2020-01-25 Sat

National Police Day takes place on January 25th. National Police Day is a national holiday in Egypt that occurs each year. The holiday commemorates and is a remembrance for 50 police officers killed and more wounded when they refused British demands to hand over weapons and evacuate the Ismailia Police Station on 25 January 1952.

Egypt officially became an independent state in 1936, following the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, but it took the United Kingdom nearly two decades to withdraw its troops from the Suez Canal region. British military presence caused significant tension, which eventually led to a clash between the British military and the local police in the city of Ismailia.

On January 25, 1952, the British Army surrounded the Ismailia police station and demanded that the policemen hand over weapons and evacuate the station. The policemen refused, so the British brought tanks in and took over the station. During the confrontation, 50 Egyptian policemen were killed and more wounded. The incident in Ismailia was one of the prerequisites for the Egyptian revolution of 1952, which resulted in the overthrow of King Farouk.

In 2009, President Hosni Mubarak officially declared January 25 as National Police Day to acknowledge the sacrifices of Egyptian police and to recognize their efforts to maintain security and stability in the country. Today, January 25 is celebrated in Egypt as both 25 January Revolution Day and National Police Day.

In the year 1972, Egypt Post issued a commemorative stamp on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the event. This beautiful Blue on the White stamp of 20 Egyptian millime depicts the emblem of the Police in the center flanked by the police jeeps. The emblem is surrounded by the divisions of Egyptian Police e.g Forensic, Surveillance, Canine Division, and Traffic Division.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com/

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