Diary of a Heritage Manager – Memorials
The Roll of Honour is very special to us at the museum. I first got involved with the Roll of Honour in 2015, when I was working in Estates and volunteering with the museum. In the museum in Sparkhill, there were 15 filing cabinets full of Birmingham City Police and West Midlands Constabulary files. I …
New Coventry Police Museum opens
We’re delighted to have opened our new Coventry Police Museum within the heart of the city centre. It has been opened today (4 September) within Coventry City Council House and contains a range of information, images and historical items. A number of guests including our Chief Constable Craig Guildford, the Police and Crime Commissioner Simon …
Unlocked Stories : Award Winning Mounted Police
In 1840 the first seven horses were added to Birmingham Police and whilst some would be used to escort prisoners or royal visits, they were mostly reserved for ceremonial duties. It wasn’t until Chief Constable Sir Charles Haughton Rafter established the Birmingham City Police Mounted Section in 1923 that horses and their riders became a …
Diary of a Heritage Manager – The evolution of Operations
From Cappers Commandos to specialist, highly trained units This year I’ve been fascinated to learn about the history of the various different teams that make up the West Midlands Police Operations Department. This department is currently headed by Chief Superintendent Sarah Burton and includes teams such as Firearms, Operational Support Unit (OSU), Drones, Planning, Roads …
Diary of a Heritage Manager – Happy Birthday West Midlands Police!
This month marked the exact anniversary of West Midlands Police turning 50. So rather than choose a specific theme to highlight, we’ve taken a look back at the early days of the force and some of the key events that marked its development. As the clock turned midnight into 1April 1974, police officers across the …
1974 marks the year that West Midlands Police was formed – it’s also the year that Stephen Lawrence was born in south-east London. At 18 Stephen had ambitions to attend university to become an architect, tragically however his life was cut short by an unprovoked racial attack. On 22nd April 1993, Stephen was murdered whilst …
Diary of a Heritage Manager – Diversity part two
Earlier this week, I began talking about the very broad topic of diversity. Here’s part two, as diversity understandably has several very unique strands that all warrant a mention in their own right. Sexuality In the early 1970s it was something that wasn’t spoken about at all. Gay and lesbian officers went to great lengths …
Unlocked Stories: Tackling Forced Marriages
DS Trudy Gittins shared with us her first hand story of tackling the first FMPO case in the West Midlands, and first regarding an adult male in the country. DS Trudi Gittins, with a victim of forced marriage. What is forced marriage? A forced marriage is very different to an arranged marriage. An arranged marriage …
Buckle up, this is a longer read than my earlier blog posts, as the very broad topic of diversity understandably has several very unique strands that all warrant a mention in their own right. At the beginning of policing, all police officers were white men. This was not simply down to policing being exclusive and …
In September 2023 we received an exciting email, stating that we had been shortlisted as a finalist for the West Midlands Tourism awards in the New Tourism Business of the Year category. To be nominated for these prestigious awards is an achievement in its own right; each year businesses, venues, and events across the region …
Midlands Service Excellence Awards: Winners!
The Midlands Service Excellence Awards seek to showcase those who go above and beyond to deliver excellent service and drive positive change within their organisations and communities – well it sounded right up our street! We were thrilled to be shortlisted in multiple categories; New Business of the Year, Training Provider / Educational Establishment of …
Unlocked Stories: Memories of Policing as a Woman in the Sixties
Prior to joining the police force, Joyce Taylor (née Cooke) worked in a local post office straight out of school. She joined Walsall Borough Police in the 1960’s. She had always wanted to be a police officer and really liked the distinctive police uniform. On joining she went to Ryton on Dunsmore for 13 weeks …
Diary of a Heritage Manager – #Weare50: ‘Did they even have computers in 1974?’
The short answer is yes. Yes they did. Only two mind: Command and Control and a very early version of PNC, which only had the vehicle module at this time. Everything else was done on paper and via telephone. One comment from one of our retired officers made me chuckle: Howard Richards recalled “If you …
LGBT+ History Month: When gay police made headlines
It would be remiss to pretend homophobia has not existed historically, both publicly and within the force, and many an officer certainly faced criticism, fear, and abuse for who they were – but here we would like to give no further spotlight to those who held such views in the past, and instead highlight those …
#WeAre50 | Whistle saves Birmingham officer’s life
Lying stricken on the ground, drifting in and out of consciousness and with a nine inch knife embedded in his back, PC Gordon Law knew he had one last chance – he reached for his whistle in his uniform pocket and desperately blew for help. That would be the last time an officer in Birmingham …
