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In 1867 the Harbour Police was created by special legislation to protect ships entering Carlisle Bay from undesirables and smugglers. This followed lobbying for its establishment by the West India Company of Merchantmen who were experiencing pilfering in the bay and on the wharves.

Said to be similar to the Thames Water Police of London at the time, the local Harbour Unit was first under the administration of the Comptroller of Customs as an institution separate and distinct from the Barbados Police Force.

Fifteen years was to pass before the amalgamation of the Harbour Police and the land police was a fait compli under the Inspector-General of Police in 1882.

Until 1917, the Harbour Police wore very smart blue serge double breasted coats with two rows of five buttons at the front, white shirt, blue collar and blue tie, blue serge trousers and black boots. That same year, Inspector General Harrell adopted a type of dress for the arbour police then commonly worn by many Barbadians as outward symbols of their parent’s sympathy with the British Jack Tars.

It was this sailor look that was to create a great attraction for this unit of the force. Many writers in subsequent years erroneously stated that the local Harbour Police wore a uniform of Lord Nelson’s time, and one tourist promoter even suggested the adoption of such a uniform for the entire Force.

The fact is that no uniform was adopted by the British Navy until 1857, some 52 years after Nelson’s death. However, the uniform bore the similarity to the dress of sailors in Nelson’s day, owing to the system of buying ready-made clothing from contractors and selling them on board. This system coupled with the style of fashion then popular among the men produced an outfit similar to that adopted in 1857. The hat had come about in1800, originally high in the crown, changing between 1830-50 to a low crown type. The collar although in use about the end of the 18th century, did not gain wide popularity until 1830-50. Some sailors wore two lines of tape and some three. Jumpers had been in use since 1750. The necks of these were originally much higher obscuring from view the flannel vest underneath until 1870. The silk handkerchiefs around the neck also sated back to the late 18th century. 

Former Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum of Greenwich, Commander V.E. May, R.N. was to write “I do not think one should say that the Harbour Police of Barbados model their uniform on that of the Royal Navy in Nelson’s day. It is possible that they were given something like what a well-dressed sailor was wearing in 1835”. The suggestion therefore that the harbour police uniform was similar to that worn by the Water Police on the Thames appears more realistic.

In the meantime, it is interesting to note that in 1813 when the first action to give Bridgetown a Town Watch was taken by Sir Richard Westmacott, who was responsible for the marble arch in London, had his magnificent bronze statue of Lord Nelson erected in Eggington Green, now Trafalgar Square.

Since the first half of the twentieth century, attempts to change the Harbour Police uniform into something more modern and comfortable were opposed by the island’s tourist administrators, who set about to use the photograph of the Harbour Policeman as their tourist emblem.   They also made arrangements with the Commissioner for the Harbour Police to appear on traffic duty near the inner harbour so that visitors could obtain photographs of the elegant uniforms.

The uniforms consisted of straw hats with white cloth covering, blue-lettered bands with the words “Harbour Police” and a regulation number, white drill jumpers with blue sailor capes and cuffs, blue neckerchiefs, blue neck bands, blue serge trousers, black laced boots and brown leather waist belts. When they attended parades they carried rifles and bayonets. On board vessels they wore sailor caps and blue canvas shoes. 

In 1897 the Official Gazette of 9th December, sanctioned by the House of Assembly on the 16th November required the Harbour Police to furnish a boat to take the Harbour Master or his assistant to visit all ships of war arriving in harbour between 6.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. Any ship of war arriving after that hour and having reason to communicate with the shore had to hoist a red light, on which the Harbour Police would communicate with the boat and the Harbour Master or his assistant. During those days all boats in unofficial landing places were searched, and no off-duty leave was granted on days when the inter-colonial steamers were lying in harbour.

The Inspector-General in his report for 1938, said that apart from ordinary routine work the Harbour Police were called upon to supply Customs officials with police boats to visit 54 vessels, as compared with 94 for the previous year. Vessels opened up and reported on numbered 41 as against 56 in the previous year. 1380 lighters and 264 boats were held up and searched, compared with 1765 and 545 respectively in 1937. Annual and quarterly inspections for 49 passenger boats were carried out, and there was an added acquisition to the branch of a new Brooks diesel motor launch in October.

