Corps of military police

[Guest neiltalbot]

I am trying to find out information about the military police. I had a great grandad, Harry Shepperd, who served as a red cap in WW1 but have found information about him or his unit hard to come by. I know he survived the war, as I have photos during and after the war but I have no idea if he was regular, territorial or kitchener. Is there any way I can research the history of the unit in WW1, and possibly find my relative.

[Terry Denham]

Have you checked the brief history on the RMP website?

http://www.army.mod.uk/rhqrmp/museum_histo...f_the_corps.htm

As you will see, during WW1 the MPs were actually two units, the Military Mounted Police and the Military Foot Police - the Corps of Military Police only being formed in 1926.

We have a number of RMP experts on the Forum (some ex-members or still serving). I am sure they can point you in the right direction.

[Guest neiltalbot]

Thanks I had checked that. It seems though there is a dearth of information on the military police. How did they serve? Were individuals attached to specific units, or to the supply train? Did they follow their own line of command, or were they subject to the command of the division in the same way as ordinary soldiers. Basically any information on the military police in world war one would be gratefully recieved

[iain mchenry]

Neil,

As a serving NCO in the RMP I am quite ashamed that I dont know too much on my own Corps history although now am gathering together more and more info from various sources. Here is some of what I have:

Prior to 1914 the two branches of the Military Police recruited only volunteers that had served at least 4 years in other Arms/Corps. These volunteers had to have an exemplary record. 1914 saw the change for the first time where direct entrants were allowed to serve. This has remained untill present day and now only the Regulating Branch of the RN are the only "Mil Police" to not allow direct entrants to their ranks. By 1918 the Military Police had in the region of 151 Warrant Officers and 13,325 other ranks under its capbadge. The military police came under the executive authority of the Provost Marshal (P.M.) at GHQ and Assistant provost Marshals at formation H.Q's down to Div level. Many of the A.P.M.'s were former infantry officers who were unfit for further front line service due to physical/mental wounds or age. This was certainly no bad charachter judgment on them. The A.P.M of 1 Div was awarded a DSO for leading his Policemen and straggelers in a particulary desperate counter - attack in Nov 1914.

The work of the Military Police was split into two parts. Policing and Provost Operations. Policing involved the prevention, detection and investigation of crimes. Commonplace crimes such as theft, drunkeness, assault and criminal damage. Some great examples of the investigators reports into these crimes, addressed to the APM still exist in the Poperinge archives. All the reports start with "Sir, I beg to report....." Many a smile has been had when I show present day RMP the old reports and compare with the reams and reams of paperwork we have to do today!

The Provost Ops part of their job was to keep the supply routes of the army open and well signed. Traffic Posts were assigned at various strtegic points along a route such as a cross roads or an area were troops/vehicles could be harboured. Prior to a route being accepted for military traffic it had to be thouroughly recced and signed. This is a task that involves a fair amount of men to do and by 1918 the Military Police had two infantry Battalions under permanent control for this task. Information posts were manned to provide up to date info on various parts of the route for passing traffic. The small British bunker in the vicinity of Hellfire Corner that can be seen today at the roadside is rumoured to be a MP Traffic Post. The MP also manned stragglers posts to the rear of the front line to gather up stragglers to put back into the front. Their job was to redirect the stragglers and to detain men leaving the front with no due cause. This distinction can not have been easy. Richard Holmes in his book "Tommy" mentions that a single Corps at Messines in June 1917 had only 19 stragglers. However in March 1918 in he southern part of the British front 25,000 stragglers were collected, fed and put back into the fighting.

I know that this is not a lot Niel, but I hope it helps.

Best regards

Iain

[Stuart Brown]

Hello Neil,

There are a few threads if you search this site.

The following was on the MMP

Click Here

Stuart