British WW1 Special Constabulary Long Service Medal to Superintendent William Lang

[dpast32]

Hello Gents,  I'm curious as to the noted rank of Supt., as stamped prior to the recipients name of William Lang. If the recipient was a 'Special' so to speak, how was he a volunteer ? Wouldn't an Superintendent designate an upper level Law Enforcement Officer ? Any comments will be most appreciated. THANK YOU

 

                dpast32

[Dave Wilkinson]

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.

[dpast32]

THANK YOU Dave, I appreciate your prompt reply. I had always surmised that an Superintendent would have been from amongst the ranks of the regular Police Force, not the Special Constabulary, hence the reason for my question. I just picked up the Geo. V ( Coronation Robes & Crown) SC Medal recently. I was fortunate to obtain it for what I believe to be a very fair price of $55.00 USD with postage paid. ( $45 + $10 Shipping ) Based upon the recipient's Superintendent Rank, I felt I shouldn't pass it up. Hopefully it may research out to prove an interesting addition to my collection ? 

 

                 Best regards,     dpast32

Edited October 12, 2021 by dpast32

[dpast32]

Here's yet another example I obtained with the above noted Medal. Am I correct in the assumption that the recipient would have have 'partial' WW1 service, however not qualifying for the Great War Clasp, but how / why would he have been eligible for his 1939 LS Clasp ? Any comments will of course be very much appreciated. THANK YOU

Special Constabulary Long Service Medal, GV (Coronation robes), with Clasp “Long Service 1939″ ( To: Ernest Wright ).

 

                    Best,     dpast32

[Dave Wilkinson]

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.

[dpast32]

THANKS AGAIN Dave !! My next step will of course be to attempt tracking down Superintendent William Lang. As you admit, the relative clues are indeed slim, yet I've found others with even less, so I have to at least try ! Hopefully, based upon his Rank of Superintendent, there may hopefully be some sort or later trail on him, as opposed to someone from amongst the Ranks. Also, I note what appears to be significant surface wear upon the obverse of Lang's Medal, which off hand, would lead me to believe he was either fond of, & or had numerous occasions to have worn it ? ( Yet, as recently found, it doesn't appear to have been mounted for wear ? ) Honestly, the last thing I truly need at this point is to purchase any additional Medals for the collection. However, U.K. / Commonwealth Police Awards have always been amongst my favorites, & especially more so now as numerous additional sources of research are becoming available everyday. 

 

All in all, for what I have into the both of them I feel I did quite well, & hopefully won't have any issues trying to recoup my investment should I decide to start parting with my collection somewhere down the road. ( Re: Both examples only cost me U.S.D. $90.00, Shipped )

 

So, now the real work begins ! Do you, &or anyone else here happen to have the Link pertaining to these 'Special Constabulary Long Service' Awards ? I recall that not too long ago I downloaded a few U.K. Met. Police Officer's Files while documenting some of my recent '1887 / 1897 Coronation' Awards. They had been housed the P.R.O., although I currently have no idea as to where any available S.C. Files may be held, if they actually exist at all ? Well, Thanks Again, & anything you may be able to share regarding these particular Medals will be very much appreciated.

 

                      Best,      dpast32

[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.  

 

    

[dpast32]

Again Dave, I appreciate your kind assistance ! A just a little cursory investigation, it appears as if the Coronation Robes / Crown obverse tends to be somewhat more desirable, & therefore valuable than the Coinage type ? I can only 'assume' that the 'Robes' examples were of earlier production, perhaps the original issue style ?  As you may suspect, I'm somewhat of an novice in regards to the Special Constabulary series, as my primary interest was with the standard Met. Coronation / Jubilee Medals. My real, all time quest was, well, along with everyone else's was to turn up an 1887 Met. Award to either of the Ripper related Districts, but as I'm sure you're aware, I probably wouldn't be able to afford it if ever found ! As I mentioned earlier, I probably should be scaling back my collecting efforts due to my collection getting too large for my home. BUT, I just can't seem to stop myself, for like so very many of us, I simply enjoy the 'hunt' too much to quit !!! Sooo, at least for the time being, I guess I'll just 'dabble' a bit !! THANKS

 

                 Best,     dpast32  ( Dom Pastore Jr. ) 

[dpast32]

'Possible Update', regarding my recent S.C. L.S. to Superintendent William Lang. Just now, while performing a few cursory searches on Ancestry.com, I happened across a William [ NMI ] Lang of possible interest ? Nothing noted especially unusual. He appears to be an Retired Warder of the British Museum, with an notation of; "K.A.S.C., 21 years" ? Could this particular notation refer to some form of Special Constabulary service ?  He is listed as residing in Battersea, London, & was born in March 1883. 

