British Colonial Police Forces - Their Badges and Headdress.

[Dave Wilkinson]

The Royal Grenada Police force is no longer a colonial police force in the true sense of the words. The island achieved independence in 1974, but (at the time of writing)  HM King Charles is still head of state as indeed was HM Queen Elizabeth before him. Since the earliest of times the badges have remained essentially the same save for the change of Crown and cipher, as can be seen in the framed display of insignia. 

 

I show here a ceremonial helmet which was worn by the Chief of Police (now known as the Commissioner) during the 1950's.

 

Dave.  

Edited May 4, 2023 by Dave Wilkinson

[Dave Wilkinson]

The British Colony of Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, it being the largest of Britain's remaining overseas possessions.

 

Below is an example of the cap worn by the RHKP Commissioner and also a Constable's summer issue cap. These are the last patterns used prior to the end of Colonial rule.

 

Both caps were manufactured in Hong Kong.

 

Dave.  

 

[I_♥_Police]

Really lovely caps and pictures. Theres something strange about looking at police caps without the sillitoe tartan (spelling?). Do the Constable/Sergeant version have ventilation holes around the band inside or is that just the way the pic looks? I appreciate that the badges dont have the crown now HK is no longer under 'UK rule' for want of a better term but is the caps any different would you say?

[Dave Wilkinson]

43 minutes ago, I_♥_Police said:

Really lovely caps and pictures. Theres something strange about looking at police caps without the sillitoe tartan (spelling?). Do the Constable/Sergeant version have ventilation holes around the band inside or is that just the way the pic looks? I appreciate that the badges dont have the crown now HK is no longer under 'UK rule' for want of a better term but is the caps any different would you say?

Yes, the Sgt./Const. cap does indeed have vent holes behind the mesh band. Immediately, following the change to Chinese rule the caps remained the same. Indeed, the whole force were provided with new cap badges in advance of the handover. I have some photos of their men on the streets and actually taking the old Crowned badge out of their cap on the stroke of midnight and replacing it with the new non-crowned version. If you get a chance look on "YouTube" at the Governor (Chris Patten) leaving Government House for the last time. Very evocative with the RHKP hauling down the Governor's flag and him being presented with it prior to him driving out. Some excellent drill by the police.

 

I suspect that the caps worn are still made in HK and looking at current photos they don't seem to have changed but without seeing one close up I'm not sure.

 

Dave.   

[Dave Wilkinson]

Northern Rhodesia achieved independence from the UK in 1964 and became Zambia. Shown here is a pith helmet which was worn by Inspectorate ranks in the Northern Rhodesia Police Force and a selection of insignia used between the formation of the force through to its demise in 1964.

 

Dave.  

[Dave Wilkinson]

Arguably the most "British" of the UK's remaining Overseas Territories, Gibraltar's first British Governor was appointed in December 1707, and at the peace of Utrecht the territory was ceded to the British Crown in  1713.

 

The Gibraltar "Civil Police" became operational on 25th June 1830, only nine months after the establishment of the London Metropolitan Police. The force was granted its "Royal" prefix by HM The Queen in June 1992.

 

Below are shown a collection of insignia worn over the years and a helmet worn by Sergeants' and Constables' dating from the1960's, although the same pattern with an updated helmet plate is still worn to-day. 

 

Dave.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Dave Wilkinson

[I_♥_Police]

2 hours ago, Dave Wilkinson said:

Arguably the most "British" of the UK's remaining Overseas Territories, Gibraltar's first British Governor was appointed in December 1707, and at the peace of Utrecht it was ceded to the British Crown in  1713.

 

The Gibraltar "Civil Police" became operational on 25th June 1830, only nine months after the establishment of the London Metropolitan Police. The force was granted its "Royal" prefix by HM The Queen in June 1992.

 

Below are shown a collection of insignia worn over the years and a helmet worn by Sergeants' and Constables' dating from the1960's, although the same pattern with an updated helmet plate is still worn to-day. 

 

Dave.

 

 

 

Really great collection of Gibraltar Police items. Do you have any idea if the chief officers wear the yellow metal type OCB or is it a bullion type badge? Its interesting isnt it, have you ever noticed that RGP wear Met Pol style epaulettes with a metal button for show on them? Do you have any other island collections?

[Dave Wilkinson]

22 minutes ago, I_♥_Police said:

 

Really great collection of Gibraltar Police items. Do you have any idea if the chief officers wear the yellow metal type OCB or is it a bullion type badge? Its interesting isnt it, have you ever noticed that RGP wear Met Pol style epaulettes with a metal button for show on them? Do you have any other island collections?

The yellow/gold coloured badge is from their warrant card holder. They all wear the same standard cap badge which is the one on the far right of the line of "star" badges. Looking at their force history, the Commissioners' going right back have always worn the same cap badge as the lower ranks.

