School of Musketry ,Hythe ,Kent

[Big Dave]

Just arrived a dinner plate from the Serjeants Mess , School of Musketry ,Hythe Kent .The school formed at Hythe in 1853, changed its name to the Small Arms School in 1919 and moved to Warminster in 1969 ,supplied instructors to the rest of the Army .I wonder how many of these survived? Any comments welcomed ,regards Dave

 

[TonyE]

A very nice piece of memorabilia. Look after it.

Regards
TonyE

 

[Big Dave]

Thanks Tony ,i take it that the plate is pre1914 ? Theres a maker stamp impressed on the back but its unreadable

 

[Bonnex]

The crown might give a clue to the date range. Looks KG VI to me.

 

[smle2009]

Thanks Tony ,i take it that the plate is pre1914 ? Theres a maker stamp impressed on the back but its unreadable

Hi BD,
post a photo of it mate,me missus is good with ceramic makers marks and she is back home later today.
Anyway the cap badge, the same as the one on your plate, was worn from 1902-1919 so could be king Edward VII(1901-10) or king George V(1910-36)

Tony

 

[TonyE]

I agree with Bonnex, looks like KGVI crown, so dates the plate from 1936 - 1952.

Regards
TonyE

 

[Big Dave]

Thanks for the replies Gents ,been having a dig ,didnt the Tudor crown [Kings Crown] come into use with Edward VII ,1901 and was then used by George V ,Edward VIII and George VI ,or are the crowns all different ? With the change of name to the Small Arms School in 1919 didnt they change the badge ?[i know this would have taken sometime]
The makers mark wont photograph with any clarity ,Tony it consists of 6 letters ,could be Boothe ?

 

[smle2009]

Hi Dave,
yes you are correct The Tudor crown was used by Kings and the St Edward crown is used by the Queen,yes the cap badge did change in 1919 as already stated above,so that rules out Edward VIII(coins and badges with Edward VIII are as rare a hens teeth as he didn't hang about long) and George VI just because of the type of cypher/badge on your plate.

Tony

 

[smle2009]

Forgot to mention,
The Small Arms School cap badge is simiular to the School of Musketry cap badge but has the inclusion of a Vickers Machine gun behind and across the two crossed smle's ,so no mistaking the badge on your plate or from what period it came from.

Tony

 

[Big Dave]

Thanks Tony ,i have a feeling the plate is pre 1914 ,i cant see the serjeants mess having plates made with their badge on during the war and with them changing the name in 1919 it restricts it to between 1901 and 1914 .Iam well pleased with it and it didnt cost a lot either

 

[smle2009]

Hi Dave,
Another clue is the spelling of sergeant on your plate!,the Vickers MG came about when they took on responsability of the Vickers MG training a Netheravon(my neck of the woods!) The name changed again in 1929 to the Small Arms School Corps(again before King George VI!) and the badge was also changed with the addition of laural leaf surround. The SASC are still around and based at Warminster,the badge now has a Queens crown on it(for obvious reasons).
My instinct is that,because of the spelling, it is a very early one