Brooched Tanganyika Police collar badge
 

Afternoon gents

Just got back from the annual police badge swap meeting in Glasgow where, for me, the highlight was this brooched Tanganyika Police collar badge (perhaps I’ll finally stop bitching about the cap badge I had and swapped many years ago :rolleyes::D). Any ideas why the conversion might have been done (other than to make it into a ‘sweetheart’)?

Regards from a surprisingly hot Scotland :p:D

Graham

Evening gents

Further to my last post I’ve just been browsing some old posts and found reference to a collar-sized Northern Rhodesia Police badge fitted with a pin for wear on slouch hats - might this be a similar arrangement?

Regards

Graham

Brooched Badges
 

As regards the NRP,the dark green slouch hat,there known as a bush hat,was worn by officers of the Mobile Unit.The standard cap badge was worn facing the front and secured by it's slider into the blue pugaree.
On occasions the left side of the hat was turned up and secured against the pugaree by the slidered badge,which was then facing left,not to the front.
Turning up the left brim made rifle drill somewhat easier in that when executing a sharp ' eyes right ',or a ' to the right - salute ',one's rifle was not knocked off the left shoulder.
I believe that any brooched badges would be jewellery.

Cool, thank you for that, most interesting.

Graham

Hi Graham,

Looks more like a pagri pin rather than a brooch fitting. There were very large Asian communities that settled throughout East Africa, although many left Kenya and Uganda after independence. My records show that the Asian population for Tanganyika in 1952 was approximately 46,000 of which a small percentage, mainly Sikhs - saw service with the Tanganyika Police. Perhaps this is a pagri (turban) badge.

Zob.

Thanks Zob. I was aware (thanks to Idi Amin) that there was once a sizeable Asian population in Uganda, but I didn't know that was also true of the rest of east Africa. I guess it makes sense that a percentage (possibly former soldiers?) would have joined the police. I'll amend my records later.

Thanks again

Graham