10. Mounted branch

The origins of the Mounted Branch go back well before the foun­dation of the Metropolitan Police. In 1758 there was the first mention of men on horses being employed as peace officers in London - they were attached to Sir John Fielding’s office in Bow Street, where he was a Magistrate.

Then, in 1760, Sir John devised a ‘Plan for preventing Robberies within twenty miles of London’ and asked for a regiment of light horse to be stationed in the area, to keep watch at toll-gates and turnpikes, and to intercept criminals. This ‘Horse Patrol’ consisted of eight horses and men.

The regular Bow Street Horse Patrol began in 1805 and it pro­vided patrols on all main roads up to twenty miles from Charing Cross. Its original strength was 52 ex-calvalrymen, all aged over 35 and married. Each man carried a sabre, pistol, truncheon and a pair of handcuffs and wore a blue greatcoat and trousers, black leather hat and stock, white leather gloves and scarlet waistcoat –

the latter giv­ing rise to their nickname of ‘Redbreasts’. This was the first ‘uni­form’ ever to be issued to any police force.

In 1813 the control of the Bow Street Horse Patrol passed to the Home Secretary and in 1821 their numbers were increased. Then, in 1829, the first foot duty officers of the Metropolitan Police appeared on the streets, but it was not until 1836 that the Horse Patrol was incorporated into the Force, becoming the nucleus of the present day Mounted Branch.

In those days the chief purpose of the Branch was country pa­trols, but with the advent of Chartism in the late 1830s mounted police were mobilised in central London for the first time to keep public order. They proved most successful and as a result it was decided to have more mounted officers stationed in inner London to deal with such troubles and to help regulate processions, ceremonial occasions and large gatherings. This, of course, remains the principal function of the Mounted Branch today.

After the end of the First World War in 1918. Lt-Col Percy Laurie of the Royal Scots Greys retired from the Army and took up an appointment with the Metropolitan Police, later becoming Assistant Commissioner. He took complete charge of the Mounted Branch and made its reorganisation his first task.

In 1920 Imber Court, at East Molesey in Surrey, was opened as the central Mounted Branch Training Establishment. The principles of training, feeding and general care of the horses laid down then still hold good to a large degree today.

The Mounted Branch has some 200 horses and 236 officers. It is under the control of the Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Op­erations with a Superintendent as its operational head. The organisa­tion of the Branch is governed by the need for mounted patrols in the Metropolitan Police District in particular areas - which is frequently reviewed in the light of changing circumstances.

As with any other specialist Branches, an officer must complete two years foot duty before applying for a post in Mounted Branch. This is to ensure that he or she is well grounded in general police work. The majority of recruits to the Branch have no previous expe­rience of working with horses, but after a preliminary interview each applicant receives a 22 week course at Imber Court, and is taught how to ride and the general care of a horse and its equipment.

At the end of this course officers are posted to one of the larger stables as ‘Mounted Reserve’. This means that they do not at first have a horse, but gain further experience riding other horses when officers are on leave or sick. This period usually lasts for about 6 months, at the end of which the officers are permanently established.

Most of the horses are bought in Yorkshire where the require­ments are well known to the farmers and breeders, but occasionally they are purchased elsewhere or a gift horse is received. Only mares or geldings are used, and, ideally, they should be 3 to 4 years old, 16 hands high and of a good general colour.

Each horse is named according to the year of purchase, the initial letter of each name being the same, i.e. 1979 purchases all begin with ‘H’, 1980 with T, and so on. Bearing in mind that the value of a horse increases with the training received and experience gained - with the average period of service being about 14 years - the economics of the Mounted Branch compare favourably with motorised units.

The horse’s training is designed to produce a quiet, well-mannered animal that is well-balanced, obedient, and accustomed to moving traffic and to unusual sights and sounds; it must also work equally well alone and in the company of other horses. The basic training of an average horse takes about 6 months, but there are no hard and fast rules, it is never hurried and can be divided into three stages.

First the horse is handled and lunged. Then training is carried out from the saddle and the horse is first introduced to waving flags and rattles as a preliminary preparation for ceremonial duties. Tape recorders and amplifying equipment are used in the covered riding school to simulate such noises as railway trains and football matches. When the horses have grown used to this, the third stage of their training is continued out in the open. Crowd control is carried out by teaching the horses to move sideways into groups of people. This has been found to be the safest and most effective method. During all this training the greatest care is taken not to over-face or frighten the horse - the whole system is based on encouragement and reward.

When a horse has finished its training at Imber Court, it is allocated to an experienced officer who is responsible for the final stage, which takes place on the streets doing the various duties which comprise the working life of a police horse.

The results of the training can be seen eveiy year at the Metropolitan Police Horse Show at Imber Court-this is usually held around June each year.

On a normal day a mounted officer patrols for up to 4 hours, the rest of his 8 hour tour of duty being spent grooming, on general stable work and cleaning tack. On patrol he or she has the same duties as ‘foot’ colleagues, but, of course, has the added advantage of extra height and more chance to observe when assisting with traffic con­trol, dealing with crime rowdyism and other offences which might require police action.

The duty of the Mounted Branch is crowd control, whether it be a ceremonial occasion, a big sporting event or a demonstration. It has been argued that a trained man on a trained horse can do the work of a dozen foot police on such occasions.