Suggestions regarding personal kit...

Military Police Identification...

Prior to the Second World War, Military Police were primarily identified by firstly their uniforms, and secondly by the regimental affiliation notes in their Army Service and pay Books (AB64). Later on in the war, Military Policeman were issued Warrant Cards, much like their civilian counterparts.

This was more a local issue than a centrally issued item, and few surviving examples remain available for examination. The same, regrettably, relates to Warrant Cards from the 60s, 70, and early 80s. One example (sanitised to protect the donator of the photos) is shown on the right, from 1964.

The AF B 2603 was issued in its own small transparent polyethylene-like plastic envelope, the AF B 2604. Unlike civilian police forces of the time, who were gearing up for photo identification, no photograph was attached to this document, as it was intended to be used in conjunction with other photo identification (the newly issued Army Identity Card, for example). The Rank of the holder was always entered in pencil.

Later forms of Warrant Card, most notably the AF B 6991 in the 1980s, bore the photo of the holder.

The Military Police Warrant Card is rather unique in the police community. Unlike a civilian Warrant Card, the card is not a primary means of identification - the holders' Army Identity Card performs that task. The Warrant Card only relates to confirming the office that the holder occupies - that of a person working on behalf of or under the Authority of a Provost Officer in accordance with and by virtue of the powers conferred by the s.74(4) of the Army Act 1955.

Personal paperwork......

Paperwork comes in many forms and formats, but the most common paperwork that a serving Military Policeman in the 1980s wold have possessed at any time whilst on duty would have been his MOD Form 90 (British Army Identity Card), his AF B 2603 or AF B 6991 (Military Police Warrant Cards), and his MOD Form 145B (Service Police Note Book). And, of course, a pen!

Membership cards of both Forces 80 and Cold War Provost are optional, but recommended. Why? Because you never know if a veteran is going to ask to see your ID cards! World War Two re-enactors have, after all, their AB64 (Army Service and Pay Book) to fall back on; why not us?

Examples of both are shown to the right, for reference. Please note that these images have been carefully altered from their actual look, to prevent inappropriate use.

Retailers wishing to check and verify CWP membership validity for the purchase of controlled items under s.37(2)(e) of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 should contact us on the telephone number shown in white to the right.

To obtain your own copies, for the Forces 80 card, contact Forces 80 via the EW-Trading forums (you MUST be a registered member of Forces 80); for your Cold War Provost membership card, contact the usual person (you MUST be a current member of Cold War Provost)!

Please also note that the author has verified with his own eyes that the current format of the Cold War Provost membership card as shown does NOT - say again NOT - look anything like the current RMP Warrant Card (as at 2007) ; the format for the membership card is designed so as to NOT appear like the current issue Military Police Warrant Card.

Note also that the current (2007/8) format of the RMP warrant card is not laminated cardstock, but is a plastic card, similar to the new format MOD 90 ID card, in that it is printed directly onto plastic, with certain anti-forgery features.

The Police Notebook, or MOD Form 145, was a staple item of issue; everything a Military Policeman (or woman) did, ets entered into his notebook. There are very specific guidelines to do with Rules Of Evidence, Judges' Rules, Chains of Evidence, and so on, when making notes in said note books, and as a result, these are (a) difficult to get hold of, and (b) even more difficult to reproduce. Luckiy, Cold War Provost cuaght a lucky break - the founder was going through archive material in his attic, and found not one, but two, different designs of 145!

The 1990s issue version was blue in colour, 160 double-sided pages, lined with margins, each page individually numbered, with covers made from light card, printed both sides; the note book also had rounded corners, making reproducing this version expensive.

Luckily, the design for the period of the mid to late 1980s was thinner (40 double sided leaves, making 80 pages), did not have rounded corners on the pages (ease of production), and had no margins printed on the pages (ease of production again).

Currently, in 2008, the closest commercially available notebok that even comes close is (1) the wrong style (aimed at the Civilian Security market), (2) has too few pages, and (3) is single-side page numbered, not double side numbered, and at that, the page numbers are in the wrong format and the wrong place!

With certain differences to allow the reproduction note book to look authentic, while remaining different enough for the trained eye (e.g. former and/or serving RMP soldiers) to notice the differences, a reproduction version has been produced. The changes were made for the following reasons:

1. The Royal Crown, which is Crown Copyright after all, has been substituted by the Forces 80 Logo.
2. Certain wording on and in the cover has been changed to allow for copyright protection.
3. Since we do not need to follow the Rules Of Evidence, we do not need page numbering, and besides which
4. The notebooks are used as 'Theatrical Props' in our re-enactment activities, rather than actual as Police Notebooks.

