Camouflage jacket : David Edwards, Rhodesian Police Reserve

Place	Africa: Rhodesia
Accession Number	REL25286.001
Collection type	Heraldry
Object type	Uniform
Physical description	Cotton drill
Place made	Rhodesia
Date made	c 1975
Conflict	Period 1970-1979 Period 1960-1969 Commonwealth Monitoring Force Rhodesia (CMFR) 1979 - 1980

Description

Rhodesian Police Reserve camouflage jacket. The jacket is made from heavy gauge cotton drill and is lined. It has two diagonally positioned breast pockets and two pockets below the waist which have elasticated openings. The elbows have oval shaped pads sewn onto them. Jacket has a drawstring waist band. Size 2.

History / Summary

Associated with David Edwards of the Rhodesian Police Reserve (RPR), a branch of the Anti-Terrorist Unit. Edwards served from the period of the white minority government of southern Rhodesia's 'unilateral declaration of independence' in 1965 until 1978-80, when the black Zimbabwe African National Union of the Patriotic Front came to power and changed the country's name to Zimbabwe. He participated in RPR patrols of Rhodesia's borders, in six man units referred to as 'sticks', on six week long counter insurgency operations. The patrols mainly lived off the land and acted as an independent unit in contact with their base. He was transferred to the Marine Division which patrolled Lake Kariba between Rhodesia and Zambia. His unit operated two 60 foot gun boats and a few 14 foot fast attack craft.