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Introduction
These
pages are dedicated to former members of the British South Africa Police (BSAP) force who
served with the force until July 1980,
when the force became known as the Zimbabwe Republic Police. They provide a forum through which former
members of this fine force can communicate. We welcome contact by former members of the
force and by others who were associated with the force or who had an interest in the
activities of the force. The BSA Police Regimental Association is an apolitical
group of former members of the British South Africa Police Force formed for the purpose
of:
- providing benevolence to former members of the Force, their wives and families;
- establishing social contact between members of the Association; and
- providing sporting, recreation and leisure facilities to its members.
Death: Terrence Walter
Stewart Smith 4153
Alan Bennett reports, with regret, the death of Terry Smith 4153 who died in
Queensland, Australia on 16 June 2009. Terry served in the force
between December 1946 and January 1965, retiring as a Chief Inspector from
Gwanda station. He was awarded the Colonial Police Long Service Medal
in 1965. Terry emigrated to New Zealand and later retired to the Sunshine
Coast, Australia. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends,
to whom we extend our deepest sympathy.
21 June 2009
Squad Photographs: Can you
help?
The list of
squad
photograph requests is getting longer and longer, yet there do not
seem to be many members coming forward with scans of these photographs.
I appeal to those who have their squad photographs to give some
consideration to scanning them and passing them on. See instruction on
the page linked to above.
19 June 2009
Death: Derek Bell 5643
Mike Edden reports, with regret, that former member Derek Bell 5643 died on
1 June 2009 in Brisbane, Australia. His death was sudden, just the day after
he had returned from a months' holiday in the United Kingdom. Derek joined
the force in February 1957, and served for just over three years, after a
stint in the Edinburgh Police. He later joined The Royal Papua & New Guinea
Constabulary. On his return from New Guinea, to Australia, Derek served in
ASIO and The Queensland Dept of Justice & Attorney General. To his family
and friends we extend our deepest sympathy.
19 June 2009
The Message Board...
The Message Board has been updated
with a few items this weekend, but there are a whole host more which might
interest you.
13 June 2009
Today (almost) 52 Years Ago:
Queens Birthday Parade
Peter Huson has just sent in this photograph of his squad (5/1957) marching
in the Queens Birthday Parade on 7 June 1957.
We are looking for more photographs of parades and
gatherings over the years. If you have something of interest please
consider the BSAP
Gallery set up in these webpages.
13 June 2009
Another Squad Re-union: Squad
1 of 1960
Roy Edwards is calling upon members of his squad to get together. He
said "On 8 February 2010, it will be 50 years since we joined the force.
It would be great if we could have some form of communication or re-union of
sorts in 2010". He asks former members of that squad to get in touch.
Members include: (6117) Edwards, Roy; (6118) Keyser, Patrick; (6119)
Burbidge, Edward; (6120) Parry, David; (6121) Harvey, Michael; (6122) Evans,
Richard; (6123) Pym, Brian; (6124) Eva, Neville; (6125) Horner, Michael;
(6126) Thatcher, John; (6127) Cunningham, Errol; (6128) Jeoffreys, Brian;
(6129) Keens, Kenneth; (6130) Symmons, Randolph; (6131) Marland, John;
and(6132/5180) Cox, David.
13 June 2009
Death: Herbert John Stanyon 3858
Guy Halls reports, with regret, the recent death of
Herbert John Stanyon 3835 on 8 May 2009 in Australia. John, as he was better
known, served in the force between April, 1939 and April 1953, retiring with
the rank of sergeant. He was the recipient of the 39-45 Africa Star, Italy
Star, and the PRLSM. From the police, he joined the Immigration Department,
being based in Umtali at one stage, but remained active in the Police
Reserve. He was a member of the Queensland Branch of the Regimental
Association.
Our thoughts go out to his family and friends,
to whom we extend our deepest sympathy.
13 June 2009
Death:St John Leslie Smallbones 5389
It is with regret that I report the death of St John
Leslie Smallbones (5389) who died on 11 May 2009. St John died, from what is
thought to have been a double stoke after a very invasive but successful
cancer operation, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was cremated on the 15
May after a service at St Andrew's Church, Benoni. St John joined the BSA
Police in March 1956 and served until March 1961 when he left of his own
request, at the rank of Constable, and joined the Immigration Department,
with whom he served until December 1982. He was the father of WP527 Jane
Flowers (nee Smallbones) presently resident in New Zealand. St John was not
a member of any branch of the Regimental Association, to my knowledge. To
his family and friends we extend our deepest sympathy.
