British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

Recent Books by Forum Members

   

Go Back   British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum > Common Forums > The Home Front

 Other Pages: Galleries, Links etc.
Glossary  Books by Forum Members     Canadian Pre 1914    CEF    CEF Badge Inscriptions   Canadian post 1920     Canadian post 1953     British Cavalry Badges     Makers' Marks    Pipers' Badges  Canadian Cloth Titles  Books  SEARCH
 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 17-01-18, 04:42 PM
bananamafia's Avatar
bananamafia bananamafia is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: leicestershire
Posts: 40
Default women's auxiliary police corps badges

Could anyone help with age/authenticity of these two badges please?
20180117_163537.jpg

20180117_163543.jpg

20180117_163548.jpg

20180117_163553.jpg
__________________
"When a crash seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity as slow and gently as possible."
- Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 21-01-18, 03:37 PM
Postwarden's Avatar
Postwarden Postwarden is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The Garden of England
Posts: 3,224
Default Women's Auxiliary Police WPC

Both date from WW2 and were worn as shown. The details of the WPC below come from an article I wrote some years ago for a family history magazine.

Jon

Although Britain has had local police forces for nearly 200 years, women played little part in them before the Second World War. In the 1930s the Home Office recognized that the police would play a valuable role in a future war although younger members would be lost to the forces. To ensure that essential police duties were carried on a Police War Reserve was set up in 1939 and the Special Constabulary - which had played a useful role in the First World War - was widely promoted. In August 1939 the Home Office acknowledged ‘the possibility of supplementing police resources by employing women on certain duties’ although numbers were to be kept ‘as low as is reasonably possible’. To ensure uniformity of practice ‘the designation ‘Women’s Auxiliary Police Corps (WAPC) is to be used for this service.’

This was a new departure for most police forces. During the First World War some police forces had recruited one or two women to deal with prostitutes attracted by large military camps, but even when the Police Act of 1916 authorised the employment of women constables they were not given full police powers. Despite a suggestion from the Home Secretary in 1924 that forces should consider appointing women officers to deal with cases involving women and children, most Chief Constables ignored the situation or announced that there was no necessity to employ women in their force. By the outbreak of war there were only 220 women police officers, 100 of them in London’s Metropolitan Police.

The wartime WAPC was recruited from women aged 18 to 55, mainly for part-time service. Full-time members, who were paid £2 a week, could be recruited ‘if selected by the Chief Constable’. Many of these part-time members came from middle-class homes where wives had spare time for such activities. The WAPC’s most famous member was the star of Brief Encounter, Celia Johnson, who was a driver and switchboard operator for the Oxfordshire WAPC. The women replaced men in canteen work, driving, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and the usual office tasks of typing, shorthand dictation and operating telephone switchboards. It was stressed that the WAPC were not Special Constables and would not be granted police powers. No one could claim that this new force was a major success; by July 1940 fewer than 1000 members were serving in 43 forces.
Those recruited were given a uniform which for the majority who worked indoors was a simple blue cotton overall with either a breast badge or an armlet bearing the letters ‘WAPC’. The few women employed outdoors were issued a blue gabardine waterproof coat to be worn with a blue peaked cap and gauntlet gloves. A buttonhole badge was authorized for wear in civilian clothes.

Some forces were favourably disposed towards the WAPC. Two, Stafford and North Yorkshire, employed them as traffic police. A glowing report enthused that ‘The WAP Constables employed on motor patrol duties, although many were below the physical standard expected of policewomen, were not afraid of interrogating suspects and made many arrests, particularly of deserters of both sexes..’ This was by no means the universal view. One history records that ‘Resistance to women in the police continued unabated … all seem to remember the problems they experienced with some officers who did not know what to do with women and felt extremely uncomfortable in their presence.’

But this attitude could not last. In 1941 the Home Secretary said that he wanted more women enrolled in the police, either as regulars or as aides in the Women's Auxiliary Police Corps, although they were still to be confined largely to traditional support tasks: "It is true that police duty is, for the most part, a man's job but such work as driving cars, typewriting and attending the telephone can be done by carefully selected women. There is no reason why canteen duties should not be taken over entirely by women"

The shortage of labour saw the WAPC finally formed in the country’s largest force, the Metropolitan Police. By October 1941 64 women had been recruited, a figure which rose to 320 by April 1943. In the same month the Home Office recommended proper uniforms for all full-time WAPC. Similar in style to ATS uniform and already worn by women police, this was usually worn with a WAPC shoulder badge. As the WAPC grew rank badges were introduced in 1943.

The most fundamental change occurred in October 1942 when it was decided that the WAPC could be given police powers. Although relatively few women were attested as Constables – eight out of 280 in the Metropolitan Police - this move paved the way for the greater use of women police after the war. The WAPC was disbanded in March 1946 with most forces sending a printed ‘Thank You’ message to members. So successful had the WAPC experiment been that many members were offered the opportunity to join the regular force if they met the physical standards
Attached Images
File Type: jpg WAPC Bristol JM via Andy Stevens.jpg (49.0 KB, 45 views)
File Type: jpg WAPC City of London JM.jpg (40.7 KB, 42 views)
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 24-01-18, 10:25 AM
bananamafia's Avatar
bananamafia bananamafia is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: leicestershire
Posts: 40
Default

Thank you Jon, your expertise and knowledge is greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to reply.

P.s. ive just sent a PM to you regards one of your publications.
__________________
"When a crash seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity as slow and gently as possible."
- Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

mhs link

All times are GMT. The time now is 11:10 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.