Image: Belt plate (front) (FindID 514984)

Description: Solid die-struck copper alloy waist-belt plate of the Cornwall Rifle Volunteers with separate soldered wire loop at one side and a soldered flat strap hook at the back. The design on the front is in relief with a grained background. A scroll with the word 'CORNWALL' is draped above the Prince of Wales plume of three feathers within a coronet with the motto ICH DIEN in a banner across it. The three feathers and the motto "lch Dien", German for "I Serve", go back to Edward (1330-1376), the eldest son of Edward III. He was known as the 'Black Prince' because he had his suit of armour painted black, a very unusual thing at the time. He later became the Prince of Wales and the three feathers and coronet have been associated with Wales and the Prince of Wales ever since. The coronet sits above the Cornish shield with fifteen gold 'bezants' with a scroll upcurved across the base of the shield with the words 'ONE AND ALL', the Cornish motto. The gold 'bezants' are said to represent the Byzantine gold coins that were paid as ransom to the Saracens for the release of the Earl of Cornwall in the 9th century. The motto 'One and all' (or in Cornish, 'Onen hag oll'), is said to commemorate the voluntary efforts of the Cornish people to raise this ransom. On either side of the shield is a branch of laurel leaves, tied just below the base, and surrounding these another scroll with the words 'RIFLE VOLUNTEERS'. This belt plate was used by both Volunteer Battalions and is first noted in an 1874 photograph, but was used from about 1870 until 1882 when other ranks wore a snake or S-buckle of civilian pattern (Ivall & Thomas, 1974, 58). Ivall & Thomas (1974) illustrate this waist-belt plate on page 59, No.259, which is dated from c.1870-1882. One of twenty five of the same mounts found in an area of about 10 foot by 12 foot dumped about 15 feet away from a barn which used to be a blacksmith's shop. The plate is 63.6 mm wide but with the side loop is 71 mm wide. The side loop is about 3.5 mm in diameter and the strap hook at the back is 15 mm long, 11 mm wide and 1 mm thick.
Author: Royal Institution of Cornwall, Anna Tyacke, 2012-08-03 14:24:28
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Attribution Required?: Yes