"Garrison Military Police" armband and military policing in Bermuda Command

[aodhdubh]

I've never been able to get a clear picture of military policing in the Bermuda garrison as there seems to be no contemporary documents describing it, and it is a subject not detailed in publications (this is true to a lesser degree to the Dockyard Police at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda, for whom scant information is available). Various contemporary articles in the "Royal Gazette" newspaper make it clear that there were military police in the garrison in the 19th and 20th centuries, and Royal Artillery surveys show "police stations" at two of the entrances into the Prospect Camp military reservation from the town (now city) of Hamilton (these are not to be confused  with the guard house, which sat with the barracks well within the camp's boundaries). Despite this, there is no indication from various contemporary sources of Military Foot Police or Military Police ever being stationed in Bermuda. I have been forced to surmise that soldiers from the strength of one of the infantry battalions, or Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, or other supporting corps companies, were appointed temporarily to the role, making them akin to "Regimental Police". In 1914, after the unexpected withdrawal of the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment (for deployment to the Western Front) several months into a three year posting to the Bermuda Command/Garrison, the part-time Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC) took on responsibility for Military Policing and a Bermuda Militia Artillery, and then a BVRC, officer was appointed Assistant Provost Marshall. This would imply that the BVRC was taking on roles vacated by members of the 2 LINCS. 2 LINCS was replaced by the Royal Canadian Regiment from September, 1914, to August, 1915 (Canadian units were obviously not normally garrisoned in Bermuda, although prior to 1870 Bermuda's military had been part of the Nova Scotia Command). The RCR was replaced by the 38th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, which was replaced in turn by 163rd Battalion (French-Canadian), CEF, and finally by 2/4 Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, in November, 1916. The only photographic evidence I have found of military police in Bermuda is a photograph (see below) from a batch showing the 38th Battalion, CEF, in Bermuda. The policemen are all wearing maple leaf capbadges, so clearly part of the battalion. The Canadian units did not fulfill the full role of a regular garrison battalion as they arrived with new recruits and spent their time training for the Western Front, leaving patrolling and guarding to the BVRC. The "GMP" armbands worn by these men would imply that some or all of the policing duties were transferred to the 38th, and possibly the RCR before them, by the BVRC. Given the make-up of the 38th, I would assume they would have picked men with previous military or policing service from their ranks. I know even less about military policing in other garrisons, including the other Imperial Fortresses like Bermuda (ie, Gibraltar and Malta). Any input on this will be greatly appreciated.

[FROGSMILE]

20 hours ago, aodhdubh said:

I've never been able to get a clear picture of military policing in the Bermuda garrison as there seems to be no contemporary documents describing it, and it is a subject not detailed in publications (this is true to a lesser degree to the Dockyard Police at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda, for whom scant information is available). Various contemporary articles in the "Royal Gazette" newspaper make it clear that there were military police in the garrison in the 19th and 20th centuries, and Royal Artillery surveys show "police stations" at two of the entrances into the Prospect Camp military reservation from the town (now city) of Hamilton (these are not to be confused  with the guard house, which sat with the barracks well within the camp's boundaries). Despite this, there is no indication from various contemporary sources of Military Foot Police or Military Police ever being stationed in Bermuda. I have been forced to surmise that soldiers from the strength of one of the infantry battalions, or Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, or other supporting corps companies, were appointed temporarily to the role, making them akin to "Regimental Police". In 1914, after the unexpected withdrawal of the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment (for deployment to the Western Front) several months into a three year posting to the Bermuda Command/Garrison, the part-time Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC) took on responsibility for Military Policing and a Bermuda Militia Artillery, and then a BVRC, officer was appointed Assistant Provost Marshall. This would imply that the BVRC was taking on roles vacated by members of the 2 LINCS. 2 LINCS was replaced by the Royal Canadian Regiment from September, 1914, to August, 1915 (Canadian units were obviously not normally garrisoned in Bermuda, although prior to 1870 Bermuda's military had been part of the Nova Scotia Command). The RCR was replaced by the 38th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, which was replaced in turn by 163rd Battalion (French-Canadian), CEF, and finally by 2/4 Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, in November, 1916. The only photographic evidence I have found of military police in Bermuda is a photograph (see below) from a batch showing the 38th Battalion, CEF, in Bermuda. The policemen are all wearing maple leaf capbadges, so clearly part of the battalion. The Canadian units did not fulfill the full role of a regular garrison battalion as they arrived with new recruits and spent their time training for the Western Front, leaving patrolling and guarding to the BVRC. The "GMP" armbands worn by these men would imply that some or all of the policing duties were transferred to the 38th, and possibly the RCR before them, by the BVRC. Given the make-up of the 38th, I would assume they would have picked men with previous military or policing service from their ranks. I know even less about military policing in other garrisons, including the other Imperial Fortresses like Bermuda (ie, Gibraltar and Malta). Any input on this will be greatly appreciated.

