Dave Wilkinson

I understand that the relative records for the City of London Police are indeed at the London Archives. I've never used them so I can't comment in respect of their charges. You could possibly take a chance and write to the City of London Police Museum at Wood Street. They may be able to help. But, I fear that they may just point you in the direction of the archives, but depending who gets your enquiry, they may just be able to put their hands easily on the answer to your enquiry. Best of luck. Dave.

On another forum of which I'm a member, a serving Met. bobby posted the following comments in respect of badge changes:- " Yep, I just worked ceremonial duty on Saturday and there was no attempt by the MPS or any of the UK and British Overseas / Commonwealth Territories police who were in my contingent to replace cap badges or any other EIIR insignia for the Coronation, unlike the military. And having worn EIIR for 30+ years now I won’t be changing it going forward either! " It transpires that many of the military cap badges which have simply had a crown replacement (KC for QC) have been very poorly produced with a KC simply soldered over the QC, which remains in situ underneath. That alteration is from all accounts, very poorly done and very obvious in many cases. Dave.

Look on eBay or similar on line auction sites. There are several platinum versions on there now. As soon as the Coronation medal is issued they too will begin to appear for sale, again on auction sites. Best of luck. Dave.

Another small specialist force which existed between 1893 and 1993, the Manchester Ship Canal Police. The final issue helmet and badge are illustrated together with a couple of photos taken in the 1970's of force members. (Photo credits Manchester Ship Canal Company). Dave.

Yes, the Sgt./Const. cap does indeed have vent holes behind the mesh band. Immediately, following the change to Chinese rule the caps remained the same. Indeed, the whole force were provided with new cap badges in advance of the handover. I have some photos of their men on the streets and actually taking the old Crowned badge out of their cap on the stroke of midnight and replacing it with the new non-crowned version. If you get a chance look on "YouTube" at the Governor (Chris Patten) leaving Government House for the last time. Very evocative with the RHKP hauling down the Governor's flag and him being presented with it prior to him driving out. Some excellent drill by the police. I suspect that the caps worn are still made in HK and looking at current photos they don't seem to have changed but without seeing one close up I'm not sure. Dave.

PoD Police are still very active. They have a "Twitter" page which is updated most days. Helmets were originally re-introduced to comply with H&S legislation in the port and to avoid wearing plastic hard hats. However, these days they seem to wear caps. How they are able to avoid contravening current H&S I don't know. Yes, it was the last force I was in before retirement. A good few years ago, I bought a large collection of City of London items from a collector who was packing in. The Commissioners cap came with it together with some other items belonging to Mr. Owen. He apparently had more than one cap. I knew Mike Bowron when he was an ACC in Kent. A really nice guy. After he retired from the City of London he moved to Jersey as their Chief of Police. Although he's retired from there now he still lives on the Island. His wife was a Det.Con. with the BTP. Glad the updates to this thread are of interest. Dave.

The British Colony of Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, it being the largest of Britain's remaining overseas possessions. Below is an example of the cap worn by the RHKP Commissioner and also a Constable's summer issue cap. These are the last patterns used prior to the end of Colonial rule. Both caps were manufactured in Hong Kong. Dave.

A couple of helmets from the Dover Harbour Board Police. The force was formed in 1933, at which time the DHB terminated its policing contract with the Dover Watch Committee and replaced members of the Dover Borough Police with its own men. The first helmet was worn from circa. 1933 through to the early 1960's at which time helmets were replaced by caps. In November 1985, helmets were re-introduced and the pattern shown was worn through to 1989 when the badge changed in design. The force was re-named Port of Dover Police on 1st January 1997, with a new style helmet and badge. Dave.

Owen Kelly QPM., was Commissioner of Police for the City of London between 1985 and 1993. Below is shown his cap and a photo of Mr. Kelly wearing it. (Photo credit the City of London Police). Also shown is an example of the cap worn by Superintending ranks in the City of London Police. The force is the only one in the UK to wear red and white cap bands and gold coloured buttons etc on their tunic jackets. They are also the remaining force to still use duty armlets (red and white) on their tunics. Dave.

