| Surname: | Baldwin |
| Initials: | R A |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Army Number: | 292354 |
| Notes: | Royal Artillery. Provost Officer SIB. Commissioned London Gazette 36194, 4400, 5/10/1943. Richard Albert Baldwin. London Police Officer Commands Hamburg CID. "Everything from larceny to murder". Scotland Yard has a very efficient army counterpart of the Special Investigation Branch of the Corps of Military Police, operating all over the world and bringing army criminals to justice. In charge of no. 31 Special Investigations Section in Hamburg, Germany, is Capt. R A Baldwin of the Royal Artillery(Deputy Assistant Provost Marshal) who lives at Orford Road, Walthamstow. "There are 14 men in my section, the lowest rank being sergeant". he told a Military Observer, "and our job is to investigate crime in Hamburg District. We deal with up to 70 cases a month, which includes everything from larceny to murder. We have a murder case on at the moment. Former Police Officer. "Although only a small unit," he continued "we have our own finger-print apparatus and the use of well-equipped laboratories, and indeed almost every thing that a CID man could want. Like nearly all my staff, I was in the Metropolitan Police Force before joining the Army, and I find the experience gained out here extremely useful." Captain Baldwin personally handles all the cases where officers are involved and often works until the early hours of the morning investigating crimes, very few of which have passed unsolved. Like all detectives he has numerous photographs associated with various crimes and a room full of gruesome relics and clues which have played some vital part in bringing a murderer to justice. Black Market Raids. During the past year the section have recovered over 50,000 pounds worth of stolen property and taken part in countless black market raids with CMP's. In a recent raid on the docks they discovered "loot" in very conceivable hiding place including the inside of a man's hollowed-out wooden leg. Capt Baldwin has been in command of the unit since November 1945, after spending six month as 2 I/C. He joined the army in 1942 and served as Observation Officer in a battery of Royal Artillery landing in Normandy soon after D-Day and taking part in the Rhein Crossing attached to the 2nd Indipendent Tank Brigade of the Canadian Army. "I am very interested in my present job," he added, "and although I expect to be deferred until general demobilization, I hope to return to the Metropolitan Police force when I am released. |
Provost Officer Appointments: | |
| No appointments recorded | |