TERM "CUSTODIAN"
I know this point has been touched on earlier in this, and at least one other thread. Can anyone definitively state when the term Custodian was first used, and exactly where it came from? As far as I can make out, it was one of several proprietary names, that are probably not more than 40 years old, including, Custodian, Guardian, Centurion, and possibly others. Somehow, it seems to have turned into the semi official name within the service, and has become retrospectively applied to any police helmet of a similar design, including early British, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian helmets that never had this name applied in real life. Wikipedia even includes Italian helmets and other white (cork/pith) helmets that are actually based on old British and French military designs, that are certainly not derived from the 'custodian'. I don't think much of Wikipedia as a source, but a quick search of the net suggests pretty much any journalist discussing police helmets has been to that page, so it can't be ignored.
Any thoughts?