Shared Photo: John Howells in Metropolitan police uniform

Question

I wanted to share this family photo of John Howells with the community. Location: likely London, England. Date: c. 1910s.

John Howells is my second great grandfather, and was a constable with the Metropolitan police from 1899 to 1925. I suspect he met my second great grandmother through the job: her first husband was also a constable with the same force.

Click here for the image details page or here for the full-sized version (1920 x 3066).

Answer 1

John are looking great in the uniform, he really look like someone you will respect.

Thank you for sharing this great photo what a treat Gillian

Answer 2

Dashing gentleman! Thank you for sharing this, Gillian.

Answer 3

I’m dying to know about the two medals John is wearing. Any idea? He’s very professional looking!

Comments

Hi Pip! I believe that the medal on the right is from the coronation of King George V in 1911, but I'm still unsure about the one on the left

---

Not sure about it being a George V, strips are not right, and the coronation medal has a double face (George and Mary) on the obverse. Not Edward VII either, I don’t think. It’s just not clear enough, darn it.

---

Got it! 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_George_V_Police_Coronation_Medal

It’s the Police Cononation Medal! Since he was with the Metropolitan Police, you can see what it looked like on the reverse in the Wikipedia article.

Answer 4

Thank you for sharing your picture of John Howells. I searched on google for information on the medals that he is wearing and was unable to find out what they represented.

He looks very stern in this picture. I think he took his job very seriously.

Thank you, again, for sharing this picture with us.

Comments

I've had trouble with the medals as well, but I believe the one on the right is from the coronation of King George V!

---

Gillian, that is a wonderful medal to have. Thank you for letting me know. I tried to look them up on the internet but was not very successful.