West Midlands Police is celebrating it’s 50th Year Anniversary in 2024 and we want you to be part of it.
Keep up to date with all the latest heritage blogs, photos, and events below.
Fashion Police – a look back in time
On Tuesday (12 Nov), we welcomed guests from the force, Birmingham City University (BCU), and youth organisations, to a heritage-themed fashion show displaying 11 different police uniforms from across the years. The fashion show was a collaboration between the Museum and BCU students in the gaming, digital, and fashion schools, funded by Heritage Fund UK. …
The first Black firearms officer in West Midlands Police. Paul Lee joined West Midlands Police in 1991 after seeing an advert for the police and deciding to go for it. He was 19 years of age and didn’t really have any career ambitions at this point. He was initially posted to Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry, …
The memories of fallen officers live on
The years may pass but the memories of our fallen heroes are never forgotten. Former police staff who made the ultimate sacrifice are immortalised within an area of remembrance at our Lloyd House headquarters, and within a tribute at the West Midlands Police Museum. It enables loved ones, the policing family and wider public to …
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 …
International Dog Day | No hiding place from our super sniffers
They’re our four-legged friends who play an important role in catching criminals across the West Midlands. Our cute but clever police dogs have been a much-valued part of our policing response for many decades now. While the breeds involved have evolved, so have the skills of our canine crimefighters due to our puppy development programme …
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 – From Tally Ho to Steelhouse Lane
For this blog, I thought I’d take a look back at how the museum itself has evolved over the past 50 years and how we are continuing to mark our special anniversary. The West Midlands Police Museum originated in 1964 as the Birmingham City Police Museum at our Tally Ho! training facility, so is actually …
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 …
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 …
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 …
On Friday 8th March we joined in the world wide celebrations of International Women’s Day – and what a day! We opened our doors to the public for free, to allow everyone to join in the celebrations and meet the sheroes of West Midlands Police, and hundreds of visitors came to see us! We were …
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 …
#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 …
