Edward VIII was King of England for 326 days during the time period of 20 January 1936 to 11 December 1936. The question or mystery which involves British police memorabilia is this ... DID THE METROPOLITAN POLICE ISSUE AND/OR WEAR AN EDVIII HELMET PLATE DURING HIS SHORT REIGN?
Evidence indicates that a number of Met Police EdVIII helmet plates do exist. At least two are in private collections in the U.S., five are in private collections in the U.K., one was photographed for the book, BADGES OF OFFICE, and still another is featured in a photograph that originated from the Met Police museum warehouse in the mid-1980's. Unfortunately, six of these helmet plates appear to be identical while the other three each bear substantial differences from one other and from the first six. Let's examine them........
The first helmet plate is in the private collection of a PICA member from the U.S. It appears to made of white metal, however, several dark splotches on the back indicate the possibility of it once having been painted black. The starburst is of the GeoVI style. The detachable cypher is white metal and appears to have been handcrafted as opposed to the smoother, more uniform, mass-produced GeoV and GeoVI cyphers. Three photographs are available: (1) Front View, (2) Rear View, and, (3) Cypher Close-up. For future reference, this helmet plate will be referred to as HP#1.
The second helmet plate is also in a private collection of a U.S. PICA member, John Taylor in Texas. Other than the fact that it is made of brass and is painted black, it appears to be identical to HP#1. Three photographs are available: (1) Front View, (2) Rear View, and, (3) Cypher Close-up. For future reference, this helmet plate will be referred to as HP#2.
Helmet Plates #3 through #7 are in the private collections of four PICA members in the U.K. According to correspondence from PICA member George Plumb, he has examined all of them and says each is identical to HP#2. No photographs are available of these helmet plates at this time.
HP#8 is identified in a photograph from the Metropolitan Police museum warehouse. This photo was given to the author by the then museum curator during a visit to the Brixton location in the mid-1980"s. It appears to be similar to HP#2 except for the cypher which bears a different design and size. Only the one photograph is available.
HP#9 is identified in a photograph from the book, BADGES OF OFFICE. It is the most unique of all of the six helmet plates. The starburst is a GeoV-style and the cypher appears to differ slightly from HP#8 and totally differ from HPs#1-7. Only the one photograph is available.
If anyone has information to share about whether or not the Metropolitan Police ever wore EdVIII helmet plates .... or, any information about the nine helmet plates mentioned on this page, .... please contact the author at EdVIII@constabulary.com .
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