Name/Title
Brighton Borough Police Roll of Honour board, c1920s with additions c1950Entry/Object ID
6Description
Large dark wooden memorial plaque with a carved broken pediment, and pillars each side with stepped tops and bases.The top is painted with the Brighton Borough coat of arms and below that are painted two union flags and a scroll bearing the words "Roll of Honour". Below this are two sections. The first has the names of the those members of the Force that died during the First World War , followed by those that served in the armed forces. The lower panel has the names of those members of the Force that lost their lives during the Second World War. This includes the 4 officers who were killed whilst on police duty in Brighton.Use
To commemorate the members of Brighton Borough Police who their lives during both World Wars.Context
Many police officers had previously served in the military and were reservists. As such on the outbreak of both world wars they were called up for active service and in due course many younger officers volunteered as well. Consequently during both conflicts there was significant drain on police resources and reliance on special constables and police reservists and auxiliaries. After both conflicts police forces along with many other public and private institutions had memorial plaques made to honour those who lost their lives.
This memorial was originally located in the old police station and Brighton Borough Police HQ, situated in Brighton Town Hall. It contains the names of the officers who lost their lives during the conflict followed by those who served in the military. At the bottom are the names of officers who lost their lives during the Second World War, including 4 serving officers who died in Brighton. It is believed to have replaced a simpler memorial board (Item 7). At that time it was probably hanging in the Inquiry Office. After the Second World War the lower part was added and this addition was dedicated by the Bishop of Lewes on 19th June 1950, by which time it was definitely in the Inquiry Office (West Sussex Gazette 22nd June 1950). At that time the Inquiry office with a public counter is believed to have been situated just inside the main doors of the basement entrance to the Police Station. The 1962 film "Jigsaw", certainly shows a similar, but not the same, board in this location. Whilst it is now known that most of the interior scenes in this film were not actually filmed in the real police station, it is clear that some of the sets were fashioned on the actual layout, the interior of the entrance being one. However it is equally clear that the memorial board in the film scenes, is a facsimile, and it significantly different to the real one.
Programmes for the Service of Dedication were produced (items 129 and 471).The memorial stayed in the Town Hall police station until 1965, when a new building was completed in John Street, Brighton. It was then moved to John Street, where along with another Roll of Honour (item 7) it appears to have been placed in storage until 2005, when it came to the museum and returned to the Town Hall.