City of London Special Constabulary 1911-2011

This gallery takes a pictorial stroll through ten decades of the City of London Special Constabulary with each picture symbolising that particular decade.

Special Constables are unpaid members of the community who volunteer to assist the regular police service to provide policing to their own community on a part-time basis.  They have the same powers and responsibilities as their regular colleagues and provide a vital link between the police and the community.

Photo captions

Picture 1 – 1911: Some of the 1,648 Special Constables of the City of London Police Reserve being inspected by the Lord Mayor after reporting for duty for the 1911 Docks Strike.

Picture 2 – 1920s: An Assistant Sergeant in greatcoat and Special Constable in tunic order and a non-uniformed Special Constable from a Ward Company patrol the streets of the City during the General Strike of 1926.

Picture 3 – 1930s: Specials outside Snow Hill station on the eve of war – September 1939

Picture 4 – 1940s: Special Constables from the National Provincial Bank Company pictured during the Second World War.

Picture 5 – 1950s: Reporting for duty 1955

Picture 6 – 1960s: On parade at Southend on Sea 1960

Picture 7 – 1970s: Out on patrol, late 1970s.  It was in 1976 that the first female Specials joined the City of London Special Constabulary

Picture 8 – 1980s: A Special Constabulary recruitment poster from the 1980s

Picture 9 – 1990s: A male Section Officer and female Divisional Commandant from 1996

Picture 10 – 2000: Specials on duty in the City in the centenary year