Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An outstanding Indian Police Officer’s C.I.E., M.B.E., K.P.M. group of five awarded to Superintendent R. H. Hitchcock, Madras Police: the founder and Commandant of the Malabar Special Police, he ‘stood apart as altogether exceptional’ in suppressing the Moplah Rebellion shortly after the Great War

The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, C.I.E., Companion’s 3rd type neck badge, gold and enamels; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Civil) Member’s 1st type breast badge, silver, hallmarks for London 1918; King’s Police Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (Richard H. Hitchcock, Supt.. 5th Gr. Madras Pol.); Delhi Durbar 1911, silver, unnamed; India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Malabar 1921-22 (R. H. Hitchcock, D.S.P.), the first four mounted as worn, together with a set of uniform ribands (including the British War Medal 1914-20), the K.P.M. with slight edge bruise, good very fine and better (5) £1200-1500

C.I.E. London Gazette 3 June 1922: Richard Howard Hitchcock, Esq., M.B.E., District Superintendent of Police (on military duty), Madras.

M.B.E. London Gazette 8 January 1919: Captain Richard Howard Hitchcock, District Superintendent of Police, Madras (on military duty).

K.P.M. London Gazette 1 January 1916: ‘Richard Howard Hitchcock, Superintendent 5th Grade, Madras Police.

Richard Howard Hitchcock was born on 12 March 1884 at Basford, Nottinghamshire. His father, also named Richard, was Rector of Fordwich for many years - there is a window dedicated to his memory in the parish church.

Richard Jnr. was educated at the King’s School Canterbury, 1894-1903. Academically bright, he sat for the competitive examination to join the Imperial Indian Police and came first: this was no mean achievement for as compared to Sandhurst where 200 places were annually available, standards were very high, and only 15-20 places available per year for entry into the Indian Police. On joining the force in 1903, he was posted to Bengal.

In early 1916, as a Superintendent 5th Grade, Hitchcock was awarded the K.P.M. for heading off an uprising by the Mapillas in the previous year and, as the Great War came to a close, he was seconded to the Army and granted the temporary rank of Captain. It was in this capacity that he was awarded for his assistance in raising the 2/73 Malabar Battalion at Cannanore.

Then in 1921, with ongoing troubles in Malabar, Hitchcock organised a new police force on the model of the British Army: the Malabar Special Police, of which he became the first Commandant. This was just as well, for as highlighted in one official report, the scale of the latest rebellion was considerable:

‘The magnitude of the devastation caused by the rebellion can be seen from the fact that, during its progress, 19 Police Stations had been sacked, eight Revenue Offices, including Sub. Treasuries looted, 10 Sub. Registrar’s Offices destroyed and 16 Post Offices pillaged. The destruction of village offices, traveller’s bungalows and bridges was terrific. Railway lines and stations also did not escape the hands of the rebels.’

However, as a consequence of his highly effective leadership, Hitchcock gradually closed down assorted avenues of political dissent by means of effective intelligence gathering at Mosques and elsewhere. He was duly praised in an official report:

‘The services of Mr. Hitchcock stood apart as altogether exceptional. With his unique local knowledge and splendid devotion to duty, he might truly be said to have been the mainspring of the suppression of the rebellion both as Chief Intelligence Officer of the Martial Law Commander and as the Superintendent of Police after the abrogation of Martial Law.’

Unfortunately, the same period of operations also witnessed the ‘Moplah Train Tragedy’ when, in November 1921, Hitchcock was the senior officer placed in charge of transporting Moplah prisoners by rail: 70 were found dead, asphyxiated in a railway luggage van. The subsequent enquiry found that the deaths were due to a defect of the van but also that that Hitchcock and Evans (the civilian in joint charge of the operation) failed to exercise proper supervision of the vans containing the prisoners. Police and railway officials of lesser rank were found guilty of culpable negligence.

Hitchcock, who nonetheless was awarded the C.I.E. in June 1922, died of a perforated ulcer on 31 August 1926, aged 42 years, whilst on home leave in Tunbridge Wells. A memorial was erected to his memory at Malappuram but this was subsequently removed as a consequence of popular protest in the late 1930s; sold with copied research.