27 May 2009
Death: Alfred John
Goodchild 8043
It is with regret that I advise of the death of Alfred John Goodchild (8043)
on 21 May 2009 at Hammersmith Hospital, London after suffering a heart
attack the week before. John served in the force between August 1968 and
November 1974 doing a short 'stint' at Salisbury Central before joining the
Support Unit. He left of his own request with the rank of Patrol Officer.
John later become involved in the private security business and headed the
security section of Farmers Co-op Limited, later Guard Alert (Pvt) Ltd, and
then CAPS Holdings Limited, before emigrating to Britain. He was a member
of the United Kingdom Branch of the Regimental Association. To his family
and friends we extend our deepest sympathy.
24 May 2009
Central Newsletter - March 2009
Peter Bellingham's Central
Newsletter has just been posted to the site for your reading
pleasure.
24 May 2009
Death: Robin Michael 'Johnny' Johnson 6739
Neville Spurr reports, with regret, the recent passing of Johnny Johnson
(6739) who died on 11 May at Capetown, South Africa at his home.
Johnny joined the force in September 1962 and served for three years,
leaving at his own request with the rank of Patrol Officer. Subsequent
to leaving the force he had served in the Police Reserve. To his
family and friends we extend our deepest sympathy.
23 May 2009
Death: Anthony Keith 'Tony' Pascoe 111029
Derek Perkins reports the death, with regret, of Tony Pascoe (111029) who
died 10 May 2009 in Devon, United Kingdom. Tony served in the force
between December 1979 and May 1982 (by which time it had become the Zimbabwe
Republic Police) with the rank of Patrol Officer. He subsequently
joined the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. To his
wife, Annie, family and friends we extend our deepest sympathy.
23 May 2009
United Kingdom Home News
Mike Abbotts' United Kingdom Home News
Edition 71 had been posted to the site.
23 May 2009
Squad
3 of 1953
Peter Arnold has made a request to make contact with his former squad mates.
Aside from Peter, those who are still alive include:
(5042) Arnold, Peter; (5043) Bilsby, John; (5045) Brown,
Frederick; (5046) Coey, Thomas; (5047) Crowley, Patrick; (5048)
Farris, Michael; (5049) Grimwood, Derek; (5050) Hammond, Derick; (5051)
Hemmings, Guy; (5052) Holland, Charles; (5053) Hoyle, Esmond; (5054)
Leighton, John; (5055) Miners, Kenneth; (5056) Phillips,; (5057) Robinson,
Malcolm; (5058) Vont, Brian; (5060,/6043), Wilkins, Barry.
Those in bold have known e-mail contact details. .
23 May 2009
Death: Brian John May
5869
With regret I report the death of Brian John May who died in Durban, South
Africa on 28 April 2009. Brian served in the force between September 1958
and August 1969, when he left the service on gratuity with the rank of
Section Officer and went into the prosecution service in Bulawayo. We are
deeply saddened that Brain died forgotten in a place of shelter in Phoenix,
near Durban. May he rest in peace.
23 May 2009
Death: Michael George 'Mick'
Crafter 7153
It is with very deep regret that I advise the death of Michael George
Crafter (7153) on 9 May 2009 at Harare, Zimbabwe, as a result of heart
failure. Mike, or Mick as he was known by colleagues, was born in Liverpool
in January 1943 and served in the force from September 1964 until 30 March
1981, when, as a Superintendent, he transferred across to the Central
Intelligence Organisation. During his uniformed branch service Mike had
served at various district stations in Lomagundi, Chirundu and Karoi, being
two. His real passion was for plain clothes police work, and he transferred
across to the CID in 1967, on probation, and ended up with long service in
Special Branch, at various stations, including headquarters, and the
European Affairs Desk at Salisbury Central. He was a keen squash player and
excelled in police championships and managed a police Water Polo team, which
toured the United Kingdom in September 1980. During the last two decades
Mike had been involved with private security work, running his own
businesses in Harare, Zimbabwe and had managed a credit clearing bureau for
several years, before moving across to the local satellite TV service
provider. Mike was a member of the Mashonaland Branch of the Regimental
Association. To his children, Jason and Tanya, family and friends, we
extended our very deepest sympathy.
