Sussex Tokens, Tickets and Medals from the Collection formed by the late Ron Kerridge

Ronald Kerridge

Ron Kerridge was born on 14 February 1938 in the family home in Victoria Road, Southwick, to parents Charles and Florence, the older of two boys. The family home was in Lancing, where Ron went to school. When he left school, he gained an apprenticeship at Lancing Carriage works as a fitter. He enjoyed being there, making many friends and progressed to working in the drawing office in Brighton. He would take the train to work and it was on one such journey that he met Theresa Hughes, who was to become his wife. They were married in Broadwater Church on 23 June 1962, a marriage that was to last for over 50 years. Their first home was a flat in Southwick. In 1964 they moved to Broadwater and had two children, Vanessa and John. Ron passed away suddenly on the 13 June 2013, leaving behind a loving wife, son and daughter, grandsons Zeke and Josh and a granddaughter, Natasha.

Ron had a deep thirst for knowledge and a great love of local history, particularly for the county of Sussex which he adored. He was a well-known and well-loved local historian with an MA in Regional History. A founder member of the Worthing Numismatic Society, he wrote or co-wrote books on the history of Lancing, Worthing, Broadwater and Ferring, and on the history of Worthing Football Club. He gave talks to local groups who were interested in the history of the surrounding areas. One of his friends described him as “a very talented person with a massive intellect, shrouded in modesty, and his focus on the ‘job in hand’ be it sport, work or writing a book never wavered”.

Ron was an avid collector of palaeontological and archaeological artefacts and was a metal detectorist, but his greatest passion was numismatics. He was a volunteer at Worthing Museum, where he advised on their coin collection.

He had an outstanding collection of ‘curious currency’ or barter currencies from around the world, which are included within this catalogue. His collection included unique items such as beads, spears, knives and manillas (slave trade money). Over the years he painstakingly compiled collections of 17th, 18th and 19th century tokens, and his collection of Sussex 17th century tokens, numbering 131 pieces and begun in 1974, is one of the most complete ever formed. Many of the tokens are recorded in the 2009 self-published reference, The Tokens, Metallic Tickets, Checks and Passes of West Sussex, 1650-1950, by Ron and his colleague Rob de Ruiter. Together the two friends combined their talents, knowledge and interests to produce an original in- depth study, invaluable to collectors, metal detectorists, museum curators, family and local historians and all those interested in the social and local history of West Sussex. Ron’s collection of Sussex-related medals encompasses 350 pieces, even including a Worthing High School medal awarded for Pillow Fighting to a namesake of mine in 1927 (Lot 1184) and his own Sussex Sunday Football League medal from the 1960-1 season (Lot 1177).
John Newman