Table Of ContentELITE SERIES 65
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MILITARY
ED CAPS
B TAI . S LITARY PO ICE
'
:
~\IIKE CH~\PPElAlA
THE REDCAPS
BRITAIN'S PROVOST TROOPS
AND MILITARY POLICE
INTRODUCTION
- - -- - ----- - - ---- ----
ht' stotT of Britain "s prmust forces 1wcessarih f<icust's allention on
somc of tht' lt'ss glorious l'pisodes of British .\nny histrn~·. Had e\'l·n·
British soldier O\'lT tht' centuries been an obedient and dutiful soul.
there would han· been no need for prmost or military police. Sadh·. armies
- part intlarh· in time of war - han· ah,·;ns been homl' for the criminal. and
the British .\nm has h;1d its share of thicn·s and cw-throats. as well as its
A probationer of the MMP In the drunken and licentious element. Their e:xn·sscs haYe not alw;n-s been
late 1880s. He wears the uniform
dkctin·h· dealt ,,·irh lw rheir mrn officers. which has resulted from tinw to
of his regiment, an Irish one
time in breakdowns of discipline ranging from minor offences to serious
judging by his 'harp' collar
badges. Note the 'MMP' brassard, crimt'. Hrn,· these were contained. or ckalt \fit h. is the main theme of this
his good conduct chevrons (five hook. The men who tamed the lawless are its subject.
years plus), his crossed-rifles Policl' I< >rces arl' a fairh· rn·,,· concept in hoth ciYilian and milit<u"'· life:.
marksmanship badge, 1885-
Sir Robert Peel established the \letropolitan Police in IH29 (aher ha,ing
pattem sword, and late 19th·
century saddlery and equipment. set 11p a conswhulatT in Ireland) and in I H.\"l the British .\rm~· raised the
(AMP Museum) f-irst unit to hear tlw title of '111ilita1Y police'. Prior to this. what would he
callt'd militan· policing
toda,.· was carried out I).\ ·
prm·osr marshals. officers
and 11011-<·ommissioned offi
cers appointed to that otlice
\\'ho Wl'nt about helping
with the maintenance of
'good order and militan·
discipline·.
DISCIPLINE IN
THE BRITISH
ARMY
To be dkctin: an arnl\· must
he well-<lisciplined. \lilita1~·
discipline Illa\ he defined as
tilt' control or order exer
cised on·r an armY: or. tlw
rules or laws used to main
tain this control; or the be
h<l\iour of soldiers sul~jecred
to these rules. From the d;l\·s
of Roman empire to the
( ~ulf \\'ar. it has been 3
axiomatic that a well-<lisciplined force \dll im<triably defeat one \\ith poor
discipline. Good military ciisciplinc is therefore highly desirable; it can
forge an army from the most unpromising human material, or turn the
forces of a wanior race into an elite.
For more than three centuries the British :\rnw has maintained stan
dards of discipline that haw been the enw of the world. This achie\·ement
is all the more remarkable considering that the profession of arms has, in
that period, remained unpopular with the British. L'ntil fairly recently
discipline in the British :\nny was maintained by methods that - judged by
the standards of today-were harsh and repressive. Perhaps they had to be.
Before the 20th century the ranks of Britain's army were filled by that part
of its population that the Duke of\\'ellington chose to describe as 'the scum
of the earth·. Want, or the desire to escape gaol. compelled many to enlist.
Others were enticed by trickery. or cash bounties that were
frequently spent on glorious alcoholic binges. Few men sought the soldier's
life from feelings of patriotism or a desire for ad,·enture. l'ntil the latter
part of the l 9th century most were illiterate. and most drank to an excess
limited only by their palu~· pay.
The methods used to turn such unpromising material into soldiers were
frequently brutal. Their punishment when they transgressed was nearly
Miiitary Mounted Police at
always sarnge - and public. lmariably, troops were paraded to ''itness the
Aldershot, 1890s. Moat of the
application of the lash, or death by noose or filing squad, the reasoning
NCO. wear the undress unltonn of
the MMP, bu1 six of the senior being that the spectacle encouraged soldiers to obedience. Perhaps such
NCO• wear full dress tunics - barbaii~· was ine,itable giwn the condition of the poor in England and
ldentlflable by their gold lace. The Ireland in the l 7th, l 8th and early l 9th centmies. This \\Tetched portion of
oft'lcer In the centre of the front
the population prmided most of the recruits for the British Army, even
row Is Charles Broakes, Provost
though enlistment, ·going for a soldier', was an option of last resort.