9 May 2009
Death:
Michael Edward 'Mike' Preston 6275/7507/110719
John Seward, Hon. Secretary, Australia Branch, advises with regret the
passing, after a long illness, of Michael 'Mike' Edward Preston
(6275/7507/110719) in Perth on 1 May 2009. Mike served three
'stints' in the BSA police between January 1961 and May 1981, resigning with
the rank of Inspector. During his career in the force, Mike had been
involved in the sport of boxing and participated in a number of police
championships in the heavyweight division. He was a member of the Australia
Branch.
Our condolences go out to
family and friends.
9 May 2009
Death: Derek Tasker 7720; FTCL, LRSM, LTCL
Steve Barry reports, with regret, the death of Derek Tasker 7720, who died in Johannesburg, South Africa on 28 March 2009
following a short illness. Derek served in the force from March 1967
to March 1983 when he retired with the rank of Chief Superintendent.
He will be remembered as a musician involved as band-master/director of
music with police bands and choirs during his tenure in office. Derek
was also a keen golfer, playing regularly in police championships, mostly
winning them, and continued with the game into his 76th year. He was a
member of the Transvaal Branch of the Regimental Association.
Our condolences go out to
family and friends.
9 May 2009
Squad 11/1959 - Reunion
Dennis Benneyworth 6093 tells me that the 50th Anniversary of Squad 11/1959
is just around the corner, and he would like to make contact with his former
squad mates. While we know where some, are, many have disappearing
into obscurity. Does anyone know the whereabouts of any of the
following (e-mail contact details of those in bold letters are known):
(6086) Peter Grist; (6087) George Hickinbotham; (6088) Gerald Bowker;
(6089) Michael Calderwood; (6090) Neville Gardiner; (6091) David
Mackenzie; (6092) Ian Toddun; (6093) Dennis Benneyworth; (6094)
Charles Bean; (6095) Peter Dakin; (6096) Bruce Bridgewood; (6097) Edward
'Ted' Painting; (6098) Joseph Simpson; (6099) Ronald Miles;
(6100/7534/9098) John Foster.
2 May 2009
Photographic Gallery
The recent move of the website from the Canadian Server to
another in the United Kingdom has made available, to your webmaster, a few
interesting tools for former members to use. Recently a photographic
gallery was opened up. While it was possible to follow the style of
these web pages, and embed the Gallery in this format, we have chosen to
follow a slightly different layout. Please click on the image below to
follow the link to the
If you have a collection of photographs
and wish to publish these photographs on this site, you will need to
register as a Gallery User. We have chosen to limit registration
of members to former (regular and reserve) members of the BSA Police, with a
few exceptions. If you wish to upload images to the Gallery you will
need to have previously
registered with the webmaster. When you do register please use
your Force No. and Surname in your 'username' and provide the e-mail address
which you have previously registered with the Webmaster. This will
enable efficient selection or rejection. The Webmaster shall instruct
you accordingly on how to proceed after you have registered as a Gallery
User.
Please note, that the limitations above
do not prevent guest visitors from viewing images in the gallery.
Follow the link above.
30 April 2009
Where are all our
former members?
A short while back there was mention of some
analysis to determine were all living former members might be. Your
Webmaster has been looking for former members and following an exercise to
make contact with about 400 of them, there has been a significant response. So where is everyone? Aside from those
who are members of a Regimental Branch, there are a good number out there
who have never made contact. You may be able to help by reporting the
present whereabouts of former members..contact the webmaster. The data
is interesting - have a look at the following reports (PDF documents):
30 April 2009
Natal Outpost
April 2009: 80th Edition
We have just posted Trevor Dutton's latest
Natal Outpost to the site.
Another great edition and worth a read.
30 April 2009
Transvaal
Outpost March 2009: Edition 26/1
The latest version of the Transvaal Outpost has just been added to the site
for your reading pleasure - another great edition from the Editor and crew.
I believe Dave Sloman is playing a part with this publication alongside
Editor, Glenn Macaskill.
30 April 2009
Death: Sidney Stephen 'Sid'
Trower 4559
Alan Bennett reports the death, with much regret, of Sid Trower at his home
in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on 26 April 2009. Sid joined the
force in January 1950 and served just over 20 years retiring with the rank
of Inspector. He was with the Pioneers Section of the force and
reputedly visited every police station in the country during his tour of
duty. Sid was a member of the Natal Midlands Branch of the Regimental
Association.
Our condolences go out to
family and friends.