Given the time, effort, and cost, in reproducing these notebooks, a download of the format will not be made available, and these reproduction notebooks will only be available to Cold War Provost members. Completeing a notebook (i.e., writing in one) in the proper manner is also be a matter of routine for members of Cold War Provost - after all, we're trying to portray the Corps properly, so filling out the notebook properly is an easily achieved task.

For more information about what goes into a police notebook, see here.

Notebook Accesories...

Every Military Policeman in the RMP has a few bits of paper in addition to his notebook in his possession when on duty. Most of these are related to his General Policing Duties, but a few are also related to his Provost Operations duties. A few are noted here, and a select number are also being made available in PDF form for home printing.

1. MOD F 145A - Notebook cover (not labelled in photo)
2. Major Incident Aide Memoire (normally typed upby the MP him/her-self)
3. MOD F 145B Police Notebook
4. Unique to BAOR and West Berlin, a two-language (English and Russian) order to Soviet Liasion Mission (SOXMIS) personnel to come with the MP.
5. Local area notes including out of bounds places, normally kept inside the back cover of the notebook cover for ease of reference.
6. Army Form A6018 - Precis of The Judges Rules (a.k.a. "The Caution Card"). See below for more on this.
7. Rules of Engagement for for armed British forces in the Federal Republic of Germany. A Resticted item, these were the rules soldiers have to follow before they are allowed to open fire in peacetime.
8. Rules of Engagement for for armed British forces in the West Berlin. Similar to item 7 above, tailored to the city environment of West Berlin.
9. SOXMIS card. See below for more on this.
10. F/MT/600 M.T. Drivers Permit.. See below for more on this. Normally carried in the soldiers wallet, like his/her civilian driving licence, some found it handy to carry it with their notebook instead, as it was easier to find in a hurry (An MP always carries a notebook on duty).
11. AFA6009 handover/Committal receipt forms. See below for more on this. A few would have been carried, just in case they were needed.
12. F.MT.3 form (double sided), a few MPs carries one or two of these, for use in Traffic Collision reporting, and to add to Drivers "Work Ticket Packs" if they were missing one - drivers who forgot to check their work ticket packs often came to regret it, as once they had been handed a replacement form by the ever-helpful MP, they were often reported immediately thereafter for having deficient kit in their possession - that normaly only happened when they gave the MPs cause to issue what some called an "Attitude Rethink Chit".
    

Hand Over Receipt forms / Committal Receipt forms (Army Form A.6009)

The AFA.6009 form is an important part of the Chain of Custody; this is a legal phrase, and describes, in rather convoluted and boring detail, the process to be followed from the moment of arresting a military offender (there are no suspects in Military Law: Only the Innocent and the Offender), to his arrival at Courts Martial for trial. A key component of the Chain of Custody is the Handover/Committal receipt. This is a form detailing who has handled a stage in the custody of a particular prisoner.

Primarily used by RMP to transfer a prisoner from RMP Custody to the custody of a local and/or convenient Guard Room (which are normally equipped with standard prisoner-holding cells), the form details the alleged offender, his alleged offence and where it allegedly took place, the location and controlling unit of the guard room facility, the Guard Commanders' name and details, and the arresting Military Policemans name and details. The form is not just used by RMP, it has also been known to have been used by Regimental Police (a regiments' own internal police with rather limited powers); after all, why re-design the wheel?

Once completed, the form is torn down the middle, the Handing Over Receipt portion being retained by the Military Policeman as part of his Chain of Custody (and for his report - paperwork is a fact of life in any form of Policing), and the Committal Receipt portion being retained by the Guard Room staff as part of their Chain of Custody and reporting procedures.

The Reproduction version of this form is now available for download in PDF format. Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "SAVE AS" when downloading this form, and ideally you should use very thin plain WHITE printer/copier paper to print it, if your printer can handle it. Two copies of the form will be printed each time you send the file to your printer.

Aide Memoires

No RMP NCO can remember everything; they're only Human, after all. Therefore, a lot of them carry brief notes called 'Aide Memoires'. These help the MP in his duties by noting everything from essential notes on Judges Rules (the precedent in law governing the cautioning of offenders, and their statements/confesions (suc as the bog standard "OK, Corporal, you got me, I did it") in military law, brief offence law, and so on.

