The Birkenhead Police were established in 1833 under the Birkenhead Improvement Bill.
The Force was initially comprised of five men, grew to 27 by 1856 and more than doubled in strength to 57 by 1862. A further increase of nearly twenty men soon followed, to 76, by 1863, in light of the unrest that occurred in the township in October of 1862. It was then that a riot took place at Birkenhead, on Wednesday night, the 15th of October. Two Constables of the Birkenhead Borough Police were so severely injured in the affray that their lives were considered to be in imminent danger.
A disturbance had been anticipated by the authorities and the police for some days past and precautions were taken with the view of quelling it as soon as possible. The cause of the precautions was the alleged determination the Irish Roman Catholic population in Birkenhead to prevent the local British Parliamentary Debating Society from holding a meeting, at which it was intended to discuss whether Giuseppe Garibaldi, an intensely anti-Catholic Italian General, was entitled to praise or blame for his efforts to secure the freedom of Italy. His name was at the forefront of many anti-Catholic riots across Britain in 1862.
In order to preserve peace on the evening of the meeting, nearly the whole of the fifty-six members of the Birkenhead Borough Police Force, including Superintendent James Birnie, were onhand, six of them being mounted for the occasion. They were to be reinforced
The helmet first came into use by Birkenhead Borough Police with uniform change introduced in July of 1864. The members of the Force attracted considerable attention when they first turned out in their new uniform on Saturday, 09 July of 1864. The tunic and trousers they wore were of dark blue cloth with the former being noticeably shorter than that worn previously. The decorative plating that had surrounded the numbers on the Officers' coats was dispensed with and only the number of the Officer and the letter 'B' then ornamented the collar of each man. Attached to the uniform belt was a leather sheath in which the Officer carried their baton, finally alleviating the need to carry it about in their pockets. The old high hat was superseded by a helmet made of felt with a comb. There was no mention of a helmet plate adorning the helmet so
The helmet plate is a wreath without a crown and a few of the Officers are wearing the First World War trio of medals (1914/1915 Star, British War Medal 1914-1918 and Victory Medal 1915/1919), c1934 (Submitted by Dave Jones). A coxcombe helmet was first issued to Birkenhead Borough Police in April of 1934.
The helmet plate is a wreath without a crown and a few of the Officers are wearing the First World War trio of medals (1914/1915 Star, British War Medal 1914-1918 and Victory Medal 1915/1919), c1934 (Submitted by Dave Jones). A coxcombe helmet was first issued to Birkenhead Borough Police in April of 1934.
The helmet plate is a wreath without a crown and a few of the Officers are wearing the First World War trio of medals (1914/1915 Star, British War Medal 1914-1918 and Victory Medal 1915/1919), c1934 (Submitted by Dave Jones). A coxcombe helmet was first issued to Birkenhead Borough Police in April of 1934.
Mr. Andrew McIntosh was born in 1912 at Aberdeen. He joined Birkenhead Borough Police in 1936 as a Constable. He transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in 1940 and was promoted to Detective Sergeant in 1946. He was promoted to uniform Inspector in 1949. In 1951 he was made Detective Inspector, at the time a new rank in the Birkenhead force. He was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector in 1954 and took charge of Birkenhead CID. Three years later he returned to uniform and was promoted Superintendent in charge of the Docks Division in 1958. Later in that year he took charge of C Division at Well Lane. He was appointed Deputy to the Chief Constable in 1960. He was appointed Assistant Chief Constable of Birkenhead Borough Police in July 1965, the first holder of the rank in the history of the force.
(Submitted by Robin Cain from the Liverpool Echo 31 July 1965, The British Newspaper Archive)