In 1949 the productive reign of Cecil James Carroll, Commissioner of Police, came to an end with an early retirement due to health reasons. On 6th July Chief Inspector, John Smith, distributed this ‘Extremely Urgent’ personal memorandum to all members of the Queensland Police Force:
Portrait of Commissioner of Police Cecil James Carroll, (1934 – 1949).
Image No. 2299 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
With very profound regret, I have to advise every Commissioned Officer, every non-commissioned officer, and every Constable of the Police Force of this State, of the sad fact that our esteemed Commissioner, Mr C.J. Carroll, M.V.O., M.C., retires from the position of Commissioner of the Queensland Police Force on the 23rd of this month on the grounds of ill health.
As you are all aware, Mr Carroll took over control of the Queensland Police Force on the 8th May 1934, and has completed fifteen years’ service as head of the Police Force. It is scarcely necessary for me to dwell on the superhuman efforts which he has put forward during his period of office in the interests of the Police Force as a whole, and the numerous instances in which he displayed a personal interest in the welfare of individuals who suffered in health through their activities as members of the Police Force, and those who received injuries in the course of their duties.
Group photograph of members of the Townsville Police Force taken on occasion of the first official visit by the Commissioner of Police Mr CJ Carroll (seated front and centre), c1934.
Image No. PM2422 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
There is not one member of the Police Force holding any rank in the service about the rank of Sergeant 2/c who did not received his promotion either from or on the recommendation of Mr Carroll, and there is only one Sergeant 2/c in the Force who was appointed to that rank prior to Mr Carroll taking over office. The numerical strength of the Police Force has increased during his regime out of all proportion to its numerical strength at the time he took over office, and the ranks, particularly the non-commissioned officer ranks, have in most instances doubles and in some instances trebled under his administration.
The equipment of the Police Force was very meagre at the time Mr Carroll took over office. There were one or two cars, a few motor cycles and pedal cycles, but very little other equipment of any consequence. Under his administration the Force has been fully equipped with motor transport, a wireless station has been established, Modus Operandi and Technical laboratory were inaugurated, as well as an up-to-date Photography Section. The Police Welfare Club was started, and the Youth Club is now well under way to maturing. In addition, he has successfully steered the Police Force through one of the most troublous periods in the history of the British Empire. He has raised the tone of the Police Force on to a plane never previously achieved by any administrator of the Department.
Inspector James Toohill, Minister for Home Affairs Edward Hanlon and Police Commissioner Cecil Carroll inspect the new Black Maria in front of the garage at the Petrie Terrace Depot, 1936.
Image No. PM1427 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
Every serving member of the Police Force, from the most senior to the most junior, will appreciate the personal interest which Mr Carroll has always displayed in relation to the welfare of members of the Police Force, particularly the great bulk of the members constituting the rank and file. He has ever been ready to support any scheme or suggestion or claim which has arisen which would be for the benefit of his men. I now confidently look to every member of the Police Force to associate himself in a tangible way with a testimonial which it is proposed to present to Mr Carroll, as concrete evidence of the high esteem in which he is held by members of the Police Force of all ranks.
Chief Inspector Smith reiterates his request for testimonials and a contribution, particularly from higher ranked police, to be used on 19th July 1949 at the presentation and in honour of Mr Carroll.
__________________
This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT- CoP Cecil James Carroll” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode