950's era "Air Police" standing guard with pearl handled revolvers on their gun belts. Something you would NEVER see nowadays........

For the pre-1994 SA Police uniform, what type of holster was carried on the brown leather Sam Browne belt? Also, what was the standard issue sidearm during the 1970s -1980s period? And this question pertains to the dress blue uniform, not the camouflage uniform. Thanks in advance for any responses!