30 April 2009
Bishop Bannerman 7705
Dave Sloman reports what he believes is 'a first' in the
history of the British South Africa Police, in that 7705 The Right Reverend
David Hugh Bannerman will be enthroned as Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of
the Highveld, South Africa on Saturday 25th April, 2009. The diocese covers
an area encompassing all between Thembisa/Edenvale, Johannesburg to Piet
Retief on the KZN/Swaziland border. David Bannerman served from February
1967 to January 1970 and is an active member of the Transvaal Branch of the
Regimental Association.
30 April 2009
We were Rhodesians: Collation
of Medals and Awards
In my travel to locate former members of the force, I paid a
visit to a site which is busy collating information on honours and awards
across the service. Medal collectors might well be interested in this
site (just click on the image below), if they haven't already visited:
30 April 2009
Death: Henry Edward A'Beckett
'Ted' Rowen 5467
Neville Spur reports, with regret, the death of Ted Rowen at his home in
Cape Town on 14 April 2009. Ted joined the force in April 1956 and
served until January 1971. He was a members of the Western Cape Branch
of the Regimental Association.
Our condolences go out to
family and friends.
18 April 2009
Death: Christopher William
Percy Lennard 4693
I regret to advise the death of Chris Lennard who died in Bristol, United
Kingdom on 7th April 2009, following a recent triple by-pass operation.
Chris joined the force in February 1951 and served until August 1955,
leaving the force with the rank of Constable. He was, until recently,
resident in Harare, Zimbabwe and was a members of the Mashonaland Branch of
the Regimental Association.
Our condolences go out to
family and friends.
16 April 2009
OB Extracts from Natal: New
Edition
We have received Fred Mason's (5934) latest edition of
OB Extracts dated 15 April which we have
opened up on a newsletter page in its own right.
16 April 2009
Death Jack Raymond Hammond
3960
Peter Bellingham reports, with very deep regret, the death of
Jack Hammond who died, in Harare, on 30 March 2009. Recently, he was
diagnosed with cancer, and was admitted to the Avenues Clinic 10 days ago
for an operation. Jack died in hospital during his recovery from the
operation. Jack served with the Royal Navy during the Second World
War. He was captured on the island of Leros in the Eastern Mediterranean
during the abortive attempt to capture the Island of Rhodes, on the 12th
November 1943. He spent the remainder of the war in a German POW Camp. He
was repatriated to the United Kingdom on the 26th April 1945 and took his
discharge from the the Royal Navy on the 26th March 1946. He attested into
the BSA Police on the 28th April 1946 and served until the 30th November
1969, when he retired with the rank of Chief Inspector. Then he joined the
Deeds Registry, and attained the position of Assistant Registrar prior to
his resignation from that Department. He is survived by two sons, Patrick
and John, who both live in Harare.
Jack was a well respected and loyal member of the Mashonaland Branch of the
Regimdental Association, and will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
Our condolences go out to
family and friends.
30 March 2009
Death: Eric James
Glanfield 6142
With regret, Graham DeWit advises of the recent death of Eric James
Glanfield 6142 who died at his home in Gonubie, East London on Saturday 14
March 2009 as a result of a heart attack while working in his garden. He
leaves a wife and three children. Eric served in the force from March 1960
until September 1963. His departing rank was constable.
Our condolences go out to
family and friends.
27 March 2009
Latest Aussie Outposts
Posted to the Site
Kerry Hoadley has sent in his latest
Aussie Outpost for your
reading pleasure.
27 March 2009
Our Forms are Back in Order
The form processing facility on these web pages have been upgraded to provide
certain protection against spammers. Not infallible, but this measure
will, hopefully, prevent 'bots' sending spam out from the site. We have
introduced a graphic recognition feature which requires human heuristic
input to ensure the forms are complete. If you struggle with this,
please let me know. The following forms are available on the site:
-
Register with the Webmaster - we are looking for as many former
members as we can find to register and network with the Regimental community;
-
Get
Listed on the site;
-
Photographic
want forms (aimed at squad photographs);
-
Report
lost and found
members;
-
Messaging and notice board - basically smalls advertising;
-
Database enhancement; where more information can be added to the
nominal roll maintained by the Webmaster;
-
Book
submissions for the listing
If you have some information to offer, or wish to send a
message, then give the forms a try. Please report all broken links - some of
which broke during the transfer to the United Kingdom server.
23 March 2009
The Criminal Investigation
Department
Lawrie Mabin sent this picture of a few detectives in the
Criminal Investigation Department, in this instance those stationed in
Umtali circa 1959, which should have been included in the
Western Cape Outpost. An interesting
picture worthy of reproduction on the front page.