Marshal from 1885 to 1894. (Ray
Habitual wrongdoers could expect repeated floggings. \\'rongdoers on
Westlake)
'
acti\'e senice risked a death sentence. If the B1itish ..\nny did gi\'e up a bad Mllltary Foot Pollce, Malta, 1913.
soldier - usually to transportation to the com"ict colonies - they parted A splendid Illustration of the 'un
company ''ith him after tattooing ·s.c. · for bad characte1: on his chest. dress' unHonn worn at this time.
The only colour alleviating the
\\'hen \'ictorian reforms reduced the use of the lash, the need to ensure
dark blue was red piping on the
that there would be nu soft options for miscreant-. led to the consui.tction
cuffs, shouldenstraps, trouseni
of militar:· prisons. Life inside was unbelie,·ably hard. sening the triple pur and cap crown. The RSM and
pose of depri,ing a man of his liberty, subjecting him to a regime of back RQMS have gold piping on their
breaking labour, and sending a message to those in the ranks calculated to tunics, Royal cipher cap l»Rges,
and crown collar badges. (RMP
discourage \\Tongdoing.
Museum)
Only in recent years has compulsion been eliminated as a recmiter for
the British Army. The ranks are no longer filled by conscription or men on
the nm from hunger, unemplo~ment or ci\il gaols. \bung men now \"Olun
teer for senice because the\· freeh· choose the life of a soldie1: For the first
' .
time in histor:·. the British Army may gin· up on a bad soldier, and dispense
\\ith his senices \\ithout the risk of a su·eam of others seeking discharge the
same way. Wayward soldiers still find their way to B1itain 's last remaining
militar:· prison. But they go for coffection and reu-aining, not for the pun
ishment once meted out.
Mllltary Law
The mles that a soldier must li\·e by are codified in military law. Lpon en
lisunent a B1itish soldier becomes subject to military law as well as the chil
law of his countr:'. British military law is set out by an ..\1my .-\et. Queen's
Regulations for the Anny, and \<lrious routinely issued orders and insu-tte
tions. Early in his training a recmit \\ill ha\'e the rudiment"i of military law 5
explained to him.just as centuries ago the .-\rticles of War were read out to
the British rebriments raised in time ofwa1: (The Articles of War were ordi
nances. usually issued by the monarch, for the goYerning of troops on
acth·e senice. The~· set out offences and punishments - usually death or
maiming. In rnrious forms they existed from the time of the '.\:orman
Conquest. They had no application in peacetime ptior to the establishment
of a standing army.)
B1itish military. law en>lwd be.n md these articles \\ith the restoration of
the monarchy in 1660, when regiments were raised that were to form
Btitain's first full-time. standing, regular army. Discipline in peacetime was
lax, and it became necessary for parliament to pass a \httiny .. \et in 1689:
successin_. '.\1utiny Acts - with some inten·als - were passed annually
until 18i8.
The inconn. . nience of a military code that was part .. \et of Parliament
and part Articles of War was renl<ffed in 1H iY \\ith the passing of the Army
Discipline and Regulation Act, and \\ith the Anny Acts of 1881 and subse
quent years. These continued to set out military otlences, and to decree the
limit<; of punishment, powers of arrest and the powers of courts martial. As
an example, oflences in the early part of the 20th century included cow
ardice in the face of the enemy, mutiny and insubordination, desertion and
absence '"ithout leaYe, disgracefol conduct, drunkenness. and the catch-all.
An artist's Impression of a Redcap 'conduct to the prt:judice of good order and military discipline'.
controlllng traftlc 'between the fir
At no time has the Btitish soldier been left in doubt as to his position
ing llne and the .......,,.• •• The
before military law, and if he was stupid enough to plead ignorance of it. he
chaos at Loo9, In 1915, may have
been like this. (Ray Westlake) soon found out that his was an unacceptable plea~
8
PROVOST MARSHALS AND
STAFF CORPS
The office of Pro\'ost \larshal is one of the most
ancient in Biitain and it is diflicult to establish its ori
gins with any certainty. But the duties of the
Prmust \larshal seem essentialh· the same toda\
as thev were in the l 7th centurv: the mainte-
. .
nance of discipline, the pren·ntion of crime.
and the arrest and biinging to uial of soldiers
offending militar:· law.
