| Surname: | Coulson |
| Initials: | R |
| Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Army Number: | 2654634 |
| Notes: | CMP. Enlisted Coldstream Guards, transferred to CMP 8/1939. Extract from the Hull Daily Mail, 25/4/1947. LONE GUNMAN WAS TOUGHEST CASE FOR HULL 'REDCAP' One of the first military policemen to be mentioned in dispatches in the war, a Hull "redcap" has just finished a long tour of duty in Berlin where he has chased murderers, bought black marketeers and generally kept the peace. He is CQMS R (Tiny) Coulson, Corps of Royal Military Police of 52, Ryehill Grove, East Hull Estate, now serving with 5 Divisional Provost Company. In his first five months in Berlin, CQMS Coulson handled five murder cases, and three times was held up at the point of a pistol. "For one month I did nothing else but raid notorious hotels and cafes for black market operators, and caught quite a few," he said when interviewed. "One tough case I remember was then we spent six months searching for a notorious murderer and looter. He was efficient and worked alone. His system was simple. He walked into a shop, shot the counter assistants dead and walked off with everything he could see. But he made a slip for which he later paid with his life. WITH THE "DESERT RATS" CQMS Coulson jointed the Army in 1930 and became a "redcap" a month before the war. He went to France in 1939, served throughout the campaign and left from Dunkirk. In 1941 he went to Egypt and crossed Africa with the 8th Army. He went to Italy with the 7th Armoured "Desert Rats" Division and served with them throughout France, where he landed on D Day, Belgium, Holland and Germany. He took part in the march to Berlin. |
Decoration Record: | |
| Decoration: | Mention in Despatches (London Gazette: 35020 Page: 7197 Dec. 20, 1940) |
| Citation: | BEF. In the field March-June 1940. |