By their very nature, these Aide Memoires are rather rare on the surplus market, as wehn they become outdated, they arte normally thrown in a bin, burnt, shredded, or otherwise disposed of, as they are of very little use to non-MPs. Never the less, they do occasionally appear, and, once collected and reproduced in PDF form, will be made available on this page.

Army Form A6018 - Precis of The Judges Rules (a.k.a. "The Caution Card")

The gathering of what is known as "Admisssable Evidence" is a major part of the training of any policeman, military or civilian. In the 1980s, the Army worked under what were knownm as "Judges Rules".

So important were Judges Rules, that notes were printed on the inside of the Service Police Notebook, detailing the Rules. In addition, an Army Form, AFA 6018, was drawn up and issued to Military Police, detailing which rules were aplicable in the taking of statements. Printed on white card with rounded corners (to lengthen the servicable life of the card), it was to be carried with the notebook at all times.

The Reproduction version of this card is now available for download in PDF format. Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "SAVE AS" when downloading this form, and use plain lightweight (approx 200 gsm or so) WHITE card paper to print it. Note that the file shows both front (the left) and back (the right) of the card, you'll need to re-insert your card and print it again on the back of the card to get the 'backed' effect, and that'll get you two cards, not one!

Judges Rules did not alter the law on admissibility of evidence, but were a code of best practice: It was assumed that statements given by a suspect in accordance with the Rules would be admissible in evidence. Boiled down, the Rules:

• Allowed the police to question any person with a view to finding out whether, or by whom, an offence had been committed
• Required the police to give a caution when they had reasonable grounds to suspect that a person had committed an offence
• Required a further caution when a person was charged and prohibited questioning afterwards charging save in exceptional circunstances
• Required a record of questioning to be kept
• Gave guidance on the best way to record a formal written statement

The rules also included further administrative guidance, on access to defence counsel, and on questioning children and foreigners.

Originally issued through the Home Office in 1918, and further explained in 1934 in a Home Office Circular, the Rules were reissued in 1964, and were finally replaced by PACE Code C, under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

The Armed Forces however, which were operating under the laws and regulations of the Army Act 1955, Air Force Act 1955, and the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (collectively, and with Queens Regulations on top, this was known as "Military Law"), did not introduce PACE into Military Law for some considerable time after that. It was only part-way into the 1990s, when Statute Law and Military Regulations were crafted to amend Military Law, that the PACE "Codes Of Practice" were finally brought into military policing, and consigned the military use of Judges Rules to the annals of history.

Other Documentation that might be held with a Notebook...

The F/MT/600 M.T. Drivers permit was essential to the <Military Policeman on overseas service: Without it, he or she was not permitted to drive any form of motorised vehicle in MoD service.

The Permit, which, under local agreements with the host countries in which they served, ensured that all personnel having a requirement to drive first took a test to ensure that they knew the rules of the road in the host country; they retained the permit at all times, and when they transferred to other units, the form has to be recertified that they had satisfied the requirements of the "tick test" by the use of a Unit official Stamp.

Note the colour of the card - it is a bright Mustard yellow, and this is a very diccicult colour to match, asthe only card the author discovered that even came close to the colour of the original is from Staples, and forms a file folder!

PDF: F/MT/600 Outside (two per sheet) Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "Save As"!
PDF: F/MT/600 Inside (two per sheet) Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "Save As"!

The previous version of the Drivers Permit was the AF A2038. Issued from the 1950s, it was on isue until replaced in the early 1970s, by the F/MT/600 series.

The permit was printed, double sided, on what was, as near as darn it, manilla envelope-coloured brown medium stock card. It was signed by the issuing oficer, and stamped with a unit stamp on the reverse side. Typically issued as a form with hand written entries, it was on occasion issued as a form with typed entries, with the non-applicable driving licence classes "X'd" out.

No protective envelope or plastic covering was issued with this permit, which was to be kept on the person of the soldier at all times when driving Army vehicles.

PDF: RF A.2038 Reproduction 1960s format Army Driving Permit Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "Save As"!

The SOXMIS card was issued to all British Forces serving in Europe. SOXMIS, the "Soviet Mission to the British Army of the Rhine", was basically a legal in-uiniform spying expedition, agreed to by the Four Powers Occupying Germany, following the end of the Second World War, the intent being to help reduce tensions by permitting 'opposing' forces to make sure that no hostile build-ups of forces were occuring.

