The Air Force Department Constabulary (formerly the Air Ministry Constabulary) was a police force in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, responsible for policing the airfields and aerodromes under the control of the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

, later the Air Force Department. Policing at Air Ministry establishments was originally provided by the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

and local county constabularies. For a while, as an economy measure, some establishments were manned by warders who had no police powers but the Home Office forces remained at stores depots, where warders were considered to be inadequate, until about 1925. The passing of the

Special Constables Act 1923 The Special Constables Act 1923 (13 and 14 Geo. V, c. 11; full title - ''An Act to make perpetual, subject to an amendment, the Special Constables Act, 1914; to provide for the employment of special constables in connection with Naval, Military an ...

enabled these warders to be sworn as special constables under section 3 of the Act, and the regular police were then gradually withdrawn and replaced by warders or, as they were later styled, Air Ministry Constables. Originally the warders and later constabulary departments were under direct control of the commanding officer of the unit at which they served. In 1942 a superintendent was appointed to

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. History ...

, which was the main user of the constabulary, to advise on police matters. Later in the same year, the superintendent was moved to the Air Ministry and the beginnings were made to centralise control. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the constabulary increased to a peak strength of 3,530 men. In 1946, F. J. May

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

was appointed as the first Chief Constable, and

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

D. F. Grierson

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable. In 1948, responsibility for civilian airports was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and a new police force, the

Ministry of Civil Aviation Constabulary Airport policing in the United Kingdom has taken many forms since the rise of scheduled airline services in the post-war period. Policing at major civilian airports was the responsibility of specialist constabularies operated by three central govern ...

was formed, leaving the Air Ministry Constabulary with responsibility for military airfields only. Reductions in the RAF, the relinquishing of control over civil airports and the introduction of more economical methods of policing saw the size of the force decrease to some 1155 men. In 1964 the force was renamed the Air Force Department Constabulary. The

Ministry of Defence Police The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services to designated hig ...

absorbed the AFDC in 1971, along with the

Army Department Constabulary The Army Department Constabulary was a security police force in the United Kingdom formed as a result of the Special Constables Act 1923. Originally, the Army used serving soldiers to guard its establishments and the only call for police was at pla ...

and the

Admiralty Constabulary The Admiralty Constabulary was a police force in the United Kingdom formed under the Special Constables Act 1923 which existed from 1949 to 1971. History The Constabulary can trace its history back to 1686 when the Royal Navy needed an organisati ...

References

External links

Air Ministry/Air Force Department Constabulary insignia
Ministry of Defence Police Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom Defunct airport police forces of the United Kingdom Civilian police forces of defense ministries {{UK-law-enforcement-agency-stub

See also

References

External links