NEN Gallery

A selection of Victorian Police Truncheons. The two on the right are painted, as the truncheon was a 'badge of office' for a police officer. Before the police had uniforms their truncheon showed they were a police officer instead. The truncheon on the right is marked with the Queen's crown, and the initials VR (Victoria). The small truncheon is marked with a King's crown, but it still has the initials "VR". This is because originally it was made when King William was on the throne, and would have been marked "WR", it was altered to VR when Victoria became Queen. It is the oldest truncheon on display here. The plain wooden truncheons were used until the 1990s.