NickLangley

Great post Kilkenny, And when you take a closer look at #1 it doesn't look quite "right".

But I do have to tip my hat (helmet?) to the props manager who went to such trouble to be that accurate. We can all think of some of the more egregious mistakes modern tv/film designers make when it comes to historical accuracy.

The quality is superb. Pity the collectors of a hundred-years'-time discussing the finer points of an unissued wicking polo and ID lanyard.

Officers with jelled hair and designer stubble.

Not the finest example of the patchmaker's art but at least Illinois State Police had a go.

I seem to recall that The Met opened a gift shop a few years ago to sell Met-themed merchandise a la NYPD. Loads of stuff (cufflinks, desksets and the like) designed to appeal to the over-seventy-year-olds. Utterly clueless.

Why are the Brits so poor at this kind of thing? I haven't got a problem with the ballcap per se but at least put some effort into the graphic design!

I can't imagine the Americans hosting a similar event and ending up with a such a naff souvenir.

Imagine the fun our great-great grandsons will have pouring over the finer points of wicking t-shirts and hi-viz fleeces circa 2014.

I forgot Halifax County Borough Police. The town is now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in the former Metropolitan County of West Yorkshire - which was abolished in 1986 - but still within the jurisdiction of the West Yorkshire Police.

See, we do like it complicated!

This dates back to a very complicated time in the reorganisation of policing and local government in England and Wales.

The West Riding Constabulary was the force for the West Riding of the County of York. When the county borough forces of Barnsley, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Huddersfield and Wakefield were subsumed into the West Riding force under the Police Act 1964 the new force was renamed West Yorkshire Constabulary.

Of course there were other county boroughs within the West Riding that did not join the West Yorkshire force. Sheffield and Rotherham merged while Bradford and Leeds City forces remained independent until 1974.

In 1974 local government was reorganised: the county boroughs and the West Riding were abolished and a new Metropolitan County of West Yorkshire created. West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police was formed by amalgamating the West Yorkshire Constabulary with the Leeds and Bradford city forces.

The county boroughs of Doncaster and Barnsley were moved to a new Metropolitan County of South Yorkshire so those parts of the West Yorkshire Constabulary along with parts of the West Riding and Sheffield and Rotherham became South Yorkshire Police.

Three for the price of one. White helmets as worn by the Margate Borough Police

I always have a bit of a soft spot for the RCMP. Back in the day when I first began collecting police insignia as a youngster I sent off a letter to the Mounties HQ. And by return they very generously sent a selection of beautiful full colour photos and a cap badge for my collection.

In fact it was always fascinating to receive a letter from some American or Canadian city's police chief with one of their patches enclosed. At the time they seemed very glamorous and colourful when compared with the British forces - who, without exception, never replied!

The shoulder number raises the question: if the four digit serial was merely to identify the jacket would it have been OK for one officer to borrow another's without switching the numbers? Somehow I don't think so!

Quite a few forces preferred this rather more military style - Nottingham City and subsequently Nottinghamshire amongst them. Sadly the powers-that-be decided to switch to a Met-style helmet (but, thankfully, still with Nottingham's unique furniture) a few years ago.

Mervyn Interesting point about the City of London Police. They actively engage in purchasing items related to their history. I remember some years ago they bought an Olympic gold medal awarded to a member of the City of London Police Tug-of-War team. A Met museum would be a marvellous thing an I'm sure would be a good public relations excercise for them.

Paul

I think it's because of its size and geographic focus. CofL Police is the only one that possibly retains the "esprit de corps" that was part and parcel of the old borough and city forces.

It's very difficult to imagine a constable getting nostalgic about Thames Valley or a senior officer, who has served for a couple of years in half a dozen different "police areas" being that bothered about his (or her) current service's history.

Up to mid eighties such behaviour was frowned upon by the UK Police Service with many officers being put on report including one in Liverpool who merely let a football supporter wear his helmet whilst he donned the supporters red/white cap. However, the Powers that be later decided that such displays of interaction were to be encouraged as it would let the public see the human side of the Police. An old hand said to me, " Familiarity breeds contempt, just watch respect for the Police drop" have the intervening years proved him right ?

I do recall an old City sweat telling me that when patrolling in pairs around the city centre they were instructed to walk side by-side down the centre line of the pavement "like they owned the place" and that they were only to give way to females and the elderly.

It's not Gardai either.

The ship emblem is taken from Galway City's coat of arms.

Call me old fashioned but coppers should not get jiggy in the streets.

Only a couple more weeks and national TV will be treating us to the, now traditional, nausea-inducing exhibitions by certain officers at the Notting Hill carnival.

Definitely not RUC - the symbolism is just too wrong. For example no crown and the design includes the three castles from Dublin's coat of arms and the the threee crowns of Munster. And the harp (sans crown) is very much a nationalist symbol.

My bet is that Mr Costello was some other kind of chief inspector but definitely not police.

A very long career. He must have had some excellent connexions to have bagged a cushie posting at the House of Commons after his 30 years were up.

Here's some video of PC Mountain

My8trax. Don't worry about "Badges of Office" only going upto the end of the 1980s. For the past 40-odd years English and Welsh forces' insignia and uniforms have become increasingly standardized and of less and less interest to a potential collector.

Now that the traditional helmet is an increasingly rare sight on the streets it is almost impossible to tell one force from another.

The Chief Constable of our local force has followed his predecessor's example by wearing collar dogs along with tabs on his uniform jacket. To me this looks quite odd.

What do the GMIC fashion police think of this innovation?

Carefull!!! Before you know it you'll be saying the Americans hand out medals like Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLSIU9BG41U

There is a Joseph Lorton listed in the 1861 Census living in Bedford with a d.o.b of 1851 I would guess that he is our man.

Do we *know* that this is the only version of the collar dog ever worn by Bedford Borough?

Here is alink to two Bedford Borough officers in the early 1920s wearing duty armbands

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/581283_143938832437357_1858699233_n.jpg

There is an out of focus picture of a Beford Borough QVC helmet plate on the PMCC website. The collar dog in this photo does resemble the centre device on the helmet plate. So I wonder if he was an ex Bedford Borough man?

When did forces stop issuing their own long service medals? And why?