1905 Blantyre Police Group
Pictured here around late 1890’s by David Ritchie, a photographer from Main Street, is apparently the Blantyre Police Force. Previously unseen, the photo is shared here by Alex Bowie.
Alex once took the photo to Victoria Street police station who confirmed the location in the picture wasn’t the current Police Station in Blantyre.
However, the photo is from pre 1900, preceding the Victoria Street office. Before that Blantyre Police Station and gaol was located at the top of Herbertson Street junction with Glasgow Road, which would fit in well with the tenements in the background. If you know more about local Police history, please contact me.
These wonderful photos by David Ritchie are incredibly clear as they’re developed from glass plate negatives and had to be scaled down in order to be shown here. The actual picture can be zoomd in to see the numbers on the police uniforms, they’re so detailed and clear!
George Barnsley, Chair of the Lanarkshire Police Historical Society told me this week, “You should amend the photo date from 1905 to much earlier. The correct date is definitely pre 1900 and more specifically in the 1890’s. For Lanarkshire Police, the helmets and tunics were changed in the in 1890’s and replaced with Kepi styled hats and tunics with high collars. Thereafter they moved to flat caps in 1900 for the turn of the Century.”