Positive ID required on CPS badge

[Milmed]

Hi,
I hope to get a positive ID on a white metal lugged badge showing entwined letters C P S (assuming this is the correct order).

My thoughts were:
1. Colonial Police Service or Colonial Prison Service, but reading on wikipedia, the Colonial service units were only created c.1931 and the badge appears to predate that.

2. Cape Police Service or Cape Prison Service. On a positive note, the badge did come with a c.1910 South African Prison cap badge, so it may be related.

Steven

[Arthur R]

Looking at the way the letters are interlaced, I read them as SCP.

AFAIK, there was no force called 'Cape Police Service'. There were (a) the Cape Police (reorganised in 1904 into the Cape Mounted Police and the Urban Police (in Cape Town and Kimberley)), and (b) the district police forces (under the district magistrates).

Likewise, the prisons were run by the Convict Department.

[Phil2M]

If its PSC then a Special Constabulary would be a contender.

[Milmed]

Thanks Arthur and Phil for prompt response. Good to confirm not Cape Police, so will wait to see if a positive ID is found. I do realize that these entwined letters (CPS, PCS, SCP, CSP, SCP, PSC) could have a multitude of possibilities.

Steven

[altcar73]

There was never a specific badge for the Colonial Police Service (British). Members of the Colonial Police Service were gazetted officers who formed part of a central pool of men who were seconded to the police forces of the British Colonies. They wore the headdress badge of whichever Colony they were seconded to. Likewise there was never a Colonial Prison Service (British). The British Colonies each had their own individual Prison Service.

I understand that in South Africa there was an organisation called the "Civil Protection Service" which was a civil defence organisation. They utilised badges which featured the letters CPS in the centre. I wonder if there is a connection with the badge under discussion.

Dave.

[Milmed]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the info on the colonial service. Yes there was a CPS in SA during WWII but this badge is not associated with that service.

Steven

[peter monahan]

'Canadian' or 'Cape' or 'Colonial' Postal Service? Don't think it's Canadian but...?

[Milmed]

The postal service in the colonies used a white metal crown as cap and collar insignia, so don't think it is postal.

[Milmed]

Resurfacing an old thread.

Was looking at this badge again and the C appears to be mostly at the back of the badge, so can I assume it is the last letter?

The C and the P are both stippled and heraldically that represents the color Gold. The S appears to have vertical stripes represented by the color Red.

So my thinking is the letters are PSC and possibly Cadet related.

It could stand for Public School Cadets (A Grahamstown cadet unit)

or maybe even Pretoria School Cadets (if such an unit existed) as Pretoria Municipal colors are Gold and Red.

Still not sure whether a side cap badge, or collar badge or shoulder title!

[Arthur R]

I don't think the markings on the letters are heraldic cross-hatching. The lines on the S follow the curves of the letter -- if they were intended to represent red, they would have to be vertical only.

[Milmed]

Thanks Arthur

[kingsley]

I have always though that the rule of thumb for monograms is that the largest letter comes first and the smallest last, which makes it SCP.