\\'hat has changed are the powers of the
Pnwost \farshal and his men ... \t the time of
the English Ch·il War they could summarily
punish otlenders with floggings. 'riding the
\HHlden horse'. or running the gauntlet.
Blasphemy was punished by boring a hole
through the otlender's tongue. There were -13
oflences for which courts martial could award
sentences of death, which were put into execu-
1i on b\· the Pro\·ost \larshal. In the reign of
Charles II each regiment had a Prornst \farshal.
Later, a ProYOst-:\farshal General was appointed for
the army. along ''ith a Judge AdwJCate to administer
militan· law.
At about this time a description of the
duties of a Pro,·ost \farshal was published, stating him to
he 'One unto whom is delh·ered the charge and keeping of
all Delinquent" and ciiminal offenders. .. He is first the greatest
and piincipal gaoler of the Army. .. though some contemptuously
ha\'e called him the Hangman ... It is not la\\ful for the Cnder-Prornsts to lWo corporals of the Mllltary
go at any time \\ithout halters, \dths, or strangling cords of match, e\'er Mounted Pollce, 1917. The seated
figure wears a pre-war, dark blue,
about them ... The Prm'Ost \farshal hath the charge of all manner of tor
forage cap with a red cover. He
tures such as ~Yes. shackles, bolts, chains, belbowes. manacles. whips and
also wears the medal ribbons of
the like and may by his ministers use them, either in the case ofj udgement
the Merttortoua Service Medal
or commandment from a \fartial Court or othernise upon unruliness at his (awarded for gallantry from earty
mm discretion: he is by his officers to see all places of execution prepared 1917) and the Mllltary Medal.
... gallows, gibbets, scatl(>lds, pillories, stocks or strappadoes, or any other en Ray Westlake)
gine which is set up for te1Tor and affiight to such as behold it. .. The Prornst
\larshal must ha\'e an especial care to the keeping of the Peace, and ... must
pre,·ent all '.\fotinies, Quarrels, and disorders. .. he shall e\'er haYe about him
a guard of l'nder-Pro\'ost~ and sen·ants, who \\lth short tnmcheons in their
hands, ... shall enforce obedience to any la\\ful commandment which pro
ceedeth from him, and ha\ing taken [offenders] in their actual transgres
sions. to commit them to p1ison, or the bolts, as the nature or e\il example
of the crime desen·eth: for it is a duty expected at this officer's hands to be
a ready suppresser of \'ice and disorder. .. The last duty of the Pro,·ost
\larshal is [after the watch is set at night] tu surwy the .-\.nny, and see if it
remains calm and still ... if he hears in Sutler's cabins or other harbour am·
dnmkards, tobacco-takers, or other unruly persons. .. he shall presently suir
press them.· 7
The same treatise described the Pro\·ost \farshal's duties as a supenisor
of ·,ictuallers. \iandors, merchants and others' pl~ing their trades within
the camp area. He set piices for their merchandise, and protected them
from the "insolence· of the soldiery. He checked weights and measures, and
le\ied a charge of sixpence a week per stall - for the 'Lord Marshal'. He
further saw to it that 'the \larket Place of the Camp be once in two days
swept and kept sweet and clean ... [and] that no man do the office of na
lllre but in places conYeniem·.
