The troops I knew about, but one of those photos seems to show police carrying guns with fixed bayonets.
I saw that too and raised an eyebrow.
The British Police History website has an (undated) picture of Devon Constabulary officers parading with fixed bayonets (fourth page of the album here so it appears not to be a unique occurrence. The only other reference I have found simply states that:
The First World War saw the increased arming of virtually every police branch across the UK, with the main aim being to discourage sabotage by infiltrated foreign agents and in case of enemy invasion. War, once again, in 1939 saw rifles issued in limited numbers to the police for the first time for the defence of key police stations against acts of sabotage. These rifles were largely outdated Ross rifles, demonstrating the perceived low importance of armed police by the Home Office even at a time of war. Following the end of the war virtually all the rifles, as well as significant numbers of pistols and revolvers, were withdrawn from police service.
The Great Unrest: Modelling the 1911 railway strike
in The Farthing layouts
A blog by Mikkel in RMweb Blogs
Posted
I saw that too and raised an eyebrow.
The British Police History website has an (undated) picture of Devon Constabulary officers parading with fixed bayonets (fourth page of the album here so it appears not to be a unique occurrence. The only other reference I have found simply states that:
The First World War saw the increased arming of virtually every police branch across the UK, with the main aim being to discourage sabotage by infiltrated foreign agents and in case of enemy invasion. War, once again, in 1939 saw rifles issued in limited numbers to the police for the first time for the defence of key police stations against acts of sabotage. These rifles were largely outdated Ross rifles, demonstrating the perceived low importance of armed police by the Home Office even at a time of war. Following the end of the war virtually all the rifles, as well as significant numbers of pistols and revolvers, were withdrawn from police service.