During the Covid-19 attack on our way of life I spent a ton of time in the house with nothing but time on my hands. One day I got a little steam in my legs, and motivated myself to clean out and organize some old pictures stored in a box from the 1930's.
One of the old pictures that I hadn't seen in probably 60 years, or maybe never, is this one of my father: Herman William Beyer. It was taken around 1930. It's amazing how He looks like me.
If you know Newark Police Collectibles, you can easily tell, that the Badges on the uniform are the real deal. Just zero in on the "Hat Badge," and You will see the symbolic "Hammer," held by "an Arm and Hand." It is high on the top of this Hat Badge in the center. It sends a clear message, that this is the City Seal of Newark, NJ. If you can see close enough there are "Tell Tale" signs on the Breast Badge too.
First you will see, flying over the "number box," an Eagle. He is just about dead center. This is where other municipalities placed either, a State Seal or their own, but not Newark. They were known for an Eagle. Also on the sides of the "number box" are Pillars. They give the "number box" a nice frame.
The Eagle and the Pillars make the Newark Badge unique. I'd like to say, of the 500+ municipalities in New Jersey, I have never seen an officer's badge with this design. I just can't say never, as I am aware of two instances where there are "Pillars," and one of those has both Pillars and an Eagle. The City of Elizabeth has an Officer's Badge with Pillars (if still in use); and the Town of Springfield had (now obsolete) an Officer's Badge that had both the Eagle and Pillars.
Concerning the Eagle and Pillars, The Town of Springfield has a weird story. I posted an article in April of 2020 regarding it. For this article. I'll just say Springfield got this design, because they purchased some used Badges from their neighboring City.
Back to perusing the breast badge in the picture of my Dad. Look inside the number box, and three ones (111) make themselves known. That was my Father's first badge number. For some reason he had two Officer Badges during his career.. The second was number 30. I have never learned why he was issued a second number. I assumed He asked for it, and his request was honored.
Of course both "111" and "30" made their way to my collection. They are not the original badges, but are from a more recent issue. My Father would be very happy to see his Badges on my wall, as well as the Badge from Springfield, and yet another Newark Badge all the way from the UK. I have them all, on my wall with my "Collection of Memories".
This is a Hat Badge from Newark, and as the picture reveals, it has a distinctive "Hammer" held high at the Top Center. It is a "screw back" design for the hat. In the number box are the first numbers assigned to my Father - Herman Beyer.
To the Right is a standard Newark Badge. It is a shape that was quite common in New Jersey and New York. Inside the basic shape the badge becomes quite distinctive. Almost at dead center is the Newark Eagle. Flanking the number box are the Pillars, and inside the box, are a matching "111"
This Badge, showing "30" in the number box was the badge my Father had for most of his career. I remember in the 1950's He purchased "Vanity MV Plates" (HWB-30) so both Car and Badge had same number. The Car is long gone, but the Badge has made its way to my collection.
This is the matching Hat Badge on a different background. The hand holding the hammer is a little easier to detect. The number "30" matct Breast Badge perfectly.
Te Badge to the left is from "Springfield". It was originally made for "Newark" prior to being sold to "Springfield." The top pal is new and made for the new owner. The Pillars and Eagle remain in original form.
This Badge has nothing to do with my Father, but I am sure He would have enjoyed seeing it. It might very well have been placed on his N.P.D. Horse when He rode on the Mounted Squad in 1927. This was actually part of a Horse attire, but in "Newark" England. It goes well with my Memories.
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