Lieutenant Thomas Simcox

Thomas Simcox was a native of Birmingham, England, and joined the Gordon Highanders in 1880 and subsequently served with them in the Boer War (1899-1902).

In 1902, he joined the City of Glasgow Police and was appointed as a clerk in the Chief Constable’s Office. In 1908 he was promoted directly from Constable to Inspector / Drill Instructor in the Glasgow Police Training School at the Central Police Office. He developed the syllabus for all recruits and gradually extended the scope of their training and drill to include a variety of subjects which greatly enhanced the knowledge and discipline of the recruits.

During the First World War, he was appointed Lieutenant in the Cameronian Highlanders but actually he served in the Royal Defence Corps in the Northern Military Area (Scotland). He and his colleagues in that service, while in plainclothes, made inquiries into suspected spies and other threats to the military installations and units stationed there.

Lt. Simcox (left) at Armistice Parade 1932

In 1919, he resigned his commission and returned to The Glasgow Police and in 1920 was promoted to Lieutenant, again in charge of the Glasgow Police Training School. He was a familiar figure at the Armistice police parades and other events (see right).

In 1929, he was awarded the British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service, the first Glasgow police officer to receive the honour. He retired on pension from the Glasgow Police on 31 December 1932.