 

               Best,   dpast32 

[dpast32]

Just for the proverbial record, here's the scan of the 1939 U.K. Census, of which I had referred to above. His name again was William LANG, Born 10 March 1883. Perhaps viewing the additional entry will make some sense to someone here ? THANK YOU !!

 

               Best,   dpast32 

[dpk]

Hi All,

Attached is an old reference doc I found while researching Special Constabulary medals for my book 'A Guide: Medal & Awards to British Police by Local Authorities of the United Kingdom'- 2020, OMRS. It seems to be a fairly comprehensive list of the SC ranks used. Of these, some were common to all forces, others were quite unusual and only used in one or a few forces. For what they are worth!!

David

SC Ranks.pdf

[Dave Wilkinson]

On 13/10/2021 at 21:20, dpast32 said:

Just for the proverbial record, here's the scan of the 1939 U.K. Census, of which I had referred to above. His name again was William LANG, Born 10 March 1883. Perhaps viewing the additional entry will make some sense to someone here ? THANK YOU !!

 

               Best,   dpast32 

Looking at the Census Record, I think that it actually says, "RASC 21 years" if correct, "RASC" would mean "Royal Army Service Corps". Nothing to do with the Special Constabulary. It suggests that he held the rank of "Private" and was in receipt of a pension.

 

Dave.

Edited October 15, 2021 by Dave Wilkinson

[dpast32]

THANKS again Gents for your continued assistance, it's most appreciated. 'dpk' I also appreciate your Ranks List as I'm sure it will come in handy in my research. And 'Dave', I too now fully agree with your assessment of the '39 Cenus Record, for what I had initially believed to be an 'K', is in fact an 'R', which of course would indicate the Army Service Corps. When purchased, I had initially thought that perhaps due to his relatively advanced Rank of Superintendent, he might have been somewhat easier to document, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Soooo, I did learn an not roo expensive lesson here. The only really sure way to document, or identify an SCLS Medal is with it being obtained as part of an identified group, or perhaps with some accompanying information included with the sale. Personally, I've always been fond of U.K. / Commonwealth Law Enforcement awards, especially the earlier 1887 / 1897 Met. Issues. I myself served for over 31 years 'on the job' here in the U.S., & perhaps my loyalty to the profession has carried over to my collecting interests. THANKS AGAIN Gentlemen, I truly appreciate all your kind assistance.

 

                  Best regards,   Dom Pastore Jr.  /  'dpast32'

[dpast32]

Hi Guys,  Here's an 'possible' candidate for the SCLS with 1939 Clasp to Ernest Wright ? It probably isn't, but there are a few interesting points. Also, I'm not certain as the the actual naming aspects of this particular Series. Was the recipient's middle initial included, if indeed he had one ? THANKS

 

                 Best,     dpast32

[dpast32]

While we're on the subject, does anyone know where I might be able to purchase a copy of Paul Brewster's 2019 OMRS Publication on the Special Constabulary Medals ? [ Re: "For Faithful Service' - A History of the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal" ]   THANKS

 

              dpast32

[dpk]

On sale at the Orders & Medals Research Society website- in their 'Shop- Publications' area. Best book out there on the SC LS Medal.

 

BTW- Dpast- I am in Australia but recently acquired a 1911 Coronation 'County & Borough' Medal named to Evan Morgan. Superintendent in the Birmingham City Police. The record you posted above is excellent- could you advise how to obtain that information & copies etc as shown above?

[Dave Wilkinson]

12 hours ago, dpast32 said:

Hi Guys,  Here's an 'possible' candidate for the SCLS with 1939 Clasp to Ernest Wright ? It probably isn't, but there are a few interesting points. Also, I'm not certain as the the actual naming aspects of this particular Series. Was the recipient's middle initial included, if indeed he had one ? THANKS

 

                 Best,     dpast32

This relates to a regular officer and not a Special Constable, so its not likely to be your man. Insofar as the naming of SC long service medals is concerned, sometimes the first name only is shown and then the first letter of of any middle name etc. But, on many occasions just the first name and surname, with any other middle name initials omitted. The format depends upon the documentation submitted by the Commissioner/Chief Constable when application for the medal is made.  