Whom do you recognise here? Answers in the Western
Cape Outpost.
Lawrie makes the good point that there must be hundreds
of photographs out there which would be of interest to readers - dig them
out and send them in. Please visit the page concerning
photo archives. On that page
there is some technical
information about scanning.
14 March 2009
Website Moves to the United
Kingdom
Hopefully this will be a seamless exercise, but the movement of this website
to a new server will have taken place by the time you read this. This
will not be without its problems. Theoretically the link to the site
is the same www.bsap.org - but you may
find a few problems as you browse, such as images not appearing where they
should or links not working. If you are able to, please report these
to the webmaster.
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Messrs
Nigel Edwards and NetLogistics (www.netlogistics.ca) for their help and support with
the web site during the last few years. Highly
professional and well recommended.
12 March 2009
Death Duane 'Buddy' Deetlefs 5470
Alan Bennett, Hon.
Secretary,
Natal Midlands Branch, advises, with regret, the death of 5470 Duane "Buddy"
Deetlefs on Friday the 6th of March 2009 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Buddy joined the Force in April 1956 retiring on gratuity in July 1968 with
the rank of Section Officer. In his
listing
entry
on this site, Buddy stated, ‘I did
one of the first Dog Patrol in Salisbury with PD Ranger (also with 5411
Rusty Bye and PD Toff in December 1958).’ He later transferred to Dog
Training School as Dog Master then Instructor.
Buddy was the founding
Honorary Secretary of the Natal Midlands Branch of the Association in which
position he served with distinction for seven years. Buddy was a stalwart
member of the BSAP Regimental Association, always organizing behind the
scenes and will be greatly missed. Our condolences go out to
family and friends
at this distressing time.
7 March 2009
Website
Content
This web site has items which are mostly of interest to former members of the British
South Africa Police. The following links may be of
interest to visitors. Try the Guestbook
Visitors might like to try the
new guestbook
on this site if they wish to leave either private or public comments.
7 March 2009 Roll of Honour (War
Casualties)
A new Roll of Honour page has been
introduced to this website, which honours those who have fallen in the
various conflicts in the history of the British South Africa Police.
If you have a spare moment, the webmaster would appreciate your spending a
little time on this list and providing feedback and comments. There is
a downloadable PDF version of this list.
28 February 2009 For you ease of navigation the contents are listed with the
brief description of the pages you may wish to visit.
- Register with the Webmaster: The webmaster maintains a
current listing of all former regular members of the force with their e-mail contact and
other details. If you wish to stay in touch with other former members,
register with the webmaster. Please note this is a confidential listing and is not
for publication on this web site or in any other media;
- Special Notices: Please visit this
page for updates on pensions and other news you should be aware of - there
is a 1957 recruit anniversary coming up;
- Photographic Archives Project: Members are
encouraged to submit photographic material to a centralised point to
support the archiving of photographs and documents of historic interest;
- Association Branches: Details of Association branches in
your area, and the people running these branches are listed for your information. We
encourage former members to join the Association and contribute to branch activities;
- Newsletters: The Central Newsletter and most of the Branch
Newsletters are published on this site;
- BSA Police History:
This is a new page under construction which may be of interest to visitors
who have a bent for history - New;
- Books: Books concerning the Regiment are, listed, offered or
reviewed;
- Former Member Listings: You can peruse lists of former
members and leave your details for publication on these listings for others to make
contact with you;
- Lost and Found Listing: A list of members previously
registered with the webmaster who appear to have change e-mail addresses or are sought by
other former members;
- In Memoriam Listing: Sadly, many members of "The
Regiment" have passed on and here we list them;
- Message Board: For those who wish to advertise services,
products and news (please keep it Regimentally orientated;
- Discussion Groups: Join the free e-mail based
discussion groups comprising a general BSAP group, a History group, a Traffic Group, and a
Bush war group (please note these lists are restricted);
- External Links Page: This page has been set aside for
external links which are considered of interest to former members. If you have
a link you think should be on this web site - please complete the forms.
To navigate around these pages please use the links section on the left of the page or
just click on the links above.
Sponsorship
We should also record our grateful thanks to Peter Hirst (7996) who had the wisdom to
"book" the domain bsap.org some time ago and who has passed this onto the the
Regimental Association for its use. Thanks also go to Dick Hamley (5567) who has
allowed a limited number of his works from "The Regiment", by Richard Hamley
(ISBN 0-620-25394-0) to be displayed on these pages.
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