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Cable Street Particulars
From Discworld & Pratchett Wiki
An old secret police organization recently reformed by Commander Vimes, of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, because "you need secret policemen to find out about secret crimes". They form what might be the detective bureau elsewhere, doing undercover surveillance and investigating more sophisticated "white-collar" crimes beyond the abilities of, say, Fred Colon or Detritus. As the name implies, their headquarters is in Cable Street.
During the reign of Lord Winder, the Cable Street Particulars were a much feared organization, nicknamed the "Unmentionables", tasked with finding conspirators and obtaining confessions by any means. This generally meant torture, which was not discontinued when it presented danger of death or major organ failure. The Unmentionables were headed by Findthee Swing, originally a member of the City Watch and given command of Cable Street by Lord Winder. Their headquarters were raided during the Glorious Revolution by Sergeant-At-Arms Keel and his men, and subsequently burned down. The Cable Street Particulars were dissolved for some time.
Current members include:
Annotation
Just as Cable Street in Ankh-Morpork was one of the flashpoints of the Glorious Revolution and its equivalent of the Storming of the Bastille, Cable Street in the East End of London saw a popular uprising against a decision to let the British Union of Fascists march and rally there. The Battle of Cable Street (1938)saw the local, predominantly Jewish, population rise up against the authorities and spontaneously rioted in protest, barricading the street, fighting running battles with the police and Fascists, and effectively preventing the British Nazis from a provocative march through a Jewish area.
The "Unmentionables", in genteel British English, is a euphemism for the male genitalia. So what were people really calling Swing and his Particulars?
