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Remembering Sergeant Ralph Ramadhar

Yes we have shared his story before as part of #BlackHistoryMonth, but he is a pioneer in policing in the West Midlands, and we think his story should be celebrated all the time 💙 Meet Ralph Ramadhar, the first black police officer in Birmingham in 1966: Ralph met his wife Nell in the late 1950s. …

A Day of Remembrance at the UK Police Memorial

Today was the first anniversary of the dedication of the UK Police Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. Police forces and families of fallen officers were invited to a special service to mark the anniversary, attended by Home Secretary Priti Patel MP, and pay tribute to officers from around the UK and working overseas, who …

Case Closed – The Murder of Edward Pope

On Saturday 2nd July, the Lock-up helped play a role in solving a murder. The suspects were brought in and held in our cells whilst we invited a group of special investigators to help solve the crime. Whilst this might not be the first set of suspects we have ever held in our cells, they …

Rare Object Donation

Introducing a new acquisition for the West Midlands Police Museum, and certainly one of the oldest items now in our collection, a rare object relating to law and order prior to the creation of the Birmingham Borough Police in 1839. Staves such as the Birmingham one would have been carried by a civic official and …

#DiaryofaHeritageManager

As I sit here in my West Midlands Police Museum polo shirt, fleece and lanyard, sipping a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc, I feel it is the perfect time for the next Diary of a Heritage Manager blog. I had intended for these to capture the excitement and activity in the delivery phase of our …

Volunteers needed!

We are recruiting for volunteers to support us when we re-open in April. You can volunteer in a variety of different roles, including retail, customer service, delivering educational inputs or just generally helping people out with their visit to the museum. Whilst many of our volunteers are serving or retired officers and staff, you do …

Lockup Building Works

As 2021 comes to an end, the Lock-up building works are progressing at pace and nearing completion! The old roof has come off and the new one is nearing completion, some doorways have been widened to make them more accessible and our new stairwells are almost complete. Some of the floors in the basement have …

Just in time for Christmas!

We are very excited to share two of the latest additions to our shop. The first is a new book by a former Mounted Branch officer, which details a hilarious account of life in the Mounted Department from the 1970s. Written in a very entertaining style, this book offers an interesting insight into the role …

Payday treat!

We are excited to bring you a review of the latest book added to our shop – Remember Me: The Life of a Walsall Lad, by retired West Midlands Police Detective Sergeant Paul Reeves. An interesting and entertaining read, this book gives a rare glimpse into the daily life of a Victorian policeman. Following the …