British War Department Police Cyprus badge (1953-1964)

British Police Badge

War Office P:olice Cyprus

Cap Badge. Made by H.W. Timmings, Birmingham

Force history: Established about 1925, 1 April 1964 Became the Army Department Constabulary

Cyprus was a British Protectorate, gaining its independence in the 1960's. Britain still retains a military base on the Island.

The War Office was a Department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence.

Queens crown design places this badge in use between 1953 and 1964.

This badge of The War Department Police, later to become the MOD Police, on Cyprus. It is a rather rare item .

Mounting lugs are missing, as seen in the photos.

Silver anodized badge. Measures 1 ½" x 1 ¾"

The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (abbr. SBA; Greek: Περιοχές Κυρίαρχων Βάσεων Ακρωτηρίου και Δεκέλιας, Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou kai Dekélias; Turkish: Egemen Üs Bölgeleri Ağrotur ve Dikelya) is a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and installations, as well as other land, were retained by the British under the 1960 treaty of independence, signed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, which granted independence to the Crown colony of Cyprus. The territory serves an important role as a station for signals intelligence and provides a vital strategic part of the United Kingdom communications gathering and monitoring network in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The territory is composed of two Base Areas. One is Akrotiri (Greek: Ακρωτήρι pronounced [akroˈtiri]; Turkish: Ağrotur Turkish pronunciation: [ˈaːɾotuɾ]), or the Western Sovereign Base Area (WSBA), which includes two main bases at RAF Akrotiri and Episkopi, plus all of Akrotiri Village's district (including Limassol Salt Lake) and parts of eleven other village districts. The other area is Dhekelia Cantonment (Δεκέλεια Greek pronunciation: [ðeˈceʎa]; Dikelya), or the Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA), which includes a base at Ayios Nikolaos plus parts of twelve village districts.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Office

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotiri_and_Dhekeli...

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/300...

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/...