Brian,
The helmet would hurt your brow (headache) and when taken off would leave a mark where it had been. When wearing the helmet you had to pull it forward, place the knuckle of your thumb on the tip of your nose and then pull the helmet forward so that the peak touched the tip of your thumb. This made your head stand up and make you, I supopose taller and smarter in appearance. The best way of softening them up was to place them on a radiator when completely wet from the rain.
In Liverpool we had two types of uniform, one for winter and the other for summer. You couldn't change from one to the other without the order of the Chief Constable. The change from winter uniform to summer happened in the spring of each year. If it was a warm spring well.............. until the order arrived, then came 'shirt sleeve order' as it got warmer and you could take your tunic off but, shirt sleeves had to be rolled up in a tidy manner. No such thing as a short sleeve shirt in those days.
Please feel free to ask me anything about the uniform. When I was a young Constable (19yrs) I wore a cape in the winter months.
Brian