Baden Powell's Fighting Police - The SAC: The Boer War unit that inspired the Scouts
Exploring the creation and impact of Baden-Powell's South African Constabulary during and after the Boer War.

This work begins in August 1900 during the war in South Africa, when mounted Boer commandos ranging across the veldt superseded pitched battles of massed armies and heavy weaponry. Thanks to his flair for organisation, Baden-Powell is asked to create a mounted force with a combined military and police role, and will be answerable to the Commander-in-Chief and the civil High Commissioner.

Rejecting Army models of command, Baden-Powell creates the South African Constabulary (SAC) with a small number of officers, dividing it into Troops of 100 men, then sub-dividing again into sections and the key working unit – the squad of six men under a corporal. To get the calibre of recruit he wants, the SAC will be better paid than the Army and he expects the men to be motivated by a code of honour, to be self-reliant and ‘handy men’ able to tackle any kind of work. Most recruits come from the UK, but in Canada, however, the Governor General intervenes and botches selection.

The SAC’s effectiveness comes to light in this book – the first that deals with its creation and development; its wartime achievements and its peace-time transition into a community support helping local people returning to their homes. This work also highlights what Baden-Powell brought from the SAC and gave anew to the Scouts.

Based on research using archive material in the UK, South Africa and Canada, it also includes images that have not previously appeared before in the public domain.
1141315481
Baden Powell's Fighting Police - The SAC: The Boer War unit that inspired the Scouts
Exploring the creation and impact of Baden-Powell's South African Constabulary during and after the Boer War.

This work begins in August 1900 during the war in South Africa, when mounted Boer commandos ranging across the veldt superseded pitched battles of massed armies and heavy weaponry. Thanks to his flair for organisation, Baden-Powell is asked to create a mounted force with a combined military and police role, and will be answerable to the Commander-in-Chief and the civil High Commissioner.

Rejecting Army models of command, Baden-Powell creates the South African Constabulary (SAC) with a small number of officers, dividing it into Troops of 100 men, then sub-dividing again into sections and the key working unit – the squad of six men under a corporal. To get the calibre of recruit he wants, the SAC will be better paid than the Army and he expects the men to be motivated by a code of honour, to be self-reliant and ‘handy men’ able to tackle any kind of work. Most recruits come from the UK, but in Canada, however, the Governor General intervenes and botches selection.

The SAC’s effectiveness comes to light in this book – the first that deals with its creation and development; its wartime achievements and its peace-time transition into a community support helping local people returning to their homes. This work also highlights what Baden-Powell brought from the SAC and gave anew to the Scouts.

Based on research using archive material in the UK, South Africa and Canada, it also includes images that have not previously appeared before in the public domain.
32.95 In Stock
Baden Powell's Fighting Police - The SAC: The Boer War unit that inspired the Scouts

Baden Powell's Fighting Police - The SAC: The Boer War unit that inspired the Scouts

by Hamish Ross
Baden Powell's Fighting Police - The SAC: The Boer War unit that inspired the Scouts

Baden Powell's Fighting Police - The SAC: The Boer War unit that inspired the Scouts

by Hamish Ross

Paperback

$32.95 
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Overview

Exploring the creation and impact of Baden-Powell's South African Constabulary during and after the Boer War.

This work begins in August 1900 during the war in South Africa, when mounted Boer commandos ranging across the veldt superseded pitched battles of massed armies and heavy weaponry. Thanks to his flair for organisation, Baden-Powell is asked to create a mounted force with a combined military and police role, and will be answerable to the Commander-in-Chief and the civil High Commissioner.

Rejecting Army models of command, Baden-Powell creates the South African Constabulary (SAC) with a small number of officers, dividing it into Troops of 100 men, then sub-dividing again into sections and the key working unit – the squad of six men under a corporal. To get the calibre of recruit he wants, the SAC will be better paid than the Army and he expects the men to be motivated by a code of honour, to be self-reliant and ‘handy men’ able to tackle any kind of work. Most recruits come from the UK, but in Canada, however, the Governor General intervenes and botches selection.

The SAC’s effectiveness comes to light in this book – the first that deals with its creation and development; its wartime achievements and its peace-time transition into a community support helping local people returning to their homes. This work also highlights what Baden-Powell brought from the SAC and gave anew to the Scouts.

Based on research using archive material in the UK, South Africa and Canada, it also includes images that have not previously appeared before in the public domain.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781399083669
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication date: 03/06/2025
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Hamish Ross is the author of 'Paddy Mayne', the acclaimed biography of one of the revered figures in the SAS; 'Freedom in the Air', which was translated into Czech and for which he was awarded the Commemorative Medal by the Czech Republic; and 'From SAS to Blood Diamond Wars' with Fred Marafono. He lives with his wife in Glasgow.
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