The Rules and Regulations of the Police Force compiled by Major R.B. Kaye, Inspector-General in 1901, stipulated the duration of time for droughers, fishing boats, lighters, wherry, fiat or boat of any other description, could remain alongside the wharf with respect to loading and off-loading cargo authorised by the Harbour-Master to do so.

All boats propelled in the Careenage or Carlisle Bay between the hours of sunset and sunrise were required to carry a white light of a globular form no less than 6” in diameter and no lower than 2” above the stern. Every licensed boat was required to have its number painted 12” below the stern, if the boat of a dark colour to be painted white, and if of light colour to be painted black.

Anyone caught conveying seamen or assisting them in leaving their boats without written permission of the Harbour-Master, was apprehended by police and upon conviction before any Police Magistrate were liable to various penalties set out under Section 37 of the Police Act 1890, with the highest being having the licence cancelled for a period not exceeding three months.

For operational purposes, the Harbour of Bridgetown was divided into the Upper and Lower Guard. The upper included the whole of the Harbour to the south of an imaginary line drawn from the Harbour Police jetty out to the sea. The lower included the remainder of the Harbour to the north of the same line.

During the early days, from 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. four-oared boat would guard the whole of the harbour and an additional four-oared boat would go on duty from 6.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. Four Corporals and 16 privates were provided for this duty with crews being relieved at 6.00 a.m., 9.00 a.m., noon, 3.00 p.m., 6.00 p.m. and midnight.

On nights the two guard boats would patrol alternately the Upper and Lower guards, crossing each other opposite the station jetty, and the corporals of each boat were expected to know the movements of the other. Four men were assigned to the Careenage Guard, two in each shift for relieving the other. This guard was relieved when the weather permitted at the Pierhead point. The inner basin was patrolled both by day and night. The inner guard was only mounted on days when the inter-colonial mail boats were lying in Harbour.

They were sentries who patrolled the station compound and look out to sea for signals, and a book keeper who worked from 7.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. keeping reserve boats clean and adequately stocked for use as well as barrack orderlies who worked from 7.00 a.m. until relieved the next day. The arrival of all men-of-war, British or foreign were reported not only to Central Station, but to the Inspector-general, Government House and the Colonial Secretary’s office.

In 1940 there were forty-four members of the harbour Police. There were still the two and four-oared boats with a corporal or Lance Corporal sitting in the stern directing operations. During this period, one had to return from off-duty by 5.00 a.m. to answer roll call even if your stint of duty did not start until noon. The department was in possession of a launch but this was used for transporting the Governor or other dignitaries to ships or later used as an anti-submarine patrol after the German U-boats entered the area.

The torpedoing of the SS Cornwallis in Carlisle Bay and subsequent attacks on ships in the area brought the Harbour Police many hair-raising moments and itr was painful to see the number of survivors who were victims of such attacks.

After the war, work hours though remaining long became more favourable. Many jobs which were performed that were not police related were removed from the Harbour Police and oared boats gradually gave way to launches.

When the Commissioner of Police Col. R.T. Mitchelin took up his appointment in 1949 on transfer from the Nigeria Police, a number of changes were to follow. The Bay post in Bay Street was closed and the Bridge and Harbour Stations amalgamated. The Harbour police as it was known before was never to be the same again. The Harbour Policemen were now called upon to perform duties carried out by the land police. They investigated accidents, larcenies, attended post mortems and other police matters assigned to them.

The early fifties witnessed the Harbour Police Uniform being publicised as a major tourist attraction. The department was invited to do Sentry Duty at Government House for a week at the request of His Excellency the Governor Sir Alfred Savage. Perhaps it was by coincidence that St. Clair Carter was the Corporal in charge for that week. In 1964 the Tourist Board took a Harbour Policeman on a promotional trip to publicise the island visiting many cities in the United States and also the New York World Fair. Corporal Carter was accorded this honour. The Harbour Police also participated in a joint Barbados-Guyana pavilion in Montreal at Expo ’67.

The construction and opening of the Bridgetown Port reduced the importance of Carlisle Bay. However, the need for the Harbour Policeman or a Marine Branch of the Force is still present. Today the Harbour Policeman though seldom seen is yet required for policing our inner basin where yachts and small crafts are moored. 

The Harbour police is indeed a unit to be cherished not only for the legendary aura that has surrounded its past, but for the significance of the work it has performed and continues to contribute today and in the future.