force_branches Archives - Page 2 of 2 - British South Africa Police Regiment

Support Unit

by Andrew Field 8646 | 18-Dec-2025 | force_branches

The Support Unit’s origins go back to the formation of an Askari Platoon after the First World War. Many of its men had seen action with the Rhodesia Native Regiment (RNR) in German East Africa and were of alien origins. Their function was mostly ceremonial. With the growth of nationalist unrest in the early 1960’s the size of the unit was expanded to three troops and their role became a little more diverse, including riot and crowd control. The counter-gueurilla campaign extended the unit into the new role of counter terrorist operations, during which the unit developed its reputation for toughness. The Support Unit was regarded as an autonomous Branch of the force and was based in Tomlinson Depot comprising a dozen ‘Troops’ of platoon strength. Troops were designated alphabetically A-L, including G Troop which was the Headquarters Troop used for ceremonial and Government House guard duties.

The inflow of National Service members was directed mostly towards the Support Unit. With the escalation of the war the Unit ended up with some 31 Troops, including G Troop, and had, due to its size, moved to new barracks at Chikurubi, on the edge of Salisbury. At Chikurubi the Support Unit barracks had its own armoury, quartermaster stores, transport section, training wing, provost, clinic and living quarters for both black and white members, thus becoming an almost autonomous element of the force. Towards the end of 1978 the Support Unit restructured its Troops into Company units ranging from A Coy. to L Coy., with a Headquarters Company, by the end of the war. The Headquarters company included a mounted infantry styled unit, which fell under Support Unit control in 1978, and the Ceremonial Troop. The unit was a proud, highly decorated, yet unsung part of the BSA police, and security forces generally.

Police Reserve

by Andrew Field 8646 | 17-Dec-2025 | force_branches

A reserve force was first muted in 1913 and with the advent of World War I there is reference to “Supernumerary Constables” being used in the towns, considered to be a reserve. The Police Reserve, as it came to be known, had been established when the Empire had been placed on a war footing during World War II and there is evidence of 536 reservist volunteers having been recruited as early as 1940. A small number, later to become known as auxiliary reservists, were paid for their services. Shortly after the surrender of axis forces, the reserve had been stood down from its wartime duties, and most members reverted to supplementing the civilian regular police. There was a post war growth in the reserve and by 1952 there had been over 1,000 reservist volunteers on the books. By the beginning of the Rhodesian Bush War, some 26 thousand reservists had volunteered for service with the BSA Police.

There had been established during the late 1950s a Special Constabulary with the eruption of nationalism. Special volunteers, mostly elderly members, were limited to their local areas to supplement numbers during the political disturbances before the insurgency. A Reconnaissance Unit was established and equipped with armoured cars, for use mainly in riot control, but was later stood down once the insurgency began.

The structure of the reserves changed little over the years

The ‘A’ Reserve – did a minimum of 4 hours of duty per week and as a consequence received a greater level of training and equipment. The A Reserve members dress in the same ranks and uniforms as the regular force, and included women officers. Their service was mostly at established police stations around the country.

The ‘B’ Reserve (better known as the Field Reserve) were basically reservists on call, for help during emergencies. As the insurgency developed, these calls became more regular. Many farmers, who were not subject to military call-ups, and many of their wives joined the ‘B’ Reserve. They had no set hours and consequently had less training and only a basic issue of equipment. A Women Field Reserve had been established in 1960, initially with just 21 members, but this escalated with growth during the insurgency. There was also an African Police Reserve, initially established in the 1950s, which only really expanded successfully in 1960. The Field Reserve made up a significant portion of the Police Anti-Terrorist Unit (PATU) during the war.

The police reserve established the Police Reserve Air Wing (PRAW) in 1957 and was made up of civilian pilots who used their own aircraft to support police operations. Principally the role of PRAW was that of surveillance and search in aid of the regular police. The air wing took a more combative role during the insurgency along with logistics support into remote air fields. The unit assisted elements of the Rhodesian Air Force when call upon to do so. There were other specialist units, such as the Marine Division, where reservists used their own boats to patrol the large areas covered by lakes and rivers. Those reservists with specialist skills (one being indigenous language skills) served throughout the BSA Police in regular Branches, such as Special Branch or the Signals Unit.