NickLangley

When did forces stop issuing their own long service medals? And why?

Dave, many thanks I have learned something.

Dave, you had me worried for a moment in case I had mis-identified the senior uniform officer. A quick check confims a crown and a pip on his shoulder.

The producers of the Endeavour series seem to have got their act together after last week's pilot episode and the uniforms are now pretty much spot on. However there is a distinct lack of salutes from Pcs in the presence of a Chief Super'. And a question for the old sweats. Helmet chinstrap: under the chin or grazing the bottom lip?

I bet the bird sang like a canary "dahn the nick". Great research,

I'm willing to let them off with words of advice on matters of detail, but when it comes to actors with helmets that are several sizes too big then it's chuck the book at them time. Only one thing worse - actors who wear a military beret like a bloomin' schoolgirl. This was done for comic effect. Too many actors think this is how it should look http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/wp-content/images/films/films-1962-on-the-beat.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/On-the-Beat_1962&h=275&w=250&sz=44&tbnid=DghB1I5ORe2FfM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=89&zoom=1&usg=__qnnIWWYgB6tuIAZ0XZ7F1FROO-c=&docid=utXHQjZ_88y5JM&sa=X&ei=CrVvUbTzK-et0QW37YDABw&ved=0CFsQ9QEwBA&dur=571

ITV has started broadcasting "Endeavour", the prequel to the Inspector Morse series, which follows the eponymous detective's early years with the Oxford City Police. Every mistake in the book: white shirts; "custodian" helmets with riot fittings, old Met Police tunics and one extra wearing what looked like trainers. Never mind detectives from a small(ish) provincial city force who talk like wannabe members of the Flying Squad ... governor. The producers have obviously spent a small fortune on recreating the 1960s and then spoil it for the pedants.

Looks very much like the cap badge that Devon & Exeter Police went to the trouble and expense of commissioning for the brief period the force was in existence prior to amalgamation with Plymouth City and Cornwall.

Despite the views of the new Scottish Chief Constable (Stephen House), I doubt very much if the national structure is likely to see the light of day south of the border in England I'm not so sure. Though I'm not from a policing background it is interesting to compare the attitude of police officers of the present day with those of previous generations. I get the impression that most modern officers consider themselves to be officers in The Police rather than as officers of a local - well regional - force. I would be willing to bet that the Home Office and the ACPO ranks enthusiasm for standardization of uniforms across England has less to do with saving money (the sums are trivial) and more to do with creating a nationalised image in advance of consolidation.

Many thanks Dave. I love these little quirks of administration that get thrown-up from time to time. Birkenhead Improvement Commissioners:- Appointed under the first Birkenhead Improvement Act, 1833 3 Will. 1V. cap. Lxviii to provide for the paving, lighting, watching, cleansing, and general improvement of the townships of Birkenhead and Claughton; and to establish a police force and market. Their powers were enlarged by later Acts, one of which 5 Vict. sess. 2. cap. v. authorised the purchase of Woodside Ferry. Birkenhead was incorporated as a borough in 1877, and the Improvement Commission, having been superseded by the Corporation, was dissolved in November 1879. See P. Sulley's "History of ancient and modern Birkenhead". 2nd ed. 1907. BC 1V 668 As an aside. The Improvement Commission established the first public park in Britain. A visitor from New York, Frederick Law Olmsted, was so impressed by what he saw he used it as a model for the layout of Central Park

The Municipal Corporations Act (1835) allowed reformed boroughs to establish their own police forces. In 1839 The County Police Act provided similar powers to the JPs in the shires beyond the boroughs. Birkenhead did not incorporate as a municipal borough until 1877 so it would have been within the jurisdiction of the Cheshire Constabulary (which was created by a special Act of Parliament in 1852) until that date. I think someone has mixed up the formation of the LIverpool force (just across theThe Mersey) in 1836.

It is possible that, on incorporation in 1878, the new municpal borough of Birkinhead incorporated a pre-existing escutcheon into into its new coat of arms. http://liverpoolcitypolice.co.uk/#/birkenhead-borough-police/4557316811

Quite possible that a force would have made ad hoc riot equipment arrangments in the run-up to the General Strike. At that time there was none of the squeamishness about the use or threat of force that there is today. After the 1950s "race riots" in the St Ann's area of Nottingham - where fire hoses were used to break up crowds - the local police acquired a secret stockpile of colonial riot kit on a just in case basis. The Home Office went ape when they found out and ordered the equipment be withdrawn.

Never let it be said that present day UK forces do not know the meaning of cheap when it comes to their insignia!

Can someone explain why Staffordshire Constabulary would go to the trouble of having a QVC martingale manufactured when the mounted branch didn't come into existence until 1919? To me, the crown looks dodgy.

The level of ignorance displayed by WMP of their own history is jaw-dropping. I'd hazard that the person in charge of this project doesn't even realize that WMP was formed from a number of county borough and city forces. A photo from the early 1950s is captioned "West Midlands Police mounted unit" !!!!

All very well warrant cards but what proportion of the general public could tell a fake from a genuine one? I'd wager none.

Does the officer's belt buckle provide any clues? I'm not clued-up on medals but it does look like the kind of long service/good conduct medal that individual forces awarded before the Home Office "banned" them.

The new helmet plate looks to be a of lower quality than the old one. The die strike has that flightly less-than-crisp finish that I always associate with re-strike cap badges.

He shouldn't be too hard to track down given that he lived in a relatively small town. He will no doubt be listed in the ten-yearly census records for the Burgh of Hawick. A good place to start is here:http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. And this may be very helpful: A series of articles on the history of local police was published in the Hawick Archaeological Society's transactions. All were written by Sergeant George Dorward: "History of Local Police - Part I (up to 1850)", 1965 transactions, pages 27-46 "History of Local Police - Part II (section 1) (up to November 1861)", 1966 transactions, pages 3-26 "History of Local Police - Part II (section 2) (up to 1871)", 1967 transactions, pages 3-24 "History of Local Police - Part II (section 3) (up to 1880)", 1968 transactions, pages 3-17 "History of Local Police (1881 to present day)", 1969 transactions, pages 5-14 http://www.airchieoliver.co.uk/

There was a mixed reaction to the new-style white helmets. The main criticism was that the overly-plastic finish made them look like something you'd buy in a toy shop. In a word: cheap.

Im afraid the British Police now have everyone beaten into a cocked hat when it comes to routine scruffiness. Here's a picture of Nottingham officers putting their best feet forward. Imagine what they look like when the camera isn't there! The new snug-fit t shirts are very unforgiving if you aren't as lean as a jockey's whip. Sports bras all round.

I think Robert Mark was very much a creature of the 1960s. After all he had been talent spotted by that doyen of the permissive society Roy Jenkins when he was recruited from the Chief's job at Leicester City Police to become a senior wallah at Scotland Yard. His background had been in big city forces and their chiefs were always regarded as a cut below, socially, the ex-army officers that the shire constabularies had always tended to appoint. At least the Met retains some form of dress uniform. When the Queen visited my home city last week the appearnce of the officers on parade could best be described as slovenly.

From close inspection of the original can any detail be made out from the tunic buttons? Are they embossed with a crown or a coat of arms? The former would suggest a shire rather than borough/burgh/city force.

There are two clues in this photo. First the collar serial "459" which would suggest that he is an officer in a larger force. Then there is the first aid badge on the tunic sleeve. It would seem that the cross is a saltire (the symbol of the St Andrew's Ambulance Brigade) rather than the Maltese Cross (the symbol of the St John's Ambulance Brigade) which suggests a Scotch force.