Name/Title
Embroidered silk memorial to PC James Mockford of Brighton Police c1918Entry/Object ID
30Description
Embroidered silk memorial in a modern glass fronted frame approx. 65cm wide, 62cm high, consisting of a small oval photograph of a police officer in uniform, surrounded by the flags of the Allied Nations. At the top is the Motto "Victory of the Allied Army". At the bottom of the mount is a modern biography of James Mockford.Use
A memorial to a police officer who died during the first world war.Context
As a result of the large loss of life during the First World War, a huge number of memorials were produced to remember and honour those who were killed. Towns and villages erected their own memorials as did many workplaces. The police forces of Sussex all had their own memorials and the two from Brighton Police are in the museum. Also made were many more personal memorials, often produced by family members and loved ones.
This particular memorial honours PC James Mockford, who was born in 1887 and joined Brighton Police in 1910. He joined the Coldstream Guards in 1915 and was subsequently killed during the battle of the Somme in 1916. He is also remembered on the Ringmer village memorial, just outside of Lewes in East Sussex.
Not much is known about this memorial but given that it shows James Mockford in his police uniform and the fact that it came from Sussex Police, it is quite likely that it may have originally displayed in the old Brighton Police HQ in the Town Hall. If it was a family piece it would probably have showed him in his army uniform. It is not known whether the embroidery was a bespoke piece or whether it was manufactured and simply had a space for a photograph. There are a large number of similar memorials from this period, which whilst broadly similar, are all significantly different, suggesting that they were home/locally made.