 

Yes, I've noticed that they wear Met. style epaulettes and shirts.

 

I do have quite a few sets of badges from the islands in the West Indies. I'll post some photos in the next few days. Thanks for your continued interest.

 

Dave. 

[Dave Wilkinson]

The Leeward Islands Police were a British colonial police force which existed between 1886 and 1960. The force was responsible for policing the islands of Antigua (HQ of the force was there), British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis and Anguilla. In 1960, each island in the group became a separate entity and formed their own police force. The Leeward Islands Police were at that time disbanded.

 

Below is a group of insignia worn by the force between 1886 and 1960.

 

Dave. 

[Dave Wilkinson]

The Royal Antigua Police Force was formed in 1960, following the disbandment of the Leeward Islands Police. For the first five years of their existence they continued to wear Leeward Islands badges and insignia. It was not until 1965, did they adopt their own named badges etc. This coincided with the force being granted the "Royal" title by HM The Queen in that year.

 

They have had two versions of their badge. The first followed the basic design of the old Leeward Islands badge (left hand side of the photo) with just a name change. The current helmet and cap badge is shown on the right hand side. The helmet worn is the usual white "Wolseley" pattern commonly used by police forces in the West Indies.

 

Antigua became independent on the 1st November 1981, however King Charles III remains head of state.

 

Dave.        

Edited May 31, 2023 by Dave Wilkinson

[I_♥_Police]

Sorry Dave, very late to this, but they look absolutely great and thanks for taking the time and effort to post. I have a keen interest in the overseas territories Police.  The way this is all presented is great on the boards. I would dearly love to visit alot of these places and hopefully will one day. They may even offer a ridealong type thing through the IPA! Who knows!

Do you have any other collections from SBAP, Jersey etc?

Just now, I_♥_Police said:

Sorry Dave, very late to this, but they look absolutely great and thanks for taking the time and effort to post. I have a keen interest in the overseas territories Police.  The way this is all presented is great on the boards. I would dearly love to visit alot of these places and hopefully will one day. They may even offer a ridealong type thing through the IPA! Who knows!

Do you have any other collections from SBAP, Jersey etc?

 

[Graf]

On 05/05/2023 at 00:27, Dave Wilkinson said:

The Royal Grenada Police force is no longer a colonial police force in the true sense of the words. The island achieved independence in 1974, but (at the time of writing)  HM King Charles is still head of state as indeed was HM Queen Elizabeth before him. Since the earliest of times the badges have remained essentially the same save for the change of Crown and cipher, as can be seen in the framed display of insignia. 

 

I show here a ceremonial helmet which was worn by the Chief of Police (now known as the Commissioner) during the 1950's.

 

Dave.  

It is amazing

[Dave Wilkinson]

On 07/06/2023 at 13:52, I_♥_Police said:

Sorry Dave, very late to this, but they look absolutely great and thanks for taking the time and effort to post. I have a keen interest in the overseas territories Police.  The way this is all presented is great on the boards. I would dearly love to visit alot of these places and hopefully will one day. They may even offer a ridealong type thing through the IPA! Who knows!

Do you have any other collections from SBAP, Jersey etc?

 

Historically, the SBA Police do not have very many badges, but those I have I'll post in the next day or so, together with a collection from the States of Jersey Police.

 

Dave.  

Edited June 9, 2023 by Dave Wilkinson

[Graf]

On 28/05/2023 at 00:52, Dave Wilkinson said:

Arguably the most "British" of the UK's remaining Overseas Territories, Gibraltar's first British Governor was appointed in December 1707, and at the peace of Utrecht the territory was ceded to the British Crown in  1713.

 

The Gibraltar "Civil Police" became operational on 25th June 1830, only nine months after the establishment of the London Metropolitan Police. The force was granted its "Royal" prefix by HM The Queen in June 1992.

 

Below are shown a collection of insignia worn over the years and a helmet worn by Sergeants' and Constables' dating from the1960's, although the same pattern with an updated helmet plate is still worn to-day. 

 

Dave.

Very nice Thank you

[Dave Wilkinson]

As requested please find below a photo of the insignia worn previously and currently by the Sovereign Base Areas Police.

 

The force is administered by the Ministry of Defence. That said it is a stand alone organisation and is not affiliated in any way to the Ministry of Defence Police. It was formed on the 16th August 1960 with an initial strength of 40.

 

They are responsible for policing the British Sovereign Bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus. The force is commanded by a British Chief Constable who is assisted by three other British Police Officers. The remainder of the force are locally appointed Greek Cypriots'. The total strength is 241 attested staff plus 12 civilians. The Chief Constable is also responsible for the management and supervision of the Sovereign Base Prison, HMP Dhekelia.

