How the Policeman Got His Truncheon
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6503801107 |
| Published date | 01 November 1965 |
| Date | 01 November 1965 |
| Author | Stanley Waller |
| Subject Matter | Article |
SUPT.
STANLEY
WALLER
Deputy ChiefConstable
of
Rochdale
HOW
THE
POLICEMAN
GOT
HIS
TRUNCHEON
During the past few years we have heard a lot
about
crimes
of
violence. In a large number of these crimes, robbers have made use
of
what the press has been pleased to call a
"cosh
". Search a
reliable dictionary to find out just what a cosh is and you will search
in vain.
When we read
about
coshes we probably have in mind the direct
descendant
of
the cudgel fashioned by the caveman in prehistoric
times from a rough, jagged branch
torn
from some giant forest tree.
And
it is interesting to recall
that
the original meaning of
the
word
"
truncheon"
was a
"piece
broken, or cut off, a
fragment".
"
Truncheon"
is the diminutive
of
trunk;
Latin truncus.
Codgels and Bludgeons
The only weapon of attack and also of defence in those primitive
days was the cudgel. Another
of
its descendants is the truncheon, the
symbol
of
authority issued to police officers.
The original cudgel was capable
of
stunning or even killing an
adversary and naturally appealed to those responsible for keeping
the
peace.
It
also attracted the attention of the criminal classes.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, thieves often relied on a small
bludgeon to help them perpetrate their robberies. Bludgeons were
made
of
hard wood, bulbous in shape,
about
three inches in diameter
at the thick end tapering to 1tinches, with a total length
of
about
12 inches. Such a bludgeon, used by a London footpad about the
year 1700, is preserved in the London Museum.
Gangs
of
footpads roamed through the streets of London
and
stalked their quarries in groups. In the ill-lit streets they were a
public menace for many years and more
than
amatch for the watch-
men and peace officers.
William Congreve, in 1696,
mentioned"
two suspicious fellows,
like lawful pads,
that
would knock a
man
down with pocket tip-
staves"
which, I suggest, were probably of the bulbous pattern I
have described and
not
really tipstaves,
of
which I shall say a few
words in a moment. Their shape would permit them to be easily
concealed in the coat sleeve.
Conditions improved very little, even with the introduction of the
picturesque watchman, familiarly
and
charmingly known as " Old
Charley".
He carried adark lantern
and
a heavy clumsy staff
nearly two feet long, often weighted at the end with lead. Compared
with the present day truncheon, it was much longer, thicker and
heavier. Perhaps skulls were thicker, too!
November 1965 517
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