Generally speaking there were regimental military police and garrison military police.  The former acted within their unit only and were under the unit provost sergeant who reported to the sergeant major of battalion (later ‘RSM’) and adjutant. This was a permanent arrangement that continues to this day. The latter type of police relates to the time when the establishments of the Military Mounted and Foot Police were tiny and their writ only within the home establishment.  In all stations overseas where garrisons were large enough to require policing beyond that provided regimentally, garrison police detachments were formed by asking each unit (often within a brigade or sometimes division) to provide a few other ranks by detaching them under command of the garrison HQ (with the authority of whomever was acting as provost marshal)  Suitable premises were provided as guardrooms or police stations (in the military sense).  In all cases the men told off were usually mature soldiers and certainly in peacetime required to be in possession of at least one good conduct badge.  In short they were expected to be a steadying influence and capable of defusing situations of inebriation as deftly as possible, whilst also being robust enough to use a stick if necessary.  The regimental (domestic) police usually had armlets marked RMP or RP and their garrison equivalents GMP or GP.  Often the provost sergeant might wear his armlet on the opposite arm to his men and he invariably carried a notably stout stick as a visible badge of his office.

Edited 28 October , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[aodhdubh]

10 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

Broadly speaking there were regimental military police and garrison military police.  The former acted within their unit only and were under the unit provost sergeant who reported to the sergeant major of battalion (later ‘RSM’) and adjutant. This was a permanent arrangement that continues to this day. The latter type of police relates to the time when the establishments of the Military Mounted and Foot Police were tiny and their writ only within the home establishment.  In all stations overseas where garrisons were large enough to require policing beyond that provided regimentally, garrison police detachments were formed by asking each unit (often within a brigade or sometimes division) to provide a few other ranks by detaching them under command of the garrison HQ (with the authority of whomever was acting as provost marshal)  Suitable premises were provided as guardrooms or police stations (in the military sense).  In all cases the men told off were usually mature soldiers and certainly in peacetime required to be in possession of at least one good conduct badge.  In short they were expected to be a steadying influence and capable of defusing situations of inebriation as deftly as possible, whilst also being robust enough to use a stick if necessary.  The regimental (domestic) police usually had armlets marked RMP or RP and their garrison equivalents GMP or GP.  Often the provost sergeant might wear his armlet on the opposite arm to his men and he invariably carried a notably stout stick as a visible badge of his office.

Thank you again. That's a tremendous help. The Royal Bermuda Regiment has Regimental Police, today, but there have been no Garrison Military Police since the last regular units (Command HQ, A Coy, 1 DCLI, REME detachment, et cet.) were withdrawn in 1957, at the latest. The old Guard Rooms survive at Prospect Camp and Boaz Island (the former in the hands of the Bermuda Police, the latter now a cafe or diner), though I'm unsure of that at St. George's Garrison. The two outlying military police stations at Prospect Camp, which were smaller than the Guard House and obviously subsidiary to it, no longer survive. The Prospect Camp Guard Room is on the right side of the first photo below, and is rather badly hand-coloured in the second.

Edited 28 October , 2021 by aodhdubh

[FROGSMILE]

7 hours ago, aodhdubh said:

Thank you again. That's a tremendous help. The Royal Bermuda Regiment has Regimental Police, today, but there have been no Garrison Military Police since the last regular units (Command HQ, A Coy, 1 DCLI, REME detachment, et cet.) were withdrawn in 1957, at the latest. The old Guard Rooms survive at Prospect Camp and Boaz Island (the former in the hands of the Bermuda Police, the latter now a cafe or diner), though I'm unsure of that at St. George's Garrison. The two outlying military police stations at Prospect Camp, which were smaller than the Guard House and obviously subsidiary to it, no longer survive. The Prospect Camp Guard Room is on the right side of the first photo below, and is rather badly hand-coloured in the second.

It’s interesting that in British military architecture the guardroom of barracks or camp was as a matter of course fitted with a covered verandah as a result of experience in India (and other hot climates).  In that way the guard could mount and dismount, be inspected, and/or ‘turned out’, under shade/cover from midday Sun, or inclement weather. It is clearly seen in your photo and coloured aquatint, along with another old feature, an alarm gong.

Edited 28 October , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[Robin Garrett]

17 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

Often the provost sergeant might wear his armlet on the opposite arm to his men and he invariably carried a notably stout stick as a visible badge of his office.

I remember one provost sergeant in the battalion in which I served in Terendak in 1966/9 who was known as Griff the Stick.

