A POLICE truncheon used in the notoriously violent Dartmoor Prison riot of 1932 has been donated to the prison museum in Princetown.

Paul Finegan, Dartmoor Prison Museum curator, has taken custody of the two-foot wooden truncheon and added it to the existing riot exhibition.

The riot involved 300 prisoners overwhelming the prison security and setting fire to the main administration block, while the prison lost its distinctive clock tower as part of the damage.

The police were called because the prison officers could not cope with the violence and destruction. The batons were put to extensive use with 23 inmates receiving baton wounds, seven receiving shot wounds and two were injured by fellow prisoners. Prison officers were also wounded.

Media coverage of the mutiny cemented the image of the prison as brutal, isolated, sinister and unforgiving, where desperate and dangerous criminals were incarcerated and would take extreme measures against officers or to escape. It was judged that the police were crucial in preventing the prisoners escaping off the roof where they were gathered and terrorising Princetown and Dartmoor communities.

Paul said: “The museum is very grateful to local historian Simon Dell for donating the truncheon to our collection. He was given it by a former prison warden. Simon has written a book about the mutiny and is very knowledgable.

“The truncheon adds colour and interest to our information panels on the mutiny. It brings the exhibition alive and is physical evidence to add to all the descriptions and pictures we have and effectively authenticates the historical record. There is no doubt the mutiny was very violent on all sides with many hurt and even shot.”

The riot was said to be either planned and stoked by South London gangster inmates or began as a demonstration or complaint about conditions that deteriorated into a riot - the consequence of an unplanned release of tension and grievance. The governor at the time Stanley Roberts blamed gangster influence for fermenting disorder. He received some criticism for his management style in not quelling disorder earlier.

At the subsequent trial of the rioters, some of them described the riot in terms of an ‘exciting’ event which had elements of ‘carnival fun’. The inmates took advantage of the disturbance to steal food from the kitchen and even danced in couples on the parade ground as the prison band played.

An investigation into the riot’s causes looked into the influence of gangsters, mind-numbing and inefficient labour programmes undergone by inmates, complaints about food, harsh conditions and low morale among prison officers over pay and conditions.

The inquiry concluded the prison regime was ‘humane’ and attempted to reform prisoners. But that this policy did not cause the disorder. There had been criticism that the reforming policy lacked discipline and led to the mutiny. The inquiry reinforced the prison authorities’ view that reform of inmates was the way forward.

The museum also displays a new novel based on mutiny called ‘The Watchers of Pencarrack Moor’ by Cornish author Terri Nixon who researched the riot at the museum.