The Suffolk Regiment.

[Hoot]

Can any Suffolk Regiment expert out there tell me if there is any specific reason why the cap badge of the East Suffolk Police bore such a striking resemblance to that of the Suffolk Regiment?. I did wonder if it was maybe in recocnition of those former policemen who died serving in the Suffolk Regiment. Any answers would be appreciated.

[badjez]

A good question. I'm unsure that the badge would have been adopted in recognition of police who served, after all, many were refused permission to leave the police and join up until very late in WW1. A lot of Chief Constables were against the idea of losing trained officers in case British workers followed the lead of their Russian revolutionaries. My own Great-Uncle apparently had considered getting himself discharged from the police on disciplinary grounds so he could join up as they wouldn't permit him to resign.

As a guess, I would suggest that the dies were available and it was a cheap option for the County Council to use them.

Stephen.

[matti467]

Another point is that a lot of Chief Constables prior to 1939 were not police officers but retired army officers of Lt-Col and Col rank. A colleague of mine with a long line of commissioned history in the Coldstream Guards had a grandfather who was a chief constable.
Also the police had been based on the army for its ranks and drill.

[Peter Brydon]

If you did not know that this picture is of senior officers of Liverpool City Police in 1898 you might think you were looking at a group of army officers.

P.B.

[chief_chum]

That is a very good question, Hoot.
I have asked Suffolk Constabulary historians and none of them have been able to tell me the answer. Their best guess is that the Chief Constable at the time the badge was adopted might have been a former Suffolk Regiment Officer.
The similarities between the two badges would certainly not have been missed by all those old Suffolk Regiment veterans at the time!