British South Africa Police

He was born on 12 June 1926 at Isleworth, Middlesex, England, and educated at Gunnersbury Catholic Grammar School. During the closing stages of the Second World War he served in the Fleet Air Arm, an experience that preceded his decision to seek a career in Africa. He attested into the British South Africa Police on 28 April 1946 as part of the post-war intake often referred to within regimental history as the “Alcantara Draft”. Like many of his contemporaries he began in district duties, but he soon gravitated toward plain clothes work and thereafter spent the greater part of his service in the Criminal Investigation Department.

His postings included Beitbridge on immigration control, and later Umtali, Salisbury, Bulawayo and Gwelo. In the late 1940s he married Joycelyn Thorogood in Salisbury, establishing his family life during his early detective years. Commissioned as an officer in 1960, he entered the senior ranks at a time when CID responsibilities were expanding in response to political unrest and increasing insurgent activity. In 1963 he became provincial head of CID in the Midlands, transferring in 1967 to Salisbury and Mashonaland Province. On 1 October 1970 he was appointed Officer Commanding CID, placing him in charge of national investigative and security operations.

Promoted Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Security) on 7 February 1974, Allum was appointed Commissioner on 7 February 1978. His tenure encompassed the final years of the Bush War, the Internal Settlement period, and the transition to internationally recognised independence in April 1980. He remained in office until 1 August 1980, when the British South Africa Police ceased to exist and was succeeded by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

After retirement he settled in South Africa. Peter Kevin Allum died at Carltonville, South Africa, on 17 April 2015

He was born on 16 August 1920 at Wimereux, France, the son of British parents, and was educated at Leigh Hall College in Essex, where he achieved sporting distinction. After a brief period in the family business, he elected for a career in Africa and attested into the British South Africa Police on 13 August 1939, just weeks before the outbreak of war in Europe. His early service was spent in district stations, learning the mounted and administrative routines of a force that still retained strong paramilitary characteristics.

During the Second World War he was seconded for active service, returning to Rhodesia in 1946 to resume police duties. The post-war years saw him build a solid reputation in district command. He was commissioned as an officer in October 1956, entering the senior ranks during the Federation period when policing structures were expanding and modernising. Thereafter he held command appointments in Umtali and Fort Victoria Districts and later at provincial level in Matabeleland. His administrative competence led to posting at General Headquarters, placing him within the executive structure of the force.

In 1970 he was promoted Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Security), assuming responsibility for oversight of criminal investigation and internal security during a period of intensifying guerrilla activity. On 7 February 1974 he succeeded Sydney Bristow as Commissioner of Police. His tenure coincided with escalating conflict in the north-east and the widening operational commitments of the force alongside military formations. Sherren served as Commissioner until 6 February 1978, when he retired after nearly four decades of service.

He remained in Rhodesia after retirement. Peter Dennis Wray Richard Sherren died in Harare on 16 August 1995, his seventy-fifth birthday.

He was born in 1919 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa, and educated at Maritzburg College, where he distinguished himself academically and in sport, later serving as head boy. He attested into the British South Africa Police in August 1939, entering service on the eve of the Second World War. Shortly thereafter he was seconded for active service in Abyssinia during the East African campaign. He returned to Rhodesia in 1946 and resumed police duties, soon transferring into the Criminal Investigation Department.

The post-war period saw him spend the greater part of his career in plain clothes appointments. He developed specialist experience in investigation and security matters, and in 1958 he was commissioned as an officer. Posted to Bulawayo Headquarters, and later to Salisbury when the administrative centre shifted, he moved steadily into senior command roles. In 1968 he assumed command of Special Branch, placing him at the centre of intelligence gathering and counter-subversion operations during a period of growing political tension. In January 1970 he was appointed Deputy Commissioner and simultaneously named Commissioner-designate.

