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Ref John Dempsey Viceroy of INDIA it is - transcription error on the part of my secretary,who has been reprimanded. ! John Joseph Walsh - enlisted as Constable A 102 in 1922, advanced to Lance Sergeant on completion of Training ( 6 months),then promoted to Sergeant and later to Sub Inspector. Awarded Colonial Police Long Service Medal w.e.f. 4.8.1941 .Interned Stanley as Single ( wife and son had earlier gone to Australia).Died Tweed Bay Hospital,Stanley on 4.3.1942 aged 43 ( Therefore does not appear on the Stanley Internment List,drawn up at the end of that year).Buried Stanley.Not mentioned in either Crisswell & Watsons ' history',or in Wright-Nooth's account of Camp Life.

The Date of Birth given above ( 1907) is in error.The Stanley Internment List gives his age as 24 (1942), therefore dob c 1918.Regret nothing further on the d.v. aspect or indeed where and when he died,no doubt the Hong Kong Police would have these details along with his date of retirement and rank at that time.

Jack Dempsey - I thought that we had been through all this in 2008 on the Stanley website- Nevertheless, as a refresher - Dempsey J B 19.11.1907 enlisted as Constable HKP with Number A (for expatriate contingent) 7,on 26.8.1939.Left London for HK on board The Viceroy of China,travelling 2nd Class,with several other recruits and others returning from leave on the 28.8.1939. Advanced to Lance Sergeant and then,on 25.8.1940, to Sergeant.Mentioned in Crisswell and Watson (HKP First 100 Years) for his part in the defence of the Colony,Interned Stanley as single.Regraded as Sub Inspector post war and then advanced to Inspector 1.6.1953.Employed as a Court Inspector (Prosecutor) in Magistrates Courts in Kowloon during the early 1960s.Believed to have met a violent death as a result of domestic violence.

Quite a few references to Nursey in the British Newspaper Archive site- search combinations ie ' Constable/Sergeant Nxxx/ Police Constable Nxxxxx./ /Police Sergeant Nxxxx / Detective Nxxxxx.

Ref William George COBURN I can find no-one of this name having served in the Hong Kong Police Force,similarly for the Shanghai Municipal Police. He may have served with the Royal Naval Dockyard Police in Hong Kong.Two sites which may be of assistance are - www.hongkongwardiary.com and www.gwulo.com If you could provide a date/place of birth I may be able to delve further.

Northern Rhodesia Police - Khaki shirt and shorts for working dress,bush jacket for parade wear,long sleeved tunic in full dress.

Detective Police Constable (Reserve)

Many thanks for these prompt and informative replies.I was aware of the wearing of full size Life Saving medals etc on the LEFT as viewed,RIGHT as worn,lapels but have not,to date, seen this in miniature. We live and learn,that's what the forum is all about ! My thanks again.

Ref posts 30 and 32 - Queensland Police Mess Kit. Male and Female. Interesting to see miniature medals worn on both lapels,Not the usual practice in the UK military or police circles ? I wonder what are those on the left (as viewed) ?

Peter My most gratefull thanks for these extracts.most interesting,informative and educational.I knew most of those in the two specific Forces you mention,must date me a bit ! Lower Flashback photo - Presumably PP ? I was not aware they had Bombay Bowlers,dreadfull things,on an ' eyes right ' the tail of the thing would knock your rifle off your shoulder,so we went over the Aussie style bush-hats ( ditto Kings African Rifles and N.Rhod Regt) with the left side upturned and secured with the cap badge. HKP headwear rather straightforward,pre war colonial style helmets,post war forage caps.Only the ADC wore a Wolseley Helmet.

Try googling " Alan Cumming who do you think you are " or " blog.findmypast.co.uk..../the final episode ".He had a rather sad end for one who had done so much for others.

Fuller details of Darling,his service and demise,can be found on an FMP Blog referring to his being the grandfather of the actor Alan Cumming,who featured in a " "Who Do You Think You Are "in late 2010.

Deelibob Many thanks for this; out of the 17 named there came one Commissioner of Police (Slevin) and five Assistant Commissioners(Turner,Segrue,O'Reilly,Rose and Kavanagh).

Noted with thanks.He served in the HKP from 1940 (Interned in Stanley ) until 1951 when he transferred to Malaya on promotion at a time when Malaya needed Cantonese speakers.