The Royal Grenada Police force is no longer a colonial police force in the true sense of the words. The island achieved independence in 1974, but (at the time of writing) HM King Charles is still head of state as indeed was HM Queen Elizabeth before him. Since the earliest of times the badges have remained essentially the same save for the change of Crown and cipher, as can be seen in the framed display of insignia. I show here a ceremonial helmet which was worn by the Chief of Police (now known as the Commissioner) during the 1950's. Dave.

A Chief Constable's cap this time. This cap belonged to Major Lionel Westropp Peel-Yates KPM., who was Chief Constable of Dorset between 19th April 1924 and 28th February 1955. He was previously a District Inspector in the Royal Irish/Royal Ulster Constabulary. He was a direct descendent of Sir Robert Peel, founder of the London Metropolitan Police in 1829. One of the photos shows Major Peel-Yates wearing the cap. (Photo credit Dorset Constabulary). Dave.

The 1953 Coronation saw large numbers of police officers from all forces in England & Wales being sent to London to assist the Metropolitan Police (See "Policing the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday 2nd June 1953"). Several forces equipped their men with "Home Office" pattern helmets for the occasion. These were designed to "fit in" with the style of helmet worn by the Met. Police and were described as "Mutual Aid Helmets", stocks of which were specifically held in store for such occasions. The forces concerned normally wore versions which would, if worn in London, have caused their men to be somewhat conspicuous. The badges used also followed the basic star pattern design as worn by the Met. The forces that I'm aware of who issued their men with these helmets are Liverpool, Manchester, Salford and Stockport. The photos below show the Liverpool helmet. Made by Christy's of Stockport, the helmet has the date 1948 stamped into the leather headband. The Watch Committee minutes for 1948 show that 400 such helmets and badge were purchased and held in store. After the Coronation, the helmets were recovered from the men and were returned to the clothing stores. Its been suggested that they were also worn by the Liverpool contingent that attended the funeral of the late King George VI, although I found no written evidence of that fact. Dave.

On the subject of white helmets, we could not forget the Brighton Borough Police, who for many years were well known for their day time white summer helmets. They were introduced for daytime summer wear in 1933 and ceased six years later. They were re-introduced and worn between 1952 and the demise of the force in 1967. Below is the white helmet and the night time and winter counterpart. Dave.

The Isle of Man Constabulary used to issue two patterns of helmet. One for winter (black) and one for summer (white). However, for about the last 15 years they have worn the white one all year round. Thank you for your continued interest. It is much appreciated. Dave.

Some very handsome badges here Graf. Thank you for sharing. Dave.

We move to the Channel Islands, specifically the Island of Jersey. Many will be aware that between Monday 1st July 1940 and 9th May 1945, Jersey together with Guernsey and other islands in that Bailiwick were occupied by German Armed Forces. Despite the German occupation the British police force on Jersey and its neighbouring islands was allowed to continue operating largely without interference. Here we look at the helmet which was worn during that period alongside a photo of a Jersey Constable talking to a German officer in St. Helier shortly after the occupation. Dave.

The Isle of Man Harbours Department did, up until circa. 1995, maintain its own small police force under the control of an Inspector. This helmet is the last version to be issued and was worn during the winter months. A similar one but with a white finish was worn during the summer. Dave.

An interesting and unusual helmet as worn by Sergeants' and Constables' of the Preston County Borough Police. This is the last issue helmet and badge as worn in the final years of Preston's existence. the force ceased to exist on the 31st of March 1969. At the time of its demise it had a strength of 283. The helmet badge was the first in the UK to include coloured enamelling as part of its finish. Of cork construction and manufactured by Hobson & Sons Ltd., the helmet is of a pattern seldom found to-day. Dave.

