Postcards - Garrison Military Police

[John Cameron]

An interesting postcard of a Garrison Military Policeman. He is wearing a muskrat cap with a large brass MP as a cap badge. The 7 button Canadian 1902 Pattern jacket is standard for wear in Canada during the Great War. The collar badges are much clearer in the original photo and are GMP. He is wearing the Canadian Oliver pattern waistbelt and a black and white GMP brassard.

One of my favorite postcards, Battery Sergeant Major Charles Wolfe, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, while a Garrison Military Police NCO at Camp Petawawa Ontario, 1917. The uniform jacket is an early 1902 Pattern 7 button jacket, with detachable epaulettes. His rank insignia is worn on only one sleeve and consists of the Crown above a gun above 3 chevrons. He wears the RCHA cap badge (Babin 16-2) on his Service Dress cap. The Garrison Military Police brassard is of brown leather with brass letters.

[CEFWW1]

John

What was the reason for wearing the RCHA badge as opposed to an MP badge of some sort? Also is there a significance to the fact the GMP armband is on the right sleeve for one and on the left for the other?

Hugh

[John Cameron]

Hugh,
Canadian Garrison MPs during the Great War appear to have been either appointed to their role by a Garrison Provost Marshal, or attested directly into Garrison Military Police duty. Garrison MPs appear to have worn a variety of Regimental or Corps insignia, often the cap badge of the Garisson Regiment. The MP badge on the fur cap in the photo is unusual, which is why I posted it. Our Artillery BSM in the photo was assigned to GMP duty at Camp Petawawa but remained on strength of the Artillery. Below is a photo taken one year later of him with his son. Note that he is now wearing the Artillery gun cap badge.

I was lucky enough to acquire a file box filled with his correspondance and a number of photos of him from prewar to 1919. Here he is in prewar undress uniform.

Rearding the brassards, they were normally worn on the left arm or cuff by all MPs, but in this case it's likely that local dress instructions mandated their wear on the right cuff.

[guest_000]

All regiments used the regiemntal police system and until recently still did. They used their own armbands with regimental colours and where sometimes supervised by a real MP. Your pictures are outstanding and show in detail a side seldom seen thanks for posting these I learned something about badge wear from them.Also from the first pic the use of the cmp badges has long been debated amongst collectors as being strictly British and it is nice to see these rare photos pop up showing them in CANADIAN WEAR

[RCN]

Charles Wolfe - LOVE the photos John!

What are his medals pls, are you able to make them out in the photo of him wearing his dress uniform? See he has added a ribbon from the first photo to the second photo taken with his son.

Bryan

[Jibba Jabba]

They should bring back the cosh in military and civil policing! They didnt mess about in those days

[ProCoy]

An old thread, but I thought it would be interesting to add a new photo I just picked up, with the large brass "MP" worn on the SD cap. Its clear on the original photo that the collar badges are "GMP".