3 Basic Helmet Plate Designs
Maltese Cross
Eight Pointed Star
Eight Pointed Star
Rifle regiments wore the Maltese cross plate.
Eight Pointed Star
Eight Pointed Star
Eight Pointed Star
Infantry regiments and many departments and corps wore the eight-pointed star plate.
Royal Arms
Eight Pointed Star
Royal Arms
The royal arms formed the basis of plates for the Artillery, Engineers, Medical Corps, as well as other departments and corps.
Unique Plates
Many units of the British Army had plates whose designs largely differed from or were entirely different than the 3 basic plate designs mentioned above (Maltese Cross, Eight-pointed Star, & Royal Arms). These helmet plates set themselves apart from most based on their appearance. Helmets with these more captivating plates are more desirable and often hard to come across. Some examples of units with unique plates include The Royal Marine Artillery, The Cameronians, & The Royal Irish Rifles. The plate pictured here is that of the Royal Marine Artillery.
Pre-1881 Plates
Pre-1881 plates date from 1878-1881. They denote regiments prior to the Childers Reforms of 1881, which among other things abolished the traditional system of numbered regiments in favor of names based on their respective districts. Helmets with these plates are much harder to find. Pre-1881 plates can largely be Identified by large numbers in the center of the plate, but not every pre-1881 plate has these numbers. The accompanying picture shows a helmet plate of the 59th Regiment.
Shako Plates
Upon the introduction of the Home Service Helmet in 1878 it was difficult to acquire the new pattern helmet plate. In some cases this led to the use of the old shako plate on the new home service helmet until the proper plate could be acquired. This practice is recorded in Ernest J Martin's "The Universal Helmet Plate, 1878-1914." I have only seen one helmet with a shako plate, a 2nd Royal Guernsey Militia green cloth. You can view it in my collection under helmets.