 

Prior to 1992, the uniform worn followed the pattern worn by the RAF. A diced band was worn on the cap and the badge consisted of a large metal Queen's Crown. This was replaced in 1991 with the cap badge shown on the left hand side of the photo. Post 1992 a new British Police pattern uniform was adopted, again with caps. On 1st April 1998, the slightly changed design cap badge on the right hand side of the photo was taken into wear. 

 

The small metal "SBA" monogrammed badges were formerly worn on the epaulettes above the force number. These are now embroidered. The small star badges are worn on the lapel of the tunic jacket.

 

Dave. 

Edited June 9, 2023 by Dave Wilkinson

[I_♥_Police]

Great collection Dave. Is the top left badge the issued cap badge for all ranks and the top right a warrant card holder badge? I assume the bell patch shape is for a wooly pully nato jumper but are the other two coat patches?

[Graf]

Great collection Dave Thank you for sharing

[Dave Wilkinson]

16 hours ago, I_♥_Police said:

Great collection Dave. Is the top left badge the issued cap badge for all ranks and the top right a warrant card holder badge? I assume the bell patch shape is for a wooly pully nato jumper but are the other two coat patches?

The badge on the top left is the second issue cap badge and the one on the left is the current issue cap badge. I'm unsure as to whether they use a warrant badge.

 

I understand that caps are now seldom worn and day to day they wear a baseball type hat. The two rectangular patches are the first generation patch versions and the bell shaped one is the later type, all three were/are worn on "NATO" type pullovers and outer coats.

 

Dave. 

10 hours ago, Graf said:

Great collection Dave Thank you for sharing

Thank you for your continued interest.

 

Dave.

[Graf]

Hi Dave

Although my interests are in different areas  I really appreciate your dedication in your field

 

regards

 

Graf

[Dave Wilkinson]

The Island of Jersey is a self governing British Crown Dependency. It is not technically a part of the United Kingdom, but is part of the British Isles. The King is represented on the island by a Lieutenant Governor.

 

The States of Jersey Police has its origins dating back to 1853, when a small group of uniformed men were appointed to police the Parish and town of St. Helier. They were known as the "St. Helier Paid Police".  The policing of the remainder of the island was the responsibility of the Honorary Parish Police in each of the remaining eleven parishes.

 

The uniformed police remained under the control of the Parish of St. Helier until 1952. At that time they were transferred to the control of the Island's Government, the States of Jersey. The strength at that time was 64 men and the title of the force was changed to "States of Jersey Police". That said, their activities were still centred upon St. Helier although they did venture out of the town when requested by the outer Parishes'. They later performed regular mobile patrols throughout the island, but had to inform the relevant Parish Constable of any incidents that they came upon or were called to attend. 

 

They now provide a policing service to the whole island. However, the relevant Parish Honorary Police still have primacy in respect of the decision to charge offenders. The Parish Centenier is the only person (other than the Attorney General) who has the power to charge an offence and it is he/she who presents the case at the Magistrates' Court. 

 

The current strength of the States of Jersey Police is 214 officers plus 121 civilian staff.

 

Below is a representation of the badges worn since their formation.

 

Dave. 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Dave Wilkinson

[Graf]

Very impressive

On 14/06/2023 at 04:24, Dave Wilkinson said:

The Island of Jersey is a self governing British Crown Dependency. It is not technically a part of the United Kingdom, but is part of the British Isles. The King is represented on the island by a Lieutenant Governor.

 

The States of Jersey Police has its origins dating back to 1853, when a small group of uniformed men were appointed to police the Parish and town of St. Helier. They were known as the "St. Helier Paid Police".  The policing of the remainder of the island was the responsibility of the Honorary Parish Police in each of the remaining eleven parishes.

 

The uniformed police remained under the control of the Parish of St. Helier until 1952. At that time they were transferred to the control of the Island's Government, the States of Jersey. The strength at that time was 64 men and the title of the force was changed to "States of Jersey Police". That said, their activities were still centred upon St. Helier although they did venture out of the town when requested by the outer Parishes'. They later performed regular mobile patrols throughout the island, but had to inform the relevant Parish Constable of any incidents that they came upon or were called to attend. 

 

They now provide a policing service to the whole island. However, the relevant Parish Honorary Police still have primacy in respect of the decision to charge offenders. The Parish Centenier is the only person (other than the Attorney General) who has the power to charge an offence and it is he/she who presents the case at the Magistrates' Court. 

 

The current strength of the States of Jersey Police is 214 officers plus 121 civilian staff.

 

Below is a representation of the badges worn since their formation.

 

Dave. 

 

 

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

2 hours ago, Graf said:

Very impressive

 

Graf,

 

Thank you again for your kind comment. It is appreciated.

 

Dave.