Bristow became Commissioner of Police on 27 June 1970. His tenure coincided with the intensification of guerrilla infiltration and the increasing integration of police intelligence with military operations in operational areas. He retired on 6 February 1974 after nearly thirty-five years of service. He was married to Hilda Joan Godwin, whom he wed in the mid-1950s.

Sydney Frederick Samuel Bristow died in Harare on 18 July 2008, having witnessed the complete institutional transformation of the force he once commanded.

He was born on 26 June 1914 at Arbroath in Scotland and was educated at Stewart’s College in Edinburgh. After leaving school he entered the insurance profession but subsequently joined the Edinburgh City Police, where he served for four years and acquired grounding in structured urban policing before seeking opportunity overseas. He attested into the British South Africa Police in April 1938. His early service was cut short by the Second World War, during which he was seconded to the Rhodesian African Rifles and saw active service in Burma. He returned to Rhodesia in 1946 and resumed his police career.

Commissioned as an officer in 1949, Spink spent much of his senior service in Salisbury, reflecting steady advancement within the administrative and security hierarchy of the force. His experience encompassed district command and headquarters appointments during the Federation years, when policing responsibilities were expanding in scale and complexity. In November 1967 he was promoted Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Security), placing him in direct oversight of investigative and internal security functions at a time of growing insurgent activity.

On 3 January 1968 he succeeded Frank Barfoot as Commissioner of Police. His period in office coincided with the early phase of intensified guerrilla incursions and the consolidation of joint security arrangements between police and military authorities. He retired on 26 June 1970, his fifty-sixth birthday, after more than three decades of service.

James Spink later emigrated to Australia. He died in Perth on 24 January 1997.

He was born on 2 January 1913 at Claremont in the Cape Province of South Africa and educated at Rondebosch Boys’ High School in Cape Town. After leaving school he was employed as an accounting clerk before electing to pursue a police career in Rhodesia. He attested into the British South Africa Police in April 1933. His early service was spent largely in the Criminal Investigation Department, where he developed expertise in investigative procedure at a time when the CID was expanding its institutional influence within the force.

Barfoot was commissioned as an officer in 1947. During the post-war years he held command appointments in Salisbury, Bulawayo and Gwelo, building a reputation as a disciplined administrator and experienced detective officer. In 1960 he was appointed Officer Commanding CID, thereby assuming responsibility for national investigative operations during a period marked by rising nationalist activity and mounting political tension. Later that year he was promoted Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Security), placing him directly beneath the Commissioner in oversight of criminal investigation and internal security matters.

On 26 April 1963 he was appointed Commissioner of Police. His tenure encompassed the final phase of Federation, the constitutional disputes between Salisbury and London, and the declaration of independence in November 1965. Under his leadership the force confronted increasing political unrest and the early stages of organised insurgent infiltration. He was awarded the Colonial Police Medal in 1955, the Queen’s Police Medal in 1961, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1964.

Frank Eric Barfoot retired as Commissioner on 2 January 1968, his fifty-fifth birthday. He died in Salisbury on 27 September 1971.

He was born in 1908 and joined the British South Africa Police in 1929, entering a Force that still retained strong mounted and frontier traditions. His early service was spent in district postings where practical command, patrol discipline, and administrative magistracy shaped his outlook. Commissioned as an officer during the pre-war years, he advanced through a series of command appointments that established him as a senior provincial figure. His period in Matabeleland Province in particular made him widely known to junior members as an exacting and highly visible commander, attentive to discipline and turnout.

By the later 1950s Spurling had moved into the upper echelon of the Force. On 13 March 1958 he was appointed Commissioner of Police. His tenure coincided with increasing political mobilisation within the Federation and the steady growth of Special Branch and coordinated security planning. While the Force still maintained its rural and urban policing functions, it was increasingly conscious of organised nationalist movements and the need for structured intelligence work.

Spurling retired in 1960 after more than thirty years of service. In later life he remained associated with Salisbury’s civic and veteran communities and was formally recognised for his public service. He died in 1991.

