NickLangley

Where I used to live, Nottingham, white cotton gloves were still part of the summer uniform until the early 1980s. In shirt-sleeve-order the gloves would be folded neatly over the constable's uniform belt.

Nick,

Was that white traffic helmet for real or an April Fools?

I can imagine the poor probationer being forced to wear it!

I remember an old advertising poster at Hendon in the bar advertising the straw helmet. I thought it was just a name I never would have guessed it was actually made of the stuff.

The Luton helmet looks like something a ploughman would have worn in Somerset. Incredible stuff.

Does the Northumbria Force have the tit back or have they gone the way of so many Forces and adopted the flat cap. I hope not a real gripe with me is the wearing of a flat cap. Its not more comfortable and they both get knocked off in a tumble....ahem time to step of the soap box.

Craig

The traffic helmet was definitely for real. Other forces tried jackets with flashing lights on them.

As for the straw helmet it was a victim of the Home Office's desire for standardisation. Many, many US agencies wear basket weave hats in hot weather to this day. Northumbria Police adpted the comb style helmet which looks particularly inappropriate with the modern police fashion of very cheap wicking t-shirts and cargo pants that leaves most UK forces, in the inimitable words of Terry-Thomas, looking like an "absolute shower".

Short film clip of A Leicestershire & Rutland Constabulary officer wearing an unusual white helmet.

Video clip

Here is the Newcastle SD cap. Perhaps the force thought that the Sillitoe Tartan might be too Scottish and adopted an alternative band design instead.

Here is a helmet from the former Newcastle-Upon-Tyne force - the side roses are missing. The city's force was unique amongst English forces in abandoning the "tit" helmet in the early 1960s and switching to a very Scottish style of cap.

This picture provides a much better view of County Durham's unique helmet rose.

Straw helmet as worn by County Durham Constabulary. Notice the unusual ventilator rose - this style was unique to the force.

Straw helmet as worn by County Durham Constabulary. Notice the unusual ventilator rose - this style was unique to the force.

A better version of the Luton Borough helmet

The straw helmets were worn in the post Great War era until the early 1930s. They were abandoned because the Home Office wanted less variation in uniform style between the forces.

Luton was unique in that it had a borough force until 1947 when it was merged with Bedfordshire Constabulary. In 1964 Luton became a County Borough and was so entitled to have its own force again. It was reformed on January 1st 1964 but in July of that year the Home Secretary used his powers to dissolve the force on the grounds of "efficiency". The County Borough Council appealed through the courts but to no avail as the new Police Act sealed the force's fate.

One of the "famous" straw helmets worn by Luton Borough Police

White Helmet as worn by County Durham Constabulary at one time.

Here is an excellent bit of newsreel footage that shows the Glamorgan Constabulary's uniform in all its retro' splendour.

Glamorgan Constabulary newsreel

I seem to recall reading that the style of helmet and furniture adopted by each force was frequently influenced by the military pedigree of the Chief Constable of the time. Former infantry officers went for spikes; artillery types for ball tops and so on.

I thought this video would be of interest to others

Cheshire Police Museum

Definitely not a Birmingham City Police helmet: until amalgamation they wore a rose top helmet in the standard Home Office pattern.

Southend-on-Sea County Borough wore a white helmet and styled themself as constabulary rather than police so that would fit.

If I remember correctly Devonshire Constabulary wore a German-style pickelhaub in the years running up to the Great War.

There were quite a few police forces that wore the white helmet. Here is a list :

Birmingham

Brighton

Isle of Man

Leeds City [Traffic]

Margate Borough

Peterborough City

Salford

Southend-on-Sea

Stockport

Joe

You can add Nottingham City Police to that list. Officers on point duty wore a white coat and had a special cover that slipped over the helmet.

If you have the details of their marriages all you need to do is get hold of a copy of the relevant marriage certificates and these will confirm their occupations at the time of marriage.

Here is the link to the Government Record Office

GRO

This reminds me of going to the USAF open day at RAF Mildenhall in the late 1970s and, what can only be described as the Air Policemen's performances, as they directed the traffic.:lol:

My info is that the armband was discontinued in 1972/3 and was replaced in England and Wales with the wearing of a diced cap band, as used in Scotland first.

The regulations changed to state that the cap should be worn while on duty, presumably replacing that aspect of the Duty Armband that says if your not wearing it your off duty. Serving and retired officers could confirm this perhaps. I know it was a big issue to put your cap on when you got out of an official vehicle.

Bengullion -

Interesting to see how the arm band attached, however I think this may be a 'Met' only way of wearing it ,as most photos show the buckle to the outside between the two loops.

Most forces didn't wear an "on duty" armband prior to the adoption of the Sillitoe Tartan in the early 1970s. However, Newcastle Upon Tyne City Police did have a "zebra stripe" band on their caps before the switch to the diced version.

I have memories of it being a little later then 1968. Perhaps a little earlier then the estimate I gave of 1972/3 - however, I had two issues so it must have been at least three years that I wore the band. Does anyone have a clearer recollection ?

How is progress going with your eventual application - I hope you are still keen on joining ?

Off duty coppers - well those on their way to and from work - stood out a mile. It was always a tweed jacket with their duty blue shirt and tie underneath. Funny thing is you don't see that anymore because they live at the other end of the county and drive into work.:rolleyes:

Thanks Ed. A very useful listing and saves a lot of work when having to look things-up. With so many old Forces there is room for many more collectors in this field. Police have always been the 'poor' relative - the public seem to find the Military more interesting.

Interesting but not exhaustive.For example Borough of Hove Police is not listed.

The really strange thing is that actual prices for long obsolete forces' insignia are now barely any higher (and in many cases lower) than 30 years ago.

Another news report which gives the lie to the folk memory of "traditional British policing". The authorities in 1891 were far more willing to use force to quell civil disorder than their modern counterparts.

Although Flanagan & Allen were inextricably linked with London I had always understood that Bud Flanagan wrote the song while performing in Derby, and that the arches in question were those carrying the railway line into the town's Friargate Station.

You takes your pick.:P