[FROGSMILE]

16 minutes ago, Robin Garrett said:

I remember one provost sergeant in the battalion in which I served in Terendak in 1966/9 who was known as Griff the Stick.

Yes, they were often characters of the - it takes a thief to catch a thief - type. 

[aodhdubh]

3 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

It’s interesting that in British military architecture the guardroom of barracks or camp was as a matter of course fitted with a covered verandah as a result of experience in India (and other hot climates).  In that way the guard could mount and dismount, be inspected, and/or ‘turned out’, under shade/cover from midday Sun, or inclement weather. It is clearly seen in your photo and coloured aquatint, along with another old feature, an alarm gong.

In Bermuda it is a note feature of naval and military buildings that they were built to patterns drawn up elsewhere and tended to be distinctly different from typical local architecture...though verandahs became a fad locally oin the late 19th and early 20th century, and were added to old houses that had never had them...and often removed after a decade or two

 

[Robin Garrett]

I recall one day as orderly officer going to the guardroom to inspect the prisoners and found them digging a very large hole outside. I asked Griff what was going on and he said "the prisoners are allowed one cigarette a day. When they have smoked theirs, they'll throw the butt in the hole and then fill it in again". I rather suspect this wouldn't be acceptable in the modern army!

[FROGSMILE]

10 minutes ago, Robin Garrett said:

I recall one day as orderly officer going to the guardroom to inspect the prisoners and found them digging a very large hole outside. I asked Griff what was going on and he said "the prisoners are allowed one cigarette a day. When they have smoked theirs, they'll throw the butt in the hole and then fill it in again". I rather suspect this wouldn't be acceptable in the modern army!

Indeed not.  Times have changed immensely, but I recall many similar events going on well into the 80s.  It was the so-called “demographic trough” and the beginnings of severe problems with a voluntary recruitment system competing in a society where changes in social attitude were profound, that led to change.  It got very silly at one stage with recruits permitted to present a “red card” to their instructors if they felt they had overstepped a perceived mark. I recall a lot of very irate SNCOs as a result.  Nevertheless, those are the recruits that then went on to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They are still the same product (remaining overwhelmingly white, working class), they just take longer to get there.

 I suspect we must take care to stay within the bounds of the lead up to WW1, or else take this into Skindles.

Edited 28 October , 2021 by FROGSMILE

[aodhdubh]

On 28/10/2021 at 12:37, FROGSMILE said:

Indeed not.  Times have changed immensely, but I recall many similar events going on well into the 80s.  It was the so-called “demographic trough” and the beginnings of severe problems with a voluntary recruitment system competing in a society where changes in social attitude were profound, that led to change.  It got very silly at one stage with recruits permitted to present a “red card” to their instructors if they felt they had overstepped a perceived mark. I recall a lot of very irate SNCOs as a result.  Nevertheless, those are the recruits that then went on to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They are still the same product (remaining overwhelmingly white, working class), they just take longer to get there.

 I suspect we must take care to stay within the bounds of the lead up to WW1, or else take this into Skindles.

The favourite torment RBR RPs had for miscreants in the 1990s relied on the handy location of Warwick Camp on the South Shore, containing Bermuda's best beaches where bergens could be filled with sand.

Edited 9 November , 2021 by aodhdubh

[aodhdubh]

On 28/10/2021 at 12:37, FROGSMILE said:

I suspect we must take care to stay within the bounds of the lead up to WW1, or else take this into Skindles.

I should ask, what are/is Skindles?

 

This photograph is one of a batch of the 38th Battalion during its time in Bermuda. I have created a separate post with all of them, should anyone be interested:

 

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/298646-38th-battalion-ottawa-canadian-expeditionary-force-in-bermuda/#comment-3130063

[FROGSMILE]

3 minutes ago, aodhdubh said:

I should ask, what are/is Skindles?

 

This photograph is one of a batch of the 38th Battalion during its time in Bermuda. I have created a separate post with all of them, should anyone be interested:

 

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/298646-38th-battalion-ottawa-canadian-expeditionary-force-in-bermuda/#comment-3130063

Skindles is just a section of the GWF (near the bottom) where forum members (with a token number of posts) can make posts that are off-topic from WW1 without fear of being locked, or deleted by the admin.

Edited 12 July , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[aodhdubh]

2 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

Skindles is just a section of the GWF (near the bottom) where forum members (with a token number of posts) can make posts that are off-topic from WW1 without fear of being locked, or deleted by the admin.

Ah, I see. Thanks...I had not spotted that before.

[FROGSMILE]

4 minutes ago, aodhdubh said:

Ah, I see. Thanks...I had not spotted that before.

I rarely go there.