I thought I'd throw this on here to see if anyone else can add to it. I read today that the above chap was granted an automatic commission of Major and went to France along with 19 other Police officers. Apparently thefts from Lines of Communication dumps and ships was so bad during the 'Phoney War' Detective Chief Inspector George Haterhill recommended that 20 detectives from Scotland Yard were specially enlisted into the Corps of Military Police to start a new Special Investigation Branch in France. There's a few LoC Provost Company war diaries but I wonder if this is them: WO 167/1384 24 Fd. Security Sec.? Any additional info always welcome. Cheers Andy
found this http://www.s315729894.websitehome.co.uk/html/mp_history.html World War Two With the outbreak of war, the CMP played a vital role in the deployment of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), including the movement of troops to British Ports, embarkation, disembarkation and movement to concentration areas in Northern France. Once the BEF was safely in place the CMP turned to more routine tasks of policing, and built up a good working relationship with the French civil police. On February 29 1940 a detachment of 19 detectives from Scotland Yard travelled to France and formed the Special Investigation Branch ( S I B ) under Major C E Campion, a former Detective Superintendent. They set about investigating many of the less visible but more organised crimes, including theft of stores that had broken out during the winter of 1939 and early 1940. SIB History
Cheers Clive, That SIB link has some nice info: Having bitten the bullet, in late 1939, the War Office appealed for help to the headquarters of London’s Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard. Detective Chief Inspector George Hatherill was given the task of fact-finding for the army. He went over to France and surveyed the theft problem facing the BEF. When he returned he recommended the formation of an detective unit. The metempsychosis of the Branch followed soon afterwards and on February 29, 1940, 19 detective volunteers became the new SIB, jumping from civilian to soldier in one swift wave of a War Office magic wand. Detective Superintendent Clarence Campion, head of the Yard’s Criminal Record Office, commanded the reformed Branch and was given the rank of major. One of the 19 detectives was Frank Elliot, who later became a well-known and universally admired Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the SIB, a capacity in which he served for many years until retirement in the late 1960s.
