Dave Wilkinson

Whilst some personal service records of regular members of the Metropolitan Police are held at the Public Record Office, those of the provincial police forces are not held there. I'm unable to say whether the personal records of the Metropolitan Special Constabulary still exist, and if they do, where they are held.

Insofar as the records of the provincial forces are concerned. These are usually (but not always) held at the County Record Office. That said, records of the Special Constabulary and its members were often not retained and were destroyed following a suitable period after the individual ended his service.

Your medals were awarded (post August 1919) during the reign of George V. At that time in England, Scotland and Wales there were approximately 200 separate police forces. All those forces maintained a Special Constabulary, whose members would have been entitled (subject to service conditions) the award of the medal. So, there is no easy way of tracing the force the recipient belonged to. 

Best of luck.

Dave.  

This would have been quite feasible. Prior to the 1960's, many Special Constables served into their 70's. Quite why there is only one bar on the medal, I can't explain. The the surname is a fairly common one as is the first name, so I suspect that this, in the absence of any other clues, will render any research difficult if not impossible. Don't discount the possibility that the 1939 bar may have been added by someone other than Ernest Wright.

Dave.

The rank of Superintendent exists (and has always existed) in the Special Constabulary, so it follows that there will be SC Long Service Medals with that rank thereon.

Dave.

8 hours ago, bigjarofwasps said:

Thanks Dave, I don’t suppose you took a photo did you? I’ve scoured the net and can only find pictures of miniatures?

 

 

Sorry, no. I didn't think of taking a photo.

Dave.

Yes, I have. I was shown one during a visit to Jersey a couple of years ago.

Dave.

It is not a British police uniform nor are the badge/s.

Dave.

A generic item, worn by police and military the world over.

Dave.

A generic item worn by police and military the world over. Very non-specific.

Dave.

On 16/11/2020 at 15:16, QSAMIKE said:

Sorry but have never seen one of these before.....   Do not think it is official being made by a private company and not the Royal Mint.....    Could be a school or academy award medal of some type.....

 

Mike

Not all "official" medals manufactured in the UK for HM Government are manufactured by the Royal Mint.

Dave.

1 hour ago, peter monahan said:

'V & S' is Vaughton and Sons, who made silver items from 1888 to 1992.  The image below is from this site: https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/Birmingham-V.html

The 'Seen on' - column 3 - suggest a sports group or society, perhaps of sailors or something of the sort.  Almost certainly not military, given the points raised above.

Vaughton & Sons are still in existence and still manufacture silver items including insignia and medals. They did not cease in 1992 as your posting suggests.

Dave.

I feel bound to comment on how poorly made and designed, the majority of these medals appear to be. This coupled by the somewhat haphazard way in which they are worn (by some, not all) does not, in my opinion, reflect well upon Trinidad and Tobago.

Dave.  

These medals were awarded by a great many local authorities in the UK, and appear with several different Monarch's heads. A search of eBay will usually reveal a dozen or so. They are relatively common.

Dave.

Please see the appended images. The Lancashire Constabulary did use an identical helmet plate to that which is fitted to the helmet with the obvious exception that it had their force title on it and the County shield centre. I hope this is helpful. As an aside, I'm not aware of any forces in the north of wales who wore a similar helmet in Victorian or Edwardian times. On the balance of probabilities your helmet originates from a force in the North West of England.

Dave.   

I have an identical helmet of similar age, also manufactured by Christy's. This type of helmet was worn by many police forces in the North West of England. My own originates from Burnley.  Also, its not unusual for helmet plates to be interchanged on helmets once the helmet leaves its original issued force.

Dave.

You could try the National Archives at Kew as a long shot.

Dave.

Yes, I do have several badges from the Gilbert & Ellice Islands Constabulary, the Gilbert Islands Police and their successor organisations. 

Dave.

Isle of Wight Constabulary. Aside from the distinctive helmet plate, he has the letters "IW" on his epaulette.

Dave

Very nice Peter. Thank you for sharing.

Dave.

1 hour ago, paddywhack said:

He got 2 years with 18 months suspended so I'm reading it hes going to jail for 6 months and to bloody right he should be good to jail for it!

No, you've got it wrong. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for 18 months. If he re-offends within 18 months the two years imprisonment comes into effect. He is currently a free man.

Dave.

48 minutes ago, peter monahan said:

I saw that too, and shared it.  Glad he got the jail!

Actually, he did not go to jail. He received a suspended sentence.

Dave.

Yes, I believe it is a police badge.

Dave.

Nepal.

Dave.

On 01/05/2015 at 11:35, Mervyn Mitton said:

Los Angeles RIOT SQUAD.  ARMED WITH THE HEAVY DUTY REPEATING SHOTGUN (S.A. INVENTION)

Missouri State Police. Not Los Angeles.

No, he's smiling!

Danish?

Dave.

The pattern of the uniform and style of the kepi suggests its of French origin. I'm sure someone with greater knowledge than I will expand on that.

Dave.