White Duty Helmets

[Craig]

In amongst Brians Special post the subject of White Duty helmets came up. Not wishing to hijack Brians post I was wondering if we could get a defenitive list of those forces that adopted the white helmet and hopefully get some photos of members collections.

Craig

[Brian Wolfe]

No probablem Craig, this could be a very useful reference with all of the white duty helmets in one place.

To kick this section off here is my Southend-on-Sea Constabulary helmet.

Regards

Brian

[jermil]

The Island of Jersey had white pith helmets which were introduced in the 1890's and dropped in the 1970's. Guernsey wore a similar one but in Khaki.

Jersey has re-introduced the white helmet in 2012 but it is now similar to the Isle of Man , however it has rose top.

I will post pics later

Regards

Norman

Edited October 16, 2012 by jermil

[Mervyn Mitton]

Norman - welcome to GMIC. Mervyn

[NickLangley]

There was a mixed reaction to the new-style white helmets. The main criticism was that the overly-plastic finish made them look like something you'd buy in a toy shop. In a word: cheap.

[Jamie770]

As far as I am aware, white helmets were worn for broadly three roles:

a) Beat duties - i.e. Brighton, Souhend on Sea etc

b) Traffic point duties - i.e. Leeds, Birmingham etc

c) The Band - i.e. Metropolitan, Durham etc

I attach a pic of my Stockport Borough which may be off interest:

As an example of a traffic helmet, I attach a pic of my Leeds City:

Edited October 18, 2012 by Jamie770

[Jamie770]

As an example of a Band helmet, I attach a pic of my Durham Constabulary:

[Craig]

This would appear to be very rare photo taken, at Training school, Hendon.

[Jamie770]

Hi Craig,

Definately a rare helmet, possibly unique as I suspect that it is the bandmaster's helmet.

Normal Met band helmets that I have seen only had a plain cloth centre strip similar to my Durham helmet.

[sabrigade]

This is a label that I made for a display on the South African Republic Police that I presented at the South African National Museum of Military History a year ago:

ZARP “BRITISH COLONIAL PATTERN” HELMET

In June of 1877, the white helmet that was authorized by the British authorities for use and wear throughout the Empire was adopted and used by the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek Polisie. Known as the Foreign Service helmet, the helmet was made of cork covered in white cloth with six panels. Peaks and sides were bound in white cloth. The spike is fitted into anacanthus leaf base. The spike, chin scales and helmet plate are all made ofwhite metal. This specific helmet plate was worn prior to 1901 and, according to Curzon, was worn on “a white helmet by Foot Police”. Several manufacturers produced these helmets so “subtle” differences in design do exist.

Edited October 20, 2012 by sabrigade

[jermil]

As promised the Jersey white helmets. I have four of these, the first two are the Pith helmet introduced in the 1890's these originally had the centrepiece of the helmet plate as the badge, this was later changed to the shield collar badge and finally to the cap badge.

The other two helmets are versions that were ordered in the 1990's as samples for possible introduction in the summer months, however, the idea was not proceeded with and the helmets were given to me.

One is like a foreign service helmet and the other is the Royal Marines style.

As it happens the white helmet was re-introduced in 2012, I am still working on getting one for my collection!

Edited October 25, 2012 by jermil

[Craig]

Jermil,

What style did the states choose? I think Sussex Police tried to reintroduce the white helmet in Brighton a few years ago but it didn't seen to catch on. Probably due to most officers preferring the flat cap.

Craig

[jermil]

I have a pic showing the helmets being worn. The mens is the same as the Isle of Man except for the rose top and the girls is one I haven't seen before.

We used to have a white topped WPC hat in the 1980's see attached, this was replaced by the Pathfinder style in the 1990's

regards

Jermil

[Jamie770]

I attach pics of a Jersey white helmet - not a genuine 'issued' helmet (presumably it's too early to see these being retained by retiring officers!) but constructed from parts from the same manufacturer so this should match the issued item.

[jermil]

That looks good, but the States Police introduced an updated helmet plate to go with the new helmet and the older style plate is being phased out. Pics attached of the outgoing badge and the new one.

Note rounded base to centre shield

regards

Jermil

[Jamie770]

Hi Jermil,

Thanks for this info - I'd been a little uneasy about the helmet plate, the corners of the crown had looked slightly different from those in the pictures I'd seen.

I'll keep an eye out for one of the new plates although I doubt they will appear on the collecting market for a while.

[NickLangley]

The new helmet plate looks to be a of lower quality than the old one. The die strike has that flightly less-than-crisp finish that I always associate with re-strike cap badges.

[Alan.Cook]

On ‎15‎/‎10‎/‎2012‎ ‎23‎:‎18‎:‎52, Brian Wolfe said:

No probablem Craig, this could be a very useful reference with all of the white duty helmets in one place.

To kick this section off here is my Southend-on-Sea Constabulary helmet.

 

Regards

Brian

 

I was interested to see to see a Southend-on-Sea white helmet in one of the GMIC threads. These were introduced in 1962 following experiments with white silk covers worn over a traditional blue helmets. Southend Constabulary was amalgamated with Essex County Constabulary in 1969 and became the Essex & Southend Joint Constabulary. Until this time Essex had always issued a traditional rose top helmet, but on amalgamation took on the coxcomb style, keeping the shell at the top. The shell was retained in 1974 when the Force became Essex Police.

Recently I decided to apply to the College of Arms for a grant of arms, which can be seen in my profile. As a serving Essex officer I wanted to allude to my career in the design. My final inspiration was the shell used on the helmet, which is unique to Essex. I therefore have three escallops applied to a chevron. The escallops are blue, which can allude to policing, but also the sea as Essex has the longest coastline of any county in the UK. The reason there are three is in allusion to my rank, chief inspector. 

 

Edited November 20, 2015 by Alan.Cook
typo

[1314]

Mr Cook

                  last line of above post

                            " illusion to my rank "

                                        or

                              " allusion to my rank " ?

 

                 

[Alan.Cook]

It been a tough week!