The Royal Military Police Cap Badge: History, Symbolism and Collecting Guide
Introduction
The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the British Army's Service Police force. Its modern lineage runs through the Mounted Military Police formed at Aldershot in 1855, the Corps of Military Police created in 1926 and the grant of the Royal title by King George VI in 1946.
The Royal Cypher and Crown changed with the Sovereign, making reign identification central to the study of RMP badges. RMP Museum pattern evidence records the standard Edward VII Military Police badge as approved for wear on 26 January 1904, while later Army Dress Regulations give 1908 as the introduction date. The present RMP form places the reigning cypher beneath the Crown within the officially named Fontenoy Laurel Wreath, with the Corps title on a scroll below.
The RMP's best-known nickname is the Redcaps. Red had been associated with provost duties long before the modern Corps, and red headdress later became one of military policing's most recognisable distinctions.
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The Royal Military Police provides policing and investigative support to the Army in the United Kingdom and overseas. RMP soldiers carry out duties including policing, investigations, operational policing and specialist military-police tasks. The Corps remains distinct within the wider Adjutant General's Corps (AGC) and retains its own badge, identity and traditions.
The RMP became part of the newly formed Adjutant General's Corps in 1992 while retaining its own identity and cap badge.
Key Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1660s | Provost arrangements accompany the emergence of the standing British Army. |
| 1813 | Staff Corps of Cavalry created during the Peninsular War period. |
| 1855 | Mounted Military Police formed at Aldershot, the direct modern ancestor of the RMP. |
| 1877 | The mounted organisation becomes a permanent corps and is redesignated Corps of Military Mounted Police. |
| 1885 | Corps of Military Foot Police established, following the foot-police organisation first raised for Egypt in 1882. |
| 1904 / 1908 | RMP Museum pattern evidence records the Edward VII badge approved for wear on 26 January 1904; later Army Dress Regulations give 1908 as the introduction date. |
| 27 Feb 1926 | Mounted and Foot Military Police are redesignated as the Corps of Military Police. |
| 1937 | Field Security Wing established; it passes into the Intelligence Corps in 1940. |
| 1940 | Special Investigation Branch established during the Second World War. |
| 28 Nov 1946 | King George VI grants the Corps the Royal prefix. |
| 1948 | The cap-badge title is altered to Royal Military Police / RMP. |
| 4 Jun 1953 | National Army Museum records a sealed EIIR Royal Military Police cap-badge pattern. |
| 1955 | Army Dress Regulations record the change to St Edward's Crown and the EIIR cypher. |
| 1959 | Exemplo Ducemus — “By Example Shall We Lead” — formally becomes the Corps motto. |
| 1992 | RMP becomes part of the Provost Branch of the newly formed Adjutant General's Corps. |
| 1997 | Military Provost Guard Service forms as part of Provost Branch. |
| 2022–2023 | CIIIR Royal Cypher announced in September 2022; new Armed Forces cap-badge designs for the reign unveiled in March 2023. The changeover is gradual. |
From Provost Service to Royal Military Police
Early Provost Traditions
Military discipline required provost arrangements long before a permanent military-police corps existed. The British Army's current centenary history, the AGC Museum and a National Army Museum collection record date the Staff Corps of Cavalry to 1813; an older National Army Museum overview gives 1810. The 1813 date is followed here. The Corps dealt with indiscipline during the Napoleonic Wars and later served in occupied France after Waterloo.
The direct modern lineage begins in 1855. A War Office circular called for experienced cavalrymen of sound judgement to form a permanent Mounted Police organisation at Aldershot. In 1877 it became the Corps of Military Mounted Police; the Corps of Military Foot Police followed in 1885, developing from the foot-police organisation raised for service in Egypt in 1882.
The First World War
The First World War transformed military policing. Traffic control, prisoner handling, route regulation, straggler control and the policing of a mass army greatly expanded the work of the Mounted and Foot Military Police. The British Army's 2026 centenary history states that nearly 19,500 men had served as Redcaps during the war.