Born in 1903, Jackson joined the British South Africa Police in 1927 and entered the Criminal Investigation Department within a few years of attestation. From approximately 1930 until 1954 he served predominantly in plain clothes duties, developing expertise in investigative procedure during a period when CID was consolidating professional standards and expanding its operational reach. Commissioned as an officer as he rose through the ranks, he moved into senior appointments that combined investigative oversight with administrative command.

He became Commissioner of Police in 1955. His period in office fell within the Federal era, when policing responsibilities were widening across growing urban centres and political tensions were becoming more pronounced. Jackson’s background in investigation shaped his approach to command, with emphasis on structured inquiry and headquarters coordination. His tenure bridged the late post-war reforms and the more security-conscious climate that characterised the late 1950s.

He retired from the Force in the latter half of the decade and remained part of the broader BSAP community in retirement. Harold Jackson died in 1998.

Born in 1894, Hickman entered the BSA Police in 1924 after earlier service during the First World War. His early years were spent in rural district stations, where mounted patrol and administrative responsibilities remained central to policing. Commissioned as an officer during the inter-war period, he advanced steadily through district and provincial commands. The Second World War again drew on senior officers for temporary military responsibilities, after which he resumed police command duties.

By the early 1950s Hickman had reached the senior ranks. In 1954 he was appointed Commissioner of Police, leading the Force during the first full year of Federal administration. His tenure was marked by administrative consolidation and by the continued development of investigative and security structures within a Force that was adapting to growing urbanisation and political awareness.

He retired in 1955 after more than three decades of service. In retirement he became closely associated with historical and archival work relating to Rhodesian pioneers and policing history. He died on 23 July 1976.

Born on 11 June 1899 in England, Appleby served during the First World War with the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force, gaining operational experience in France and surviving a serious flying accident. After demobilisation he emigrated to Southern Rhodesia and attested into the British South Africa Police on 26 October 1919 as Trooper, Regimental Number 2123. His advancement was rapid; he was commissioned as an officer in September 1924 and thereafter held district and headquarters appointments across the territory.

During the Second World War he commanded BSAP contingents deployed in support of British operations in East Africa, contributing to the reorganisation of policing in occupied territories before returning to Rhodesia for senior command duties. Promoted Deputy Commissioner in 1948, he was appointed Commissioner of Police on 7 December 1950.

His tenure addressed post-war shortages in manpower and equipment, expanding recruitment and strengthening organisational structure. He retired on 2 June 1954 after nearly thirty-five years of service. James Appleby died in 1985.

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He was born on 12 June 1926 at Isleworth, Middlesex, England, and educated at Gunnersbury Catholic Grammar School. During the closing stages of the Second World War he served in the Fleet Air Arm, an experience that preceded his decision to seek a career in Africa. He attested into the British South Africa Police on 28 April 1946 as part of the post-war intake often referred to within regimental history as the “Alcantara Draft”. Like many of his contemporaries he began in district duties, but he soon gravitated toward plain clothes work and thereafter spent the greater part of his service in the Criminal Investigation Department.

His postings included Beitbridge on immigration control, and later Umtali, Salisbury, Bulawayo and Gwelo. In the late 1940s he married Joycelyn Thorogood in Salisbury, establishing his family life during his early detective years. Commissioned as an officer in 1960, he entered the senior ranks at a time when CID responsibilities were expanding in response to political unrest and increasing insurgent activity. In 1963 he became provincial head of CID in the Midlands, transferring in 1967 to Salisbury and Mashonaland Province. On 1 October 1970 he was appointed Officer Commanding CID, placing him in charge of national investigative and security operations.

Promoted Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Security) on 7 February 1974, Allum was appointed Commissioner on 7 February 1978. His tenure encompassed the final years of the Bush War, the Internal Settlement period, and the transition to internationally recognised independence in April 1980. He remained in office until 1 August 1980, when the British South Africa Police ceased to exist and was succeeded by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

After retirement he settled in South Africa. Peter Kevin Allum died at Carltonville, South Africa, on 17 April 2015

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