Well this is another problem Bantam, only now are people coming forth with their wants and needs with collecting prison badges, it's nice to know that after many many years more and more of us are on the web showing our interest and have a lovely group like this to talk about it on.
But in the past and now, not much was known about them and as a smaller Crown Civil Service (with only some very later named on insignia), most items were thought of as being rank badges, or collar badges due to their size - and especially when talking about female prison badges, so I always make sure i look under rank/collar badges that may be a simple crown or something within a laurel leaf etc. It may be a prison badge!
The best example of this is the current female issue NIPS (Northern Ireland Prison Service) cap badge, you probably have one or have seen it, but it's generally classed as a NIPS collar badge or a form of nurses badge. Just like THAT one that we all want, the 1901 onwards badge. It's a simple brass crown and someone somewhere will display it as a rank crown/collar badge when it's not.
And Norman, the classic Victorian crown that "Warders" in those days wore on their caps. I have three different types. And there were generally different types. Her Majesty's Prison Service (Queen Victoria's origional royal gaolers) was formed in April 1877 and this badge was the later one issued that you mostly see in photos and probably was a defunct NCO arm badge no longer used.
Just before this most local countys in the UK had a go at making their own from a local regiment pattern with the onset of the new fantastic national prison service and wanted to join in and be the best of the small towns that wanted to be national. They all wanted to be unique with each local county having a form of their own and often be classed as Royal even though they were'nt. So you would see the QVC in prisons, but each would be very very slightly different as far as Essex/Westminster/Manchester/Exeter/Norwich or Sussex.
Now i do understand that in most Colonial places around the world this was the case, but when it came to the dependants and others that were forgotten about (C.I, I.O.M etc) then yes, it was a case of recycling old Police helmet plates and stuff.
I have one here:
http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...1&d=1299456182