Page three of the Western Mail & South Wales News, Cardiff, Friday 3rd of October 1940

Disgrifiad

Image © Trinity Mirror. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Column 7 of page 3 of this issue of the Western Mail has an appeal for Special Constables to help Cardiff police. Numbers had "been sadly depleted owing to the demands of the fighting services, &c."

"Finally at the beginning of the Great War 1914-1918 the Special Constabulary was ordered into a body similar to the present day one: a voluntary, part-time organisation, paid only their expenses. During World War One their primary function was to prevent German infiltrators from interfering with the nation's water supply.
During the general strike of 1926, the Government sharply increased recruitment of Specials to counter insurgence and unrest, and by 1930 the number of Specials had reached an incredible peak of 136,000 - although a much smaller number actually turned out for regular duties.
The Second World War between 1939-1945 saw around 130,000 Special Constables acting as the wartime police reserve, supplemented by retired police officers recalled to duty to assist. While many became full time 'regular' police officers, others contributed duty hours whenever they could, while carrying on with their full-time responsibilities. After the end of the War, the number of Specials declined sharply."
(http://www.policespecials.com/history.html, accessed 5/3/17)