 

Dave.

[dpast32]

Good Morning Dave, As always, I deeply appreciate your continued comments & input in regards to my search. Honestly, I had an inkling that 'he' wasn't my search subject, yet I felt it might be worth Posting it for others review. Also, the 'naming' issue isn't all that conducive to locating someone amongst the numerous assorted L.E. Agencies in which the Specials served, as we ultimately have to work even harder & dig even deeper to fully confirm if it's 'our' suspect. But, I guess no one said it would be easy, right ? In addition to 'dpk' as noted above, I too was somewhat surprised to find so me newly added U.K. related Records available now on Ancestry.uk. They appear to have added a nice assortment of employment & organization related Files, which of course are very welcome indeed. THANKS AGAIN Dave !

 

                     dpast32

And, for 'dpk', below is the relevant Link via Ancestry.uk in which I located this above Police Record. It may be found at;

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61651/

 

Hopefully you have access to Ancestry.com, & if you don't, well I'll try to perhaps access it for you, & somehow forward it out to you. Let me know,

 

                Best,       dpast32

[dpast32]

Just for the record, I just wished to advise everyone that I did locate a copy of T. P. Brewster's  "For Faithful Service' - A History of the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal" , directly from OMRS.  I had actually located a copy on eBay earlier today, but unfortunately, the seller doesn't ship to the US, so I had to pass it up. I least I did get my copy, alter the overseas shipping cost me almost as much as the item's price !   

 

                  dpast32

[dpk]

Thank you dpast- great resource re Birmingham. I have Ancestry so will use this a lot! Any other sources like this that you find, please let me know.

Best regards

dpk

[dpast32]

It was my pleasure dpk, I'm glad I was able to help. Many, many times others here have come to my rescue when I was at an literal impasse for any information to move ahead. That's indeed why this particular Forum is on my 'short list' when attempting to solve my U.K. & Commonwealth related issues !  Good Luck with your 1911 Coronation search, hopefully you'll get an early hit !

 

                    dpast32

[dpk]

Hi dpast32- Your Birmingham reference source came up trumps- I now have some extensive documentation about my 1911 medal man Evan Morgan. Born 1849 in Wales, joined the Birmingham City Police in 1877 aged 28, rapidly promoted in his early career to become the force Chief Clerk at the rank of Superintendent. Awarded the 1911 Coronation County & Borough medal in 1912, died (not sure if retired or not) in 1918 aged 69 years. Many thanks!

[dpast32]

Dave, [ 'dpk' ] I'm truly pleased for you & very glad I could help in some way.  Since my Retiring a few years back, I've spent much time attempting to document my many medal & militaria groups. My 'real' problem is that a great portion of my substantial personal library still remains in big Tupperware bins out in my garage. I used to just love heading down to my basement, pick out the proper bookcase, & then simply grab the particular text related to my current interest. Unfortunately though, in 2010 we suffered what was referred to as; 'the flood of the century', which turned my beautifully finished basement library into 11"+ of brackish flood water. Luckily we managed to sane most of my books, but finding any particular title now remains quite a challenge !! Exactly which of the 55 bins is it in ? And guess where they usually are ? In the bottom bin, in the stack of 3, which requires at least 2 'he men' to get down there !!! Therefore, I've by default, pretty much lost my immediate access to many of my presently OOP, or extremely expensive titles ! But, fortunately we all now have the Web, which is now my primary source of reference. Good Luck my Friend with your current 'project'.

 

                  dpast32 

[dpk]

Slightly off topic, but re the 1911 Coronation Police (County & Borough) medal naming- I have been told by a very reliable source that these medal were issued unnamed to those Forces involved in the Coronation ceremonies. Some Forces awarded them to their recipient in the same condition- unnamed. However a few Forces took the trouble to name the medals they were awarding to their officers, Birmingham City Police being one of those.

 

A large majority of these medals seen on the market are unnamed, but the occasional named medal does turn up.

Does anyone know which other Forces named their medals before issue?