Against the background of my Post #47 - Two cap badges were issued to each officer,a wear and a spare.On leaving the Force on retirement an officer was allowed to retain one as a souvenir on strict condition that they must not be used for any other purpose but no doubt some of these were sold on.The same applied on the change of realm and issue of the new badges. Eventually two qualities of badge emerged,those destined for the officers were the best and from UK suppliers,those for the junior officers (R & F) were locally produced.Gaunt,Dowler etc all appear on the sliders of the officer's badges,in some cases there are the names of the local makers and it was also the practice amongst jpo's to scratch their Force Number ( 4 digits) on the slider,with occasionally their name in characters. At present on E-Bay there is a KGV1 cap badge,mounted on wooden plaque, at GBP200.oo (no bids) and an HKP shoulder title,apparently the pre war type, at GBP74 with 10 bids.So the market is strong. PS - Pre war the Indian Contingent,who wore turbans,apparently did not wear the 'crown' cap badge,possibly because the slider would not hold.I have not encountered an HKP Cap badge with a long pin,as was customary amongst Turbaned troops of the empire.The 1968 RHKP badge,blue enamelled,is common enough,from many different makers,different shades of blue and frequently copied for the collectors market.

A good question which merits a detailed answer,and which may be of interest to other Forum members with an interest in the HKP.Pre war issues of insignia were basic,much was lost during the battle for HK,the expats generally took their uniform into camp with them,if it had not been lost during the fighting,the locals were perhaps less conscientious and would have disposed of items which they considered might have jeopardized them or their famililies in the eyes of the Japanese.Not an unreasonable approach bearing in mind the Japanese views on a defeated force.Much of what was hidden was never recovered,the pre war cap badge,a simple crown,was not ' identifiable ' as of HKP origin.As regards the belief that the Japanese sequestered items of equipment,this is no doubt true,it was war,HK lost,and amongst dreadfull atrocities,looting took place.I do not believe there was a concerted effort to round up HKP items.In fact some photos of life in Stanley show police officers in what remained of their uniforms,with cap and badge.It seems that as long as the amp was quiet,the Japanese didn't worry too much about who wore what provided it did not insult them in any way. Post war,the Force had to start from scratch,initially using what gear had been salvaged,borrowing much from the Services until UK,or emergent local suppliers,could be mobilized.From the re-establishment of civil government in 1946 things began to look up,and the Crown Agents resumed their pre-war role of suppliers of everything to the Colonies.Immediate post war badges (and insignia) were of poor quality,base metal,thinly struck,easily bent,broken and polished away.This improved and the usual UK suppliers began to provide a stouter series of insignia. - More later -

Sorry to have referred you back to your original site Mr Martin,perhaps if you had stated this to start with it might have saved some (now) unneccessary effort.From your own efforts you will no doubt have details of the 60 odd Russians who served from 1930 until the 1960's retirement of Leo Karpovitch,so I won't bother to repeat them.Enjoy your research.

If you read all the posts in this series you will get an idea of the Russian element of the Force.For further reference see the following books - Siu Geng,The HK Marine Police 1841 - 1950 by Iain Ward The RHKP 1841-1945 by Crisswell and Watson see also www.gwulo.com/ - and a Yahoo group on "Stanley Camp",in which Savitsky features several times as the Camp artist. Only those Russians who had been granted British Nationality were interned in Stanley,the remainder had to take their chance in wartime Hong Kong,attempt to return to China from which most had come,or move on. As regards the pre war cap badge,for Other ranks it was a simple Crown with a slider; the senior ranks wore a White Metal/Chrome Royal cypher. Other ranks did not wear collar dogs ( lugged badges n the lapels);the senior officers wore a white metal/chrome crowned circlet bearing the Colony Arms,(no scroll as post war) with lugs. Whilst there are now few,if any,original records left,certainly no personnel files,the Russians have been quite well documented by others- get digging and googling !

A few mentions on Google, as Lt Cdr and Cdr, described as a property developer,no mention of DSO.

CPM Meritorious to follow Defence and 39-45 War Medal ,vide ' The Order of Wear ' ?

I do not see why the death should remain a mystery,obtain his death certficate which will give date & place,cause,occupation,address and informant.Local newspapers could well have covered it with an obituary.There's plenty to go on,just persevere.

There is also a Postle family history website which invites queries.They may be able to help.See www.postle.co.uk

A Police Constable F 147 Edward Postle was a witness in the Old Bailey case in which George Medler was found Guilty of coinage offences.The hearing date at the Old Bailey was the 5th April 1852.

The award of the Colonial Police Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct would have been published in the Cyprus Government Gazette.He would have completed 18 years service in total,Prisons service would have counted provided he had no more than a short break of service.Most likely he simply moved from one agency of the civil service to another ie continuous service.

Cyprus Government Gazettes are on line,see Google,although unless he came to notice for good or evil it is unlikely that a Sgt would get a mention.Members of the Cyprus Police Force who received the Colonial Police Long Service Medal or higher would have been gazetted.