The Corps of Commissionaires was founded in 1859 by Captain Sir Edward Walter KCB, a retired cavalry officer, as a way of providing work for ex-servicemen. The financial means to do so came from his family: Sir Edward’s father was John Walter, the second Editor of The Times, whose own father — also John — founded the newspaper in 1785 as the Daily Universal Register.
The first employees were eight soldiers disabled in the Crimean War — six of whom were amputees — known now in the organisation as “the original eight”. Its members were, initially, all ex-military personnel but later it widened to take in former police and fire officers.
Corps Security now employs more than 3,000 licensed security staff from 12 regional offices, including sites in Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester and Stevenage. While the general public may still associate most the Corps with its traditional military-style “commissionaire” uniform, which includes a distinctive white cap, black uniform and black leather cross-belt with badge, these days most employees wear business suits.
Peter Webster, the chief executive, said: “When we do our special events, the age profile of our colleagues is usually over 50. For events security, such as exhibitions, conferences, fashion shows, award ceremonies and shareholder meetings, where a more formal look is required, a more mature colleague is better in those environments.”
Some staff work well past the normal state retirement age: Mr Webster recently presented a long-service award to a colleague who had finally decided to retire — aged 80.