1926 and the Corps of Military Police
On 27 February 1926, the Military Mounted Police and Military Foot Police were redesignated as the Corps of Military Police (CMP). The two organisations had long trained and worked together, and the new title formalised their combined identity.
The Corps established a Field Security Wing in 1937. That organisation passed into the newly formed Intelligence Corps in 1940, an important point in the later separation of military policing and military intelligence.
The Second World War
The Second World War brought another enormous expansion. The British Army's centenary history records that almost 65,000 personnel had served as military police by the end of the war. The Corps' specialist capabilities included general provost work, traffic control, ports policing, vulnerable-point protection and criminal investigation.
The Special Investigation Branch (SIB) was established in 1940, initially drawing on experienced Metropolitan Police detectives. It gave the Corps a specialist criminal-investigation capability for serious and complex offences.
The Royal Title
On 28 November 1946, King George VI granted the Corps of Military Police the title Royal in recognition of its wartime service. The Corps became the Corps of Royal Military Police. Army Dress Regulations separately record the cap-badge title being altered to Royal Military Police / RMP in 1948.
The Royal Military Police Cap Badge
The earliest standard-pattern chronology is not represented identically in every published source. RMP Museum pattern evidence records an Edward VII Military Police badge approved for wear on 26 January 1904, while later Army Dress Regulations state that the Military Police cap badge was introduced in 1908. In either case, the established arrangement of Sovereign's cypher, Crown, wreath and title scroll clearly predates the Royal title of 1946. A National Army Museum example from about 1930 shows that form with a Military Police scroll.
The current dress description names the wreath specifically as the Fontenoy Laurel Wreath.
The Royal Cypher
The Royal Cypher is the most immediate reign marker. GVIR identifies the George VI period, EIIR the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and CIIIR the reign of King Charles III. Manufacture, fittings and provenance still matter when dating an original badge; the cypher alone does not establish authenticity.
The Fontenoy Laurel Wreath
Army Dress Regulations describe the cypher as surrounded by the Fontenoy Laurel Wreath. Detail varies with period, rank pattern, material and manufacture, so the wreath should be examined alongside the cypher, Crown, scroll and reverse fittings.
The Crown
Collectors often use the convenient terms King's Crown and Queen's Crown, but the Crown form is better identified as the Tudor Crown or St Edward's Crown. George VI RMP badges use the Tudor Crown. Under Elizabeth II the badge changed to St Edward's Crown and EIIR cypher. Following the accession of Charles III, Armed Forces badge designs again adopted the Tudor Crown with the CIIIR cypher, with replacement taking place gradually.
The Scroll
The title scroll is an important dating feature. Earlier Corps of Military Police badges carry Military Police; after the Royal title and subsequent badge amendment, later examples carry Royal Military Police or the approved RMP form.
1946, 1948, 1953 and 1955
These dates mark separate stages in the badge's development. The Royal title was granted in 1946; Army Dress Regulations record the cap-badge title changing to Royal Military Police / RMP in 1948; the National Army Museum holds an EIIR sealed pattern dated 4 June 1953; and the Dress Regulations record the change to St Edward's Crown and EIIR cypher in 1955. The surviving sealed pattern therefore predates the later dress-regulation date.
The Redcaps
Red has been associated with military policing since at least the Napoleonic period. The Army's current RMP history notes that Wellington's provost marshal was identified by a red scarf; later, red berets and red covers on peaked caps made military police conspicuous on duty. The nickname Redcaps became widely used during the two World Wars and remains in use today.
The scarlet headdress is one of the most recognisable RMP dress distinctions, but the precise dress worn depends on role, order of dress and operational circumstances.
Exemplo Ducemus
The Corps motto, Exemplo Ducemus — “By Example Shall We Lead” — was not an ancient inheritance. In 1957 the Corps invited suggestions for a motto. The winning submission came from Major R W Payne RMP, and in 1959 Queen Elizabeth II approved its adoption. It was formally promulgated in Army Order 73 of 1959.
