Burma Military Police

'The Burma Military Police is a semi-military force intended to perform at the cheapest possible cost :

a. Frontier Watch and Ward duties

b. Deal with minor insurrections amongst the less civilized hill tribes

c. transport treasure

d. guard and transport long term prisoners to and from jail.'

In 1886 the British authorities wished to reduce the cost of garrisoning Upper Burma and the Burma Military Police was raised to replace regular Indian Army units.

European Officers were seconded from the Indian Army (and sometimes from the British Army) and Indian Officers and men were recruited from the Punjab and Nepal. Favoured classes were Gurkhas, Pathans, Garwhalis, Punjabi Muslims, Kumaonis and Dogras. Pensions could be received after 15 years service.

Non-Indians were first recruited in 1909 when Chins were accepted in some units. This was followed by the recruitment of Kachins and other hill tribes, with very few Burmans being enlisted.

Another definition of duties, applicable to frontier battalions rather than those in the large towns, was:

The duties of the force on the frontier are :

Policing the frontier.

Repelling local raids.

Providing escorts to civil officers.

Furnishing columns for such work as the slave releasing in the Triangle and Hukawng valley and punitive columns.

Intelligence.

Many Gurkhas served in the Burmese Military Police. Probably the best single source explaining the origins and evolution of most, if not all, the numerous BMP battalions raised since 1886 may be found in The Lineages and Composition of the Gurkha Regiments in the British Service (J.L. Chapple, 1985) published by the Gurkha Museum

Chronology

• 1886 a number of units (including the Mogaung Levy) raised for service in Upper Burma
• 1914 Putao Battalion raised
• 1920 Putao Battalion disbanded
• 1937 became the Burma Frontier Force on separation of Burma from India
• 1945 became the Burma Frontier Constabulary

External Links

• Burma Military Police British Empire website
  
• Burma Frontier Constabulary British Empire website
  
• Burma Military Police and Burma Frontier Force Steve Rothwell’s The Burma Campaign
• The Kachin Hills Uprising: Burma from January to February 1915 by Harry Fecitt from Harry’s Sideshows kaiserscross.com
• The Menin Gate: Memorial to the Burma Military Police oucs.ox.ac.uk. The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing stands at the eastern exit of Ypres in Flanders, Belgium
• Army history and medals of Lieut-Colonel Ashton Mackrell Indian Army 1905-1935 frontiermedals.com. He served with the Burma Military Police during the First World War
• Account of Capt. G.J. Stapleton. I.A., Burma Frontier Force: Retreat from Myitkyina 1942 . He was awarded the King´s Police and Fire Service Medal, for Gallantry. spink.com 25 Apr 2013

Historical books online

• The Pacification of Burma 
by Sir Charles Crosthwaite. Chief Commissioner of Burma 1887-1890 1912 Archive.org. This edition which has illustrations, is missing first page of Preface.
  • Page 131 footnote refers to History of the Burma Military Police by Lieut-Colonel S C F Peile (Rangoon 1906). This book is available at the National Library of India, Calcutta