Name/Title
East Sussex Constabulary helmet plate c1886 and 1911 Coronation medalEntry/Object ID
1813Description
Framed display containing a wreath style Queen Victoria Crown helmet plate marked "East Sussex Constabulary" with a white metal East Sussex shield coat of arms centre mounted on a black leather and metal central plate. Whilst giving the appearance of having a white metal finish, the body of the badge has dark areas suggesting that it may have been originally chemically blackened or painted. There is also a silver 1911 County Borough Police Coronation medal inscribed around the edge "JAS Veness Eastbourne County Boro"Use
The helmet plate was for use on an East Sussex Constabulary police helmet and the medal was to commemorate the 1911 Coronation.Context
The use of a Victorian or Guelphic Crown on the helmet plate dates it from 1865 to 1901, though the provenance suggests it is from the 1880s/1890s. In East Sussex Constabulary white metal helmet plates like this were used for both constables and sergeants from approximately 1865 until c1880, (probably 1883, when a new style of helmet (Kyrke 1969) was introduced) after which they were only used for sergeants, with constables being issued with black badges, with only the centre shield being white metal. This style of helmet plate is called a wreath and garter and was commonly used in the UK until after 1934, when the Brunswick Star type badge became more standard due to pressure from the Home Office.
The 1911 Police Coronation medal was awarded to all police officers who were on duty during the official coronation events, with most, if not all officers in the Metropolitan Police receiving one. A far smaller number medals were allocated to the remaining police forces in the UK, 2,565 being awarded to officers in the county and borough police forces of England and Wales. In practice these county and borough police recipricantt were usually the more senior officers and those with the most service, each force having had an allotment of available nominees dependant upon size.
Both items were issued to PC, later Sergeant James Veness, who had been joined the police as a constable in the Eastbourne Division of East Sussex Constabulary in 1886 and went on to join Eastbourne Borough Police upon its formation in April 1891. He was subsequently promoted to sergeant and retired in March 1912 (Eastbourne Gazette 13th March 1912 page 8). At the time of the Coronation in 1911, he would have been one of the longest serving officers in Eastbourne Police, which probably explains his award of the medal. The helmet plate dates from his time as a constable in East Sussex Constabulary, and as such it probably would originally have had a black or blackened finish, with only the shield being white metal, only sergeants at the time having all white metal badges within East Sussex Constabulary ( James Veness only became a sergeant during his time serving in Eastbourne Borough Police, so would have had a black helmet badge whilst in the East Sussex force.
Both items and their frame were donated direct from the family by Mr John Morthall, of Wembley South Australia, the maternal great grandson of Sergeant Veness.