Gallantry and Decorations
The Corps' recorded gallantry in the First World War included 13 Distinguished Service Orders, 8 Military Crosses, 65 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 260 Military Medals, 26 Meritorious Service Medals and 105 Mentions in Despatches. For the Second World War, Corps history records 2 CBEs, 19 OBEs, 62 MBEs, 7 Military Crosses, 6 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 61 Military Medals, 72 British Empire Medals and 776 Mentions in Despatches.
At El Alamein in 1942, military police worked with Royal Engineers and Royal Signals through the minefields, marking and controlling routes for the advancing armour. The RMP Association records Lance Corporal Eales as the sole survivor of one forward party; he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Operational Service
After 1945, the RMP continued to serve wherever the Army deployed. The British Army specifically records Royal Military Police service in Korea, Malaya, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Those campaigns required far more than barrack policing. RMP personnel have carried out route and traffic control, detainee handling, investigations, security tasks, close protection, support to commanders and the policing of deployed forces.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, RMP personnel deployed across conventional policing, operational support, investigations and specialist tasks. Serious criminal investigation remained associated with the SIB until Defence reorganised that function on a tri-service basis.
Serious Crime Investigation and the DSCU
The Special Investigation Branch was the RMP's specialist criminal-investigation organisation for much of the modern Corps' history. On 5 December 2022, the Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) became operational as part of the Defence Serious Crime Command and replaced the three single-Service SIBs for the investigation of the most serious and complex crime across Defence.
The RMP remains the Army's Service Police force and continues to provide policing and investigative capability outside the DSCU's serious-crime remit.
The RMP within the Adjutant General's Corps
In 1992, the Royal Military Police became part of the newly formed Adjutant General's Corps while retaining its own identity and badge. In the Army's current organisation, Provost Marshal (Army) and 1 Military Police Brigade form the Provost Branch, comprising the Royal Military Police, the Military Provost Staff and the Military Provost Guard Service. The MPGS was formed in 1997.
Collecting Royal Military Police Cap Badges
The broad badge design has remained recognisable across successive reigns, while the Royal Cypher, Crown, title and construction provide the principal chronological distinctions.
Pre-Royal Corps of Military Police Badges
Badges of the Corps of Military Police pre-date the 1946 Royal title and normally carry Military Police rather than Royal Military Police on the scroll. Crown and cypher should be read together with the title and construction.
George VI Royal Military Police Badges
The Royal title dates from 1946, while Army Dress Regulations place the badge-title alteration in 1948. George VI RMP examples carry the GVIR cypher and Tudor Crown. Earlier George VI badges with a Military Police scroll belong to the pre-Royal Corps of Military Police.
Elizabeth II Badges
Elizabeth II examples use the EIIR cypher with St Edward's Crown. The National Army Museum holds a sealed EIIR RMP cap-badge pattern dated 4 June 1953; Army Dress Regulations record the change to the Queen's Crown and EIIR cypher in 1955. Collectors should therefore distinguish the sealed-pattern date from the later date recorded for the dress change.
Charles III Badges
The CIIIR Royal Cypher was announced in September 2022 and new Armed Forces cap-badge designs for the reign were unveiled in March 2023. Modern Charles III RMP badges use the Tudor Crown and CIIIR cypher as the change of reign is progressively reflected in Army insignia.
Officer and Soldier Patterns
Army Dress Regulations give different badge sizes for the Elizabeth II pattern: approximately 2.9 cm high by 3.2 cm wide for officers and 4.2 cm high by 4.7 cm wide for other ranks. Defence clothing records specify officers' badges in nickel silver with a silver-plated finish and soldiers' badges in aluminium with an anodised gold finish. The Dress Regulations also describe an embroidered silver-wire officer beret badge on a scarlet background.
Material and size are therefore useful evidence, but an original badge should still be judged by the complete pattern, fittings, manufacture and provenance rather than colour or brightness alone.
Maker's Marks and Authenticity
Maker's marks can support attribution but do not prove age or authenticity by themselves. Cypher, Crown, scroll, metal, die detail, reverse fittings and provenance should be compared with documented period examples.
Provenance and Conservation
Named provenance can add substantial historical value. Service photographs, documents and records should be kept with the badge where possible. Original badges are best stored in a stable, dry environment and should not be subjected to aggressive polishing that can remove surviving finish and detail.
