oldscrew

• Hi Yorkstone,
•   Very nice ,well done and thank you for posting. I'm afraid I can't match those but here's mine.
•        Regards,
•             Oldscrew
• 

Hi Yorkstone,

         Thank you for clarifying that the design of the HMPS long service medal was generic and not totally based on Dartmoor Prison.

I am also aware of the effort you and others put in to establish the award of the medal to prison staff, thank you.

     Oldscrew

Hi HMPbadges,

   Glad to see you've joined the forum. Here are the other crowns crown/s that would have fitted into the centre of the plate. This type of badge is probably generic and worn in other British Colonial prisons. 

      Oldscrew

Hello both,

      Thank you very much for the information and the pictures.I had hoped very much that prison service badges would have been included in British Colonial Badges vols.1 & 2 by Barry, Margaret Renfrew and Bill Cranston but once again they were omitted ,the forgotten service.

Mike,

 That is a very nice collection of badges you have. I wonder if you have any information on  the w/m HMP badge within the wreath it isn't UK but colonial to the best of my knowledge.

   As for the Edward VII badge they are fairly common to come across there is a female version in brass and w/m which the only examples I've ever seen  were in the Galleries of Justice Museum, Nottingham. 

 Finally the Prison Inspectors Tipstaff as you quite rightly pointed out was sold at auction in the West Midlands, UK for about £300 pounds to a dealer who subsequently sold it shortly after for £1000.00 not a bad profit. 

Hi Odulf,

Thank you posting the images.The important fact in correctly indentifying the original badge is its size in this case width 3cm x 3.5cm height.which Gordon stated was collar badge size.

Regards

Thank you Mervyn.I only wish I owned the badge.

Hello Gordon,

The badge is a female senior prison officers cap badge. Officers wore it in brass there also exists an Edward VIII pattern as well as a W/M Queen Elizabeth version. See photo.

Regards

Gwynne.

Can anyone suggest what this is ?

It is collar-dog size. White metal with two of the usual lugs on the reverse.

Hi Dante,

Thank you very much for the answer.

Hi Dante,

Some very nice pieces thank you for posting. Could you tell me if the earlier PNG prison badges bore a Crown on them ?

Regards.

My first attempt at downloading resized photos from collection.The badge underwent a repair from when the first photo was taken as you can see the rear has now got the correct lugs.Maker Dowler.

This particular badge in not in Colin R Owens Book.

Gwynne - very unusual - and very good news that we have two new members with a different background. I hope that we will

have some interesting posts in the future. What is the significance of the low number on the epaulette - and what would be the

equivalent police rank ? Police don't have a lot to do with prisons and the warders. I have taken a few prisoners to the London

prisons - and on one occasion helped to escort a very unpleasant woman to Holloway. We actually went inside and it was a place

I wouldn't have wanted to work.

Under our Blog section you will find posts from one of our US members who is a Sgt. in one of their women's prisons. Mervyn

Hi Mervyn,

Thanks for the info and to Dante for the explanation in reference to the epaulette and how they were designated.I had hoped to down load some photos but apparently they are to large will have to work at it.

Gwynne

Oldscrew (first name please ?) welcome to GMIC . If we can establish this to be Dartmoor - that will be good. However, how do you account for the

skin colour of most of the convicts - and the guard on the left ? Might the Cape authorities who would of been

responsible if this is South African - have copied a prison they could have been familiar with ?

I appreciatiate with your Avatar that you are /were a British Prison officer - however, do you have any photos from that period

that would show this view ? Mervyn

Hi Mervyn,

Firstly may I thank you for your welcome.My name is Gwynne Jones and I was the gentleman that phoned you last week making enquiries about the Orange River Prison Colony Badge.

In Dantes post you can see a modern day view of Dartmoor Prison the only difference being the old prison bell, which I presume was from inside the prison and rang at specific times to denote the daily running of the prison regime has been placed on top of the inner gate entrance.

I can confirm this is Dartmoor, having worked there for 3 years.......the reverse of the long service medal is based on the inner gate in the picture, the photo show prisons marching to the quarry, healthy work with lot of open air and sunshine

Hi Dante,

Thank you for posting the pictures.That is some epaulette that you have there Principal Officer with the designation DA001 very nice.

Thought these Department of Corrections (themed) patches from my collection may be interesting to some. First two are Florida DOC patches (1st-Right shoulder 2nd-Left shoulder)

More pics later.

Ed

Hello Ed,

Thank you for posting pics from your patch collection I will post some phots from my collection of prison badges when I discover how.

I did wonder whether all the convicts in the photo were white and whether that meant that there were separate prisons for White, Black and [presumably] Coloured in old South Africa. Dartmouth makes a little more sense.

"Above the Granite Arched entrance you can just make out the inscription which reads in Latin "Parcere Subjectis" translated "Suffer The Vanquished". Nasty! No fear of the convicts being 'spoiled' by soft conditions and too many privileges, as many people seem to think is the problem with prisons today.

Peter

Hi Peter,

The Prison is Dartmoor not Dartmouth and is situated on the Devon moor in Southern England where the summers can be quite warm although very changeable with heavy rain showers and mist coming in very quickly.The winters also can be very harsh and a hard environment to find yourself in especially as a convict.The prisoners in the photo would have been predominately white but would have got sun tan working outside they would not have been permitted to sit down even during a short work break.that they were allowed. Their only protection was a high wooden shelter to lean against.The same protection applied to the staff.

As a new member to this forum and with a specific interest in British prison history and their insignia I can state categorically that the photo shows a work party leaving H.M.P. Dartmoor circa 1880's. The staff armed with the Snyder rifle were in fact Civil Guard who accompanied staff who carried a sword as well as a truncheon for personal protection.The prison was first opened to accommodate French and American prisoners of war when it was built in 1809.It became a criminal prison in 1850.Above the Granite Arched entrance you can just make out the inscription which reads in Latin "Parcere Subjectis" translated "Suffer The Vanquished".