Name/Title
Hastings Police King's Crown chrome helmet plate 1936 - 1952Entry/Object ID
2553Description
Chrome King's Crown Brunswick star helmet plate, marked "Borough of Hastings Police", with a separate chrome plated coat of arms centre.Use
For use on a constable's or sergeant's helmetContext
Hastings Police used a variety of helmet badges and combinations of different coloured ones during the 20th century. Until 1936 wreath badges were worn, black ones with white metal or chrome centres for constables and all white metal or chrome versions for sergeants. In 1936 Brunswick star type badges were introduced, all white metal or chrome ones like this together and black ones with white metal or chrome centres.It is thought that the same badges being worn by both constables and sergeants, and that the different colours may initially have been for day and night use respectively. However as photographs exist of black ones being worn other than at night, the use of chrome versions may have been limited, or just restricted to the summer months.
Following the death of George VI in 1952 a black painted badge, similar to the previous version, but with a Queen's Crown was adopted for both day and night use. However it was discovered that the shape of the shield traditionally used on badges by Hasting's Police was wrong. This led to the introduction of a new badge, the same as the previous Queen's Crown one but with a different shaped shield in the centre. As before black versions were used for both day and night duty, until December 1958 (Hastings and St. Leonards Observer 27/12/58 page 6) when an all chrome version was adopted for both day and night use. This was used until the creation of Sussex Constabulary in 1968.