Trucial Oman Scouts Levies Regiment British Colonial OTHER RANKS Shoulder Title

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The Trucial Oman Scouts was a paramilitary force that the British raised in 1951 as the Trucial Oman Levies, to serve in the Trucial States. In 1956, the Levies were renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts. In 1971, upon the formation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the scouts were handed to the United Arab Emirate’s government and formed its Federal Union Defence Force (UDF) which is today renamed as the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces. The Trucial Oman Scouts were a highly respected and impartial gendarmerie and were regarded as well trained, well paid, and efficient. The Trucial Oman Scouts were established at Sharjah, in a location adjacent to the RAF base, originally as the Trucial Oman Levies (TOL) in 1951, but renamed in 1956 by Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), Field Marshal Templar. Substituting the word ‘scout’ for ‘levies’ was done to eliminate the impression that the force was conscripted, as well as to make the force sound more exotic and alluring.

The duties of the TOL as of 1951 were to (1) maintain peace and good order on the Trucial States; (2) prevent or suppress any traffic of slaves (but not slavery itself as this was considered an ‘internal affair’ by the British); and (3) provide an escort for any British political representative traveling in the Trucial States. Their duties were later expanded to include helping maintain law and order and preventing internal tribal conflicts from interfering with the work of oil companies seeking to explore for oil under concessions agreed with the Rulers. The Rulers of the Trucial States were not consulted regarding the formation or establishment of the force and only the Ruler of Sharjah, who rented out the base to be used by the Levies on a 10-year lease, was informed of their establishment.

The force was founded following consultation between the British Foreign Office and Brigadier John Bagot Glubb (‘Glubb Pasha’), at the time the British commander of the Jordanian Arab Legion. Glubb suggested an annual budget of £40,000, the Foreign Office (FO) agreed a budget of £30,000 and the Levies was established under a British commander, Major Hankin Turvin, with two Arab officers and 32 other ranks seconded from the Arab Legion. It was later expanded to 30 British officers in command positions, with a handful of Arab officers. It recruited its soldiers locally, mostly from Abu Dhabi. By 1952 the force numbered some 200 men. There were also Yemeni soldiers assigned to the Trucial Oman Scouts from the Aden Protectorate Levies (APL), a British colonial militia based in South Yemen. It finally reached battalion strength.

Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military shoulder titles for sale including other Trucial Oman Scouts Levies Regiment British Colonial OTHER RANKS Shoulder Titles.