How to look for records of... London Metropolitan Police

1. Why use this guide?

This guide provides advice on how to find records (primarily staff records) of the London Metropolitan Police. The National Archives has a substantial collection of Metropolitan Police staff records, but not all have survived.

The most recent staff records we hold are pension records dating up to 1993.

The Metropolitan Police Force, created in 1829, was the first modern police force in England (provincial police forces in England and Wales were not established until after the County Police Act of 1839). Its original area of jurisdiction covered a seven-mile radius from Charing Cross in central London. Today it consists of the 32 boroughs of Greater London, excluding the City of London.

Records of the City of London police are held at The London Archives.

Metropolitan Police records held at The National Archives are identified by the department code MEPO (there are 46 separate record series within MEPO). You can browse the department and its composite series in our catalogue for an overview of what we hold.

2. Staff records – online

Significant numbers of Metropolitan Police staff records are available online both through our own website and those of our commercial partners. In some instances there is a fee to view and download these records but there is free access at The National Archives building in Kew.

2.1 Metropolitan Police registers in Discovery

Many of the personnel records are in the series MEPO 4 and can be searched by name (using the keyword search box at MEPO 4) and downloaded from Discovery, our catalogue.

Name details were added to our catalogue from an incomplete index created before records were transferred to The National Archives, so not all records can be found by name searching. If you do not find a record by name searching you can still browse the various types of register listed below in Discovery, find an appropriate register, based on dates of joining or leaving, and download a digital copy to look through.

Some of these records contain more information than others and some information may be duplicated in different records. A summary of the typical contents of each sort of record is below.

Registers of joiners, 1830-1857 and 1878-1933, MEPO 4/333-338

The catalogue descriptions for each register entry contain more information than the registers themselves (information has been added from other records) and in most cases include, along with the full name:

• warrant number (useful to distinguish between officers with the same name)
• date of joining
• date of leaving

Registers of leavers, 1889-1947, MEPO 4/339-351 

The details included are:

• warrant number
• rank
• dates of joining and leaving

Attestation ledgers, 1869-1958, MEPO 4/352-360 

These registers of joiners contain:

• warrant number
• signature of the new recruit
• the division to which they were assigned

Certificates of service, 1889-1909, MEPO 4/361-477 

These records contain:

• a physical description
• date of birth
• trade
• marital status
• residence
• number of children
• name and place of last employer
• previous public service
• surgeon’s certificate
• postings to divisions
• dates of promotion or demotion
• cause of removal/departure from the force

2.2 Other downloadable records in Discovery

Some other records can be downloaded from Discovery but are not name searchable. These are

• Death returns for Metropolitan Police, 1829-1889, MEPO 4/2
• Numerical registers of police warrant numbers, September 1829-March 1830, MEPO 4/31-32. These are in ranges of warrant numbers.

2.3 Metropolitan Police pension registers, 1852-1932

Search Metropolitan Police pension registers by first and last name at Ancestry.co.uk (charges apply). The original records are held in series MEPO 21, whose contents stretch all the way up to 1993 – but records from 1932-1993 are not available online (see section 3.1).

2.4 Abbreviations in the records

You may find the following abbreviations in some of the above records (such as registers of leavers):

• RP – resignation permitted
• RR – required to resign
• CO – Commissioner’s Office

3. Staff records – beyond online records

There are still many Metropolitan Police Force records that are not available online. Searches for these records begin in our catalogue which contains descriptions of each record with its document reference. This section of the guide provides instructions on how to target your catalogue search to specific parts of the collection so that you can locate a document reference with greater ease.

For more speculative or broader searches you can try an advanced search of our catalogue using keywords (for example, the name of an officer or a police station, or broader terms such as ‘discipline’ or ‘promotion’) and dates, ensuring that you include MEPO in the reference field.

To see these original records you will either need to visit us or, where you can identify a specific record reference, order a copy (charges apply).

3.1 Metropolitan Police pension records, 1932-1993

Browse our catalogue in MEPO 21/67-210 for records of Metropolitan Police officers’ and officers’ widow’s pensions after 1932, arranged by date of retirement and pension number. Unless you know a pension number, you should select the record you need by date of retirement.

Records from 1957-1993 (MEPO 21/100-139) are closed and you will therefore need to submit a Freedom of Information request to have a chance of seeing them.  Click ‘Submit FOI request’ on the catalogue details page for the closed record.

3.2 Metropolitan Police register, 1829-1836

HO 65/26 is an alphabetical register of metropolitan police officers between 1829 and 1836.

3.3 Selected police files of distinguished officers in the Metropolitan Police Force, 1858-1933

Joining papers of a number of distinguished officers are at MEPO 3/2883-2922. The covering dates are for dates of service.

3.4 King’s Police Medal records, 1909-1951

The King’s Police Medal was awarded to officers for gallantry or distinguished service. It was introduced in 1909 and replaced by the King’s Police and Fire Services Medal in 1940, itself replaced by the Queen’s Police Medal in 1954.

There is a register of officers under consideration for the King’s Police Medal in MEPO 22/2 and files relating to the award of the medal in HO 45 (search with the term “King’s Police Medal”).

See also MEPO 2/1300 and MEPO 7 for mentions of officers who received the medal.

The London Gazette published notifications of awards of the King’s Police Medal – search The Gazette website.

3.5 Metropolitan Police orders, 1829-1989

Browse our catalogue in MEPO 7 for police orders.

Items included are:

• staff news
• promotions
• awards
• retirements
• dismissals

Note that the records are closed for 50 years. If you already know the date of a particular event these might give you more information. The series includes some index volumes.

3.6 Nominal rolls of local constables appointed by Commissioner who hold warrants, January 1875

MEPO 2/143 contains returns, by division, of local constables sworn in and issued warrants. It gives names, date of appointment, place of work as a constable and name of sponsor. Appointments are to parishes, workhouses, canals, dockyards, parks and other places.

MEPO 2/141 contains correspondence relating to the appointments of individual local constables.