As we approach the day of HM King Charles III Coronation on Saturday 6th May 2023, it may be interesting to look briefly at the policing arrangements which were made just over 70 years ago when the late Queen Elizabeth was Crowned. I'm fortunate enough to have a carefully preserved copy of Metropolitan Police Operation Order No:-413, which sets out in minute detail the policing arrangements for that day. The order is in A4 book form and consists of 106 pages of closely typed text. It contains 75 subject paragraphs and 6 appendices. The main order was issued on the 18th May 1953 and there was a 9 page addendum issued on the 27th May 1953. Examination of the order shows that it does not give the exact number of Met. officers that were deployed. It would take me several hours of calculations to reach an exact figure. That said, I would estimate that some 12,500 members of the regular Met. force were deployed assisted by the Met. Special Constabulary. In addition, the provincial police forces of England & Wales provided 5,544 (exact figures) men and women as mutual aid on the day. Unfortunately, the order is far too long for me to reproduce in full here. However, what I have done is to show below the details of the mutual aid which was provided from the provincial forces. The numbers range from the Cardiganshire Constabulary providing a Sergeant and 6 Constables' to the Lancashire Constabulary providing a Chief Superintendent, a Chief Inspector, 11 Inspectors', 22 Sergeants', 225 Constables' and 2 Detectives'. Getting those mutual aid detachments to London, accommodating them overnight, feeding them, briefing them, transporting them to their dispositions and then arranging their return to their home force areas was a truly mammoth task, all of which is set out in the order. Representatives of the police forces of the then British colonies and protectorates did attend, however they did not perform any policing function but marched as a body in the subsequent procession. This included a representative contingent of Scottish police and members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. It is interesting that mutual aid was not provided by any of the Scottish police forces nor the RUC. It's possible that there were legal reasons, touching upon jurisdiction which caused their exclusion. That said, the Scottish forces and the RUC did receive an allocation of Coronation medals. On the subject of the 1953 Coronation medal. I am fortunate enough to have a complete copy of the medal roll of police recipients. Should any forum member want me to "look up" details on their behalf, please ask and I will be happy to oblige. Dave.

Thank you Graf for your continued interest and your kind and encouraging comments. Best wishes, Dave.

John, You are very welcome. I hope you are eventually able to get to the bottom of it with some further research. Dave.

They look like "Gorgets", which are worn on the lapel/collar of a tunic. Possibly off a uniform worn by a member of the diplomatic corps. That's a pure guess on my part and no doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong. The buttons feature the Royal Arms (UK). Dave.

No, that's not something that I'd heard of. That said, it may not have been widely publicised. In any event I'm sure that if a helmet of such "squatter" design had been issued I feel certain that examples would have survived and surfaced before now. I'm glad you enjoyed the thread and found it informative! Regards, Dave.

Just to round off the information on Metpol. insignia etc. If you have been following the series you will have seen mentioned and indeed illustrated the ceremonial helmet plates which were worn by Inspectorate ranks with their No:- 1 uniforms. Below are illustrations of the actual helmet that was worn. As can be seen it differed in design and manufacture from that worn by Sergeants' and Constables'. It is covered with a much finer material. The edging is in a silk fabric. The band is wider and more finely detailed and at the reverse it is adorned with a large black ornamental "rose". The two piece Inspectors helmet badge is affixed to the front. Inside the leather headband is also of a finer design. This particular example is in near "mint" condition and came complete with the Chief Inspector's No:- 1 dress tunic, braided trousers and leather sword belt. The actual swords ceased to be carried by senior officers many years ago although the belt continued to be worn as part of the uniform. As already stated elsewhere, No:-1 uniforms were worn for the last time on Remembrance Day 1971 and were thereafter discontinued. Dave.

Yes, the same criteria was indeed applied to the 1977 Jubilee Medal allocation. Again, the allocation was calculated on the basis of the authorised establishment of the force. At that time Merseyside Police had an establishment of about 4,500. As with the 1953 coronation medals, the Chief Constable decided who got one. Most of the recipients had joined a constituent Merseyside force either in 1952, just before or just after 1952. Shown below is a list of those who got the medal. Interestingly, it also includes civilian staff. Dave.