simonpg Posted 15 April , 2019 Share Posted 15 April , 2019 Re. the man seated on the right side. His arm band starts with the letter R but doesn't seem to have the following P as the as per the man next to him which I assume refers to "Regimental Provost Sergeant". Could the R stand for something else. The photo is unclear but further round the band could be a V. The Battle Badge appears to be the 1/25th County of London Cyclist Bn. in India in WW1. Were these badges battalion or regiment specific, or for a collection of regiments in the same campaign, in this case the Waziristan campaign of 1917 or 3rd Afghan war of 1919? Thanks Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_H Posted 15 April , 2019 Share Posted 15 April , 2019 (edited) Simon The badge was specific to the battalion. Attached is a photo of the actual item. This badge was discontinued during 1917 and replaced by one with the name of the battalion on it. Mike Edited 15 April , 2019 by Mike_H additional info.M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 15 April , 2019 Share Posted 15 April , 2019 3 hours ago, simonpg said: Re. the man seated on the right side. His arm band starts with the letter R but doesn't seem to have the following P as the as per the man next to him which I assume refers to "Regimental Provost Sergeant". Could the R stand for something else. The photo is unclear but further round the band could be a V. The Battle Badge appears to be the 1/25th County of London Cyclist Bn. in India in WW1. Were these badges battalion or regiment specific, or for a collection of regiments in the same campaign, in this case the Waziristan campaign of 1917 or 3rd Afghan war of 1919? Thanks Simon They all appear to be wearing RMP armbands. (Regimental Military Police) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 15 April , 2019 Share Posted 15 April , 2019 (edited) In the centre is the Regimental Provost Sergeant - RPS, who heads the unit’s police. Notice his shiny topped parade cane, invariably a badge of office for that appointment. The rest are all his men, Regimental Military Police -RMP - including the man with just M on view. Using cut brass letters that were then highly polished is typical of regular battalion practice, and some Territorial units emulated this, especially when serving in India where they were exposed to that type of culture. Brass letters on armbands were still de rigeur during my own service. Edited 15 April , 2019 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpg Posted 15 April , 2019 Author Share Posted 15 April , 2019 Thanks for the answers. I am having trouble finding him in the medal cards / rolls. It appears he went to India with the 1/25th Londons as per the photo. He was also supposed to have served in Mesopotamia. A contingent of the 25th Londons were attached to the Middlesex Regt. to Mesopotamia. Is it possible as a RMP that he didn’t actually serve at the front line and hence not eligible for medals? He was known as Jack Brown but his full name was Matthew Jack Page BROWN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 15 April , 2019 Share Posted 15 April , 2019 (edited) Medals were awarded according to strict regulations that decreed a geographical area and dates within which a man must serve to be eligible. Regimental Military Policemen might sometimes be left with a rear party, but that would be unusual, as they had a laid down role processing and guarding prisoners of war, and also acting as ‘battle police’ (usually brigaded with others unit’s RMP) to round up stragglers during the advance and retreat. Edited 15 April , 2019 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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