It didn't quite work this way, and several areas in each others areas of operations were off-limits to SOXMIS and the British version, BRIXMIS (the Americans and French had their own versions, of course), which meant keeping track of SOXMIS teams was the full-time occupation for the RMP "SOXMIS desk" at Bielefeld Garrison in West Germany.

Things were, in the main, kept fairly civilised, but there was at least one fatal incident involving the death of an American Mission Officer at the hands of an East German soldier, so nothing was 100% certain; none the less, it appears they helped keep the peace, as World War Three did not occur during the Cold War!

PDF: BFG F66 (SOXMIS CARD) Front Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "Save As"!
PDF: BFG F66 (SOXMIS CARD) Back Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "Save As"!

Form BTD/B was the combined Movement Order and authorisation to travel that a member of the British Forces required in order to travel by road or rail from West Germany to West Berlin - travelling by road required said forces member to travel in East Germany, which at the time was occupied by the Soviet Forces

As with all things, they didn't want to allow our forces to West Berlin, and the requirement to possess the form was another method of limiting the accessibility of West Berlin to NATO forces.

The form you see here is a blank; that is, you can use a typewriter to add your own details (don't forget the back!), but it will be in an "unused" form once this is done, as it omits the simulated stamps that Soviet Forces would have used when permitting travel through their sectors (one on the outbound trip, and one on the return trip).

Form BTD/B (West Germany - Berlin Travel Permit) Remember to RIGHT CLICK and "Save As"!

ID Discs...

The British Army issues its' soldiers (including, of course, Officers) Identity Cards, as well as Identity Disks. Formerly made of a fibre-like material tied around the soldiers' neck with an issue piece of twine, and hand-stamped with the soldiers' details upon it, the disks changed in the 1970s to a twin set of metal disks about 3.5cm diameter each, chained about the neck with an issued twin ball-chain - one long, one very short - and are engraved (NOT stamped) by a computer-controlled engraving machine with the soldiers' details. While the blank disks themselves occasionally come up on e-bay (see other team members for more details), it's not possible to get the Army to engrave them for you, more's the pity!

So, here's one possible solution: Go to a pet shop or prize-engraving shop, and get them to do it for you!

Since we are not soldiers, and you want the details on the tag to reflect your own identity, to the right you'll see the modified format we encourage. if you click on the image, a prontable version will appear in a new window. Print it off, and Use it when you first go to the shop, to ensure they know what it is you want them to do!

The order and fortmat of the entries on your ID Disk are shown below. The same information must appear on both Disks.

The other solution is to visit Tim's Tags - these guys actually DO print genuine British Army ID Discs, and although they are of a slightly more modern pattern (non-reflective grey thin aluminium rather than thick shiny bare metal), they're close enough, and the typeface and etching will be spot-on!

Now, we're not saying that this'll happen, but the odds are good that if you don't get a set done, some nit-picking veteran will want to see if you're wearing your disks, and ask to see 'em!

Simulated Rank badges...

As mentioned in the Rules page, while no member is considered above another, the use of simulated ranks, given that we portray the RMP in the field, is a required part of the display. The following are the simulated ranks that may be used within Cold War Provost (but only with the prior authorisation of Senior members of Cold War Provost)...

SIMULATED RANK	Chevrons as worn on Smock, Combat, 1960-1968	Chevrons as worn on Jersey & No 2 Jacket	Cloth tapes as worn on Shirts KF & Combat 1960-1985	Combat patches as worn on Brassard & Shirts Combat post 1985
Lance Corporal (LCPL)
Corporal (CPL)
Sergeant (SGT)
Staff Sergeant (SSGT)

These badges of rank are to be sewn directly onto the Uniform shirt, jersey, and smock, and in the case of the combat rank patches, onto onto the 1980s issue MP Brassard immediately above, and joining the edge of, the MP Flash on said brassard.

You'll notice that there are at least four different patterns of rank badge shown. There were actually five; a thin lighter colour was issued for use on No 2 shirts, with a tan coloured backing and light grey chevrons, but of the same overall dimensions as the ones issued for the Jersey and No 2 Jacket.

See you soon!

NOTES and REFERENCES

Notes on The Judges Rules: Taken in part from Wikipedia