These duties. so carefl1lh· set out by Francis \farkham in 1662, changed
little m·er t11e next hundred years or so. a period when mutiny and deser
tion were commonplace. (That of the Royal Regiment of Foot leading
directly to the passing of the first \lutiny Act.) In 1739, for example,
se\·e1-al independent companies of Scottish highlanders were formed into
the regiment that later became knmrn as the Black Watch. Their duties had
been to patrol their native highlands as a fonn of gendarmerie, but in 1743
the regiment was ordered to London. When they were put on standby for
overseas sen·ice. 112 men deserted and set out for Scotland, but were
captured and llied for mutiny. The llials were arranged by Pro\'ost Marshal
Dodd of the Samy military plison in London (one of the earliest references
to the use by Prornst Marshals of a military prison). Of the death sentences
meted out by the court-.. three were executed by firing squad at the Tower
A MMP lance-corporal examines a of London, and the remainder commuted to transportation of one kind or
notice discouraging looting,
another. With the dreadful means at their disposal, Pro\'ost Marshals and
Amlens, France, 1918. The NCO Is
their men contained the worst excesses of British armies at home and
not wearing a red cap-cover. (AMP
abroad, in peace and in war, but their 'terror and affright' failed to impress
Museum)
Wellington's army of ruffians
and cut-throats m the
Peninsular \Var.
Wellington's Army
In 1809 Sir Arthur Welleslev
(soon to be Viscount
Wellington) commanded
the British army in Portugal
that was, oYer the next five
~·ears, to "in for him fame,
titles and a fortune. He
would later write, 'We are an
excellent Army on parade,
an excellent one to fight, but
we are worse than an enem\'
in a country.' Wellington
realised that his armv could
never operate with success in
Portugal and Spain until the
'irregularities and outrages
committed by British troops'
were curbed. He was
scathing about the poor con
trol exercised by regimental
officers and NCOs O\'er their
8 troops, and felt that courts
martial were ineffecti\'e in
,·iew of the readiness with
which his soldiers commit
ted perjury. He pressed for
his command to ha\'e a reg
ular Pro\'ost establishment
on the lines of the French
Gendam1erie ::\'ationale and
the Spanish Policia Militar,
in place of the handful of
Assistant Pro\'osts,
sergeant~
on ensigns' pay, that he
so distrusted.
Wellington's main prolr
lem was the wav in which his
army indulged in plunder.
Free for a moment from
supenision, British soldiers
straggled, looted, and drank
to excess of the \\ine of the
country. which they fre
quently stole. It was not only soldiers who were guilty of bouts of dmnken
A Canadian Infantryman attached
ness in looted wine cellars. Their women indulged too, and were flogged by to the Provost unit of his division
the Prornsts when caught. (Such incidents led to the Peninsular soldiers' (1st Canadian) for trafftc duties.
epithet of 'Bloody PrO\ust'.) Soldiers caught in the act of plunder were Note the collar badges of the
'tenth Canadians', the red patch
often hanged by the Pro\'osts, but the sight of their comrades !-t'\\inging from
of his division, 'C&nada' shoulder
limb or gibbet had little effect on the rest of the an11y. ~lost men felt they tltles, and his 'TC', lnlf'flc Control,
had a right to loot, and most officers did not bother to stop them. brauard. (Canadian oflk:lal)
Matters went from bad to worse after the battle of Ciudad Rodrigo in
1812 when the British forces ga\'e themsel\'es <Wer to an orgy of looting,
rape and drunkenness. The Pro,·osts combined their forces hut were un
able to restore order for 24 hours. Ele,·en executions followed. but they
had little effect on what took place weeks later after the storming of the
town of Badajoz. For two days British, Spanish and Portuguese soldiers
sacked the town and drank themselves insensible while part of the gan-ison
was allowed to escape. On the third day Wellington had a gallows erected
in the town and with it the Pro\'ost Marshal. his Assistant Prornst ~farshals
and their Provost guards gradually restored order \\ith summary hangings.
In early 1813 the authorities agreed to Wellington's 1·equest for the for
mation of a military police force, and the Cavalry Staff Corps. 'a Police
Corps of two troops', was formed. Command went to Lt.Col. George
Scovell, formerly of the 57th Regiment of Foot, and the ranks were filled by
,·olunteers from mounted regiment~. Shortly after fom1ation the new corps
had a strength of 11 officers and 180 men, and their duties included pa
trolling the line of march of British columns to pre,·ent looting. Soldiers
caught in the act were immediately hanged. It is interesting to note that
men of the Cavalry Staff Corps wore the unifonns and equipment of the
regiments from which they had come. but were instantly recognisable by
the red scan·es tied around their right shoulders. A forenmner perhaps of
the red cap co\'er.
