Stewart Rivers

Hi Brian,

I managed to purchase this book off the Internet and have read it from cover to cover, very interesting indeed.

All the best,

Stewart Rivers

Thanks Dave,

So I just need to get the white and blue crowns to fill my collection then.  Just missed out on the blue crown yesterday by £1.

All the best,

Stewart

I had to go to St. James tube station this morning and it reminded me of my last years based at the 1960s New Scotland Yard where I had my final posting until I retired in September 2009.  To my amazement all that is left now is a blue hording and a massive hole in the ground.  RIP NSY (I know that the new new NSY is in the old Cannon Row police station on the North side of the Thames near Westminster Bridge on the Embankment, but it does not have the gravitas of the old building.   However, that said it is almost next door now to the old Great Scotland Yard, so it has gone full circle.

Hi Dave,

Very impressive collection and really picture.

All the best,

Stewart

 

Since this thread has been resurrected, I may as well jump in. I haven't added any insignia to my collection since the late 1980s. My interests are only of the Met & COL. and you can imagine how hard it's been to find these things out on the frozen tundra! The Taylor/Wilkinson book, along with Mervyn's, have kept my collecting spirit alive, although It's been in the doldrums for quite some time.

This display contains my collection of Met & City insignia, as well as other things that are marginally related, such as the Civil Volunteer Force, the martingale badges, etc. Some of the things are spurious or questionable in authenticity, and the rank insignia is clumsily inaccurate. One of the plates is an outright fake! I know because I made it myself (EviiiR). Another plate is a curiosity that's been nagging me  since I got it. Its inclusion is simply as that; a curiosity. Anyway, it's far from complete, but my wife still allows it to hang in the living room! Cheers, Mike.

Hi Mike,

Very impressive collection, although I served in the Met from 1979 - 2009, I have only just started to collect additional memorabilia.  I have kept lots of pieces throughout my service that were pertinent to my career, including pictures and statements of some of my cases and managed by way of the Freedom of Information Act  to obtain my complete service record.

I have purchased a couple of Met KGVI Special Constabulary badges but notice some have different colours within the Kings Crown.  Do you know the significance of them?

Many thanks,

Stewart Rivers

Hi Brian,

I have just found this very interesting site, I am a retired Met Police Superintendent and have just started to collect Met memorabilia as well as my home Force of Beds Constabulary.

I have recently purchased a large number of Luton police, Luton Borough police and Bedfordshire Constabulary helmet and cap badges.  Part of this collection are a day and night  Luton Borough police helmet plates and a number of cap badges too.

In light of your earlier comments "I would suspect that the Luton County Borough Police Force, 1964 - 1966, would have had helmets sporting the Queen's Crown, which is probably quite scarce, given the short time of the Force's existence", I have added a couple of pictures that support your hypothesis. 

Both helmet plates do in fact have the Queens Crown on them.

All the best, 

Stewart