Displaying the Royal Military Police Cap Badge
Modern licensed display pieces should be distinguished clearly from original service-issued insignia. Precision Military Emblems produces Royal Military Police Queen's Crown Display Frames and King's Crown Display Frames, presenting the approved emblem against a professionally printed Corps backing in a deep display frame.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Royal Military Police formed?
The modern lineage begins with the Mounted Military Police in 1855. The Corps of Military Police was created on 27 February 1926, and King George VI granted the Royal title on 28 November 1946.
When was the Military Police cap badge introduced?
Two dates appear in the surviving published record. RMP Museum pattern evidence records the Edward VII standard badge approved for wear on 26 January 1904, while later Army Dress Regulations give 1908 as the introduction date. Its cypher and Crown changed with successive Sovereigns, while the Corps title later changed after the Royal prefix was granted.
What does the RMP cap badge show?
The reigning Sovereign's Royal Cypher beneath the Crown, surrounded by the Fontenoy Laurel Wreath, with the Royal Military Police title on a scroll below.
Why are the Royal Military Police called Redcaps?
Red has long been associated with military policing. The Army records the use of a red scarf by Wellington's provost marshal and the later adoption of red berets and peaked-cap covers. “Redcaps” became widely used during the World Wars and remains the Corps' familiar nickname.
What does Exemplo Ducemus mean?
Exemplo Ducemus means “By Example Shall We Lead”. The motto was selected following a Corps competition and formally promulgated in Army Order 73 of 1959.
What is the difference between George VI, Elizabeth II and Charles III badges?
The principal reign markers are the Royal Cypher and Crown: GVIR with the Tudor Crown for George VI, EIIR with St Edward's Crown for Elizabeth II, and CIIIR with the Tudor Crown for Charles III. Scroll wording and manufacture must also be considered when dating an original example.
What happened to the Special Investigation Branch?
On 5 December 2022, the tri-service Defence Serious Crime Unit became operational and replaced the single-Service SIBs for the investigation of the most serious and complex crime across Defence.
Is the RMP part of the Adjutant General's Corps?
Yes. The RMP became part of the AGC's Provost Branch in 1992 while retaining its own identity and cap badge.
Further Reading
- British Army — Royal Military Police — current role and organisation.
- British Army — 2026: Celebrating One Hundred Years of Military Policing — current Army history of the Corps and its predecessors.
- Army Dress Regulations — Adjutant General's Corps — cap-badge description, Fontenoy Laurel Wreath and pattern chronology.
- Defence Clothing Catalogue — Royal Military Police Cap Badge — documented officer and soldier materials.
- National Army Museum — Corps of Royal Military Police.
- National Army Museum — 1953 Sealed EIIR RMP Cap-Badge Pattern.
- Royal Military Police Association — History of the Military Police — wartime service, decorations and El Alamein.
- Royal Military Police Association — Corps History and Motto — Exemplo Ducemus and Army Order 73 of 1959.
- Ministry of Defence — Defence Serious Crime Unit — 2022 serious-crime reorganisation.
- Royal Military Police badge-pattern research — discussion of the Edward VII standard badge and the surviving 1904/1908 dating evidence.
Related Articles
- The Intelligence Corps Cap Badge: History and Meaning — including the 1940 transfer of the Military Police Field Security Wing into the Intelligence Corps.
Officially Licensed Royal Military Police Displays
Precision Military Emblems produces officially MOD-licensed Royal Military Police display pieces from approved artwork.
- Royal Military Police Queen's Crown Cap Badge
- Royal Military Police King's Crown Cap Badge
- Royal Military Police Queen's Crown Display Frame
- Royal Military Police King's Crown Display Frame
These are modern commemorative display pieces rather than original service-issued insignia. Intellectual Property of the Secretary of State for Defence is used under licence.
About Precision Military Emblems
Precision Military Emblems produces officially MOD-licensed 3D-printed British military badge display pieces and framed heritage displays in Leicestershire. The Military Heritage series is researched from regimental, museum, government and institutional sources.