Despite the best efforts of the CSC and a much increased Prornst
Ytarshal's force, plunder and other crimes were nen~r eradicated from 9
Wellington's ..\nny. In .June 181 :t al \'ittotia in northern Spain. the French
army were defeated. but their pursuit was ,·irtually abandoned when the
British fdl upon the enemy baggage train. The wagons contained a \erita
ble Aladdin's caw of u·easure: fortunes in coin from the 'militatY chest·. the
jewels and trappings of the court of.Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, and
the accumulated plunder brought out of Spain by tilt" French and their col
laborators. The ,·ictors went into a frenZ\· of looting. It W<L4' the biggest prize
eYer to fall into their hands, and thev made the most of it. ,,·ith officers
'contending for the ... disgraceful gain'.
Wellington was furious at the conduct of his troops. later estimating that
oYer 10,000 men had inn>h·ed themseh·es in the sacking of the French train.
Faced with such a massiYe breakdmm in dio;cipline the Pn.>\"<>St-. were powerless.
(.\lost soldiers - and some officers - belieYed plunder to be their right by
the ancient and umffitten rules of wat~ particularly aft.er a tmrn had been
taken by storm. The legend of 'spoils of war' lin·d on through the sacking
of the palaces at Delhi in 183 7, and Peking in 1860, to the 'liberation' of
~azi booty in I 945 and the post-war exploitation of economies of defeated
counu-ies through black marketcering.)
·when the army. moYed into southern France man\.' soldiers felt it their
CMP mounted detachment, Cairo,
pri\ilege to take what they wanted in the homeland of their enemy. This at
1937. with perfectly turned-out
titude led \.\'ellington to complain, 'There is no crime recorded in the men and hones. Note the pale
:'."\ewgate Calendar that is not committed by these soldiers. who quit the cord breeches and black jack
ranks in search of plunder, and if the Staff Corps were three times as nu boots wom only by the CMP at
this time. The detachment Is
merous and acti\'e as they are, they would not be sutlicient either to pre,·ent
armed with .455 In. pistols and
the mischief or detect thost'. guilty of it.· One who was detected and brought
1908-pattem cavalry swords.
to u·ial was the soldier hanged for rape. who thought that now he was in (RMP Museum)
10
France he could takt' his pleasure from anv woman he fancied. The war
came to an end with the capintlation of the French in April 1814 and the
Peninsular arnw began to disband and disperse .
.. \fter :'\' apoleon ·s escape from Elba, Wellington returned to the
Continent in command of an arnw. which had been raised bv. the nations
allied against Bonaparte. Once more, the Pro\'ost-; were hard put to con-
tain plundering. flogging am· soldier found away from his regiment \\ith
out proper authority. (This practice uflendcd the sensibilities of at least
one obser•er who recorded his outrage. One wonders what his feelings
might have been if he had been the \·ictim of the men he pitied.) On 18
.June 181:\ the day of Waterloo, Lt.Col. Scm·dl received orders to reform
the Ca,·alry Staff Corps by recruiting as many former members as he could
tind. and bv taking three men, preferably French-speaking. from each
ca\·alry regiment. (Contemporary accounts refer to the unit as the
'\lounted Staff Corps' and the 'Gendarmerie Anglaise'.) The Corps re
mained on pro\'ost duties on the continent until 1818. Drning the Allied
occupation of Paris its citizens were spared the worst attentions of the
armies which were camped out-;ide the city by the Pron>st h'l.tards who were
posted on all the points of entry. :'\o soldier could enter Paris \\ithout a
Posed for the c:amere - end thent
pass.
for amusing - • colli9ion between
a Rifle Brigade truck and • Ha\ing fought for so long to haYe a C.m1lry Staff Corps, Wellington au
Glouc:esterwhlre Regiment staff tho1ised exu·a pay for troopers of the CSC (latterly one franc - or ten pence
car, late 1930s. Note the water per day). But he refused to contest a peacetime cut in this allowance,
proof clothlng of the CMP motor
instead allo\\ing his 'Gendannerie Anglaise · to fade away to disbandment.
cyclist, and the fact tMt putt. ..
The British Army was to haw no reh111lar militar} police unit, other than the
were no longer wom by Redcaps
in .ervice dress. (RMP Museum) troops of the Prmust \larshal. for another ~() years.
11
