05/14/04

First things first, and that is to describe the three main types of helmets worn by Bobbies on the beat in the UK.

 The British Bobbies Helmet or "Beat Duty Helmet" as it is officially known, was introduced by the Metropolitan Police in 1863 and many other Forces and Constabularies including the City of London  soon followed suit. An example is shown below. Here you can see a very early CDV of a Metropolitan Police Officer taken in around 1860/70. the helmet shows he early cockscomb type and the Wreath type helmet plate, this was a Wreath around a garter with the words "Metropolitan Police" therein and the officers number in the centre. As you can imagine this type of helmet is extremely rare.

(This may take a few moment to load if you click on the thumbnail as I have enlarged the picture for clarity)

The  Metropolitan Police changed the style of helmet worn in 1875 to a six panel type with a black rose top, and eventually to the helmet we see today in 1936.

 For more detailed information and a more complete history please see the book below as I have no intention of stealing someone else's hard work and research.

The most common type is the "COCKSCOMB" type helmet, which was the first type of helmet worn by the Metropolitan Police but many forces still wear this type (or its descendent) today.

This has a raised ridge that runs up the centre of the helmet from the back to the front, (see picture below) This particular example is a City of London Helmet (very scarce and extremely hard to obtain.) 

This type of Helmet can be made from many diverse materials, early summer helmets were even made from woven straw, some are made from pressed Felt made from rabbit fur, others from layers of Cork, and the latest issue are made from a heavy GRP material to protect the officers in Public order situations. This particular helmet pictured is the reinforced type

COCKSCOMB TYPE

Next is the "ROSE TOP", this type of helmet is a more rounded shape, and doesn't have a ridge at all, instead it has a  metal "Rose" Fixing on the very top of the helmet (see picture below) the metal fitting is called a rose, because it is  a metal rose, if you look closely you will see that it is in the shape of a floral rose! as can be seen in the second picture, again this example is the reinforced type. the old photo shows officers from Liverpool Police wearing Straw Helmets Rose Top types. If you look closely you will note that there is no Crown on the helmet plates

(The older picture may take a few moments to load if you click on the thumbnail as I have enlarged the picture for clarity)

ROSE TOP TYPE  

( The correct name is "Prussian type")

The next is called the "Ball Top"  the helmet is similar in shape to the "rose top" but instead of having a rose on the top of the helmet this has a "Ball" which can be clearly seen in picture below of an Isle of Man Summer Helmet. These are the least common type in use in the UK, issued by only a handful of forces. They are be very distinctive and usually have "panels" of material covering them ( the I.O.M. Summer type being one exception) these usually number six in total. This example is the Summer issue type from the Isle of Man Police Force, reinforced type again.

White Helmets were worn by very few Forces in the UK, those being, Peterborough City Police who wore a white cockscomb, (disbanded in 1947), Brighton Police, White Ball Top  (disbanded in 1968)  Southend-on-Sea, (disbanded 1969) Isle of Man Police Force, Ball top (to date),   Metropolitan Police Band, Rose Top (summer issue).

BALL TOP TYPE

Below is a Six panel ball top from the Devon and Cornwall Police, these helmets normally have a cloth type covering rather than the felt type on most helmets.  The covering is made from six panels of material, hence " six panel". You can also see the llarge chrome rosettes on the side of the outer band, these are used by several forces.

SIX PANEL TYPE

Variations of Helmets

This is a difficult area to cover, as we start to branch out into Ceremonial Helmets and other Specialist helmets, Motorcycle, Mounted Branch and Wartime "Tin hats". At this time I intend to cover one of the specialist helmets, as is the type you are more likely to come across. This being the "Noddy" helmet worn by Officers of the Metropolitan Police who were on beat patrols and it made them recognisably different from Traffic Patrol Officers, whose head gear was the flat visor type cap.

 Velocette LE MkIII

First a bit of history. "Noddy bikes" were introduced  into the Metropolitan Police on 19th September 1955 as a cheap and efficient way to get officers around their beats, the bikes being very advanced for their day, The Velocette LE (Little Engine) was a flat twin water cooled, shaft drive, 190cc motorcycle with a pressed steel frame. The engine and rear wheel could be dropped straight out of the frame for ease of repair. Part of the design brief for this bike being that it should be as silent as possible. Although not, the much anticipated success with the general public, the bike was ordered in thousands by the Metropolitan Police, Birmingham City Police and many major City forces for urban beat duties, and was used with considerable success until it was replaced by the "Panda" car.  The bikes were ideally suited to night duty patrols due to their quietness. They were finally phased out from 1969.

The manufacturers soon realised that they had to make it "copper proof" and had to fit larger footbrakes! as well as high output generators. The Metropolitan Police version had a shield at the front to give the rider some protection from the elements. At the time standing orders for Metropolitan Police Officers on foot patrol were,  should they meet a Sergeant or Inspector they were required to salute. With the introduction of the Velocettes, this became quite a dangerous pass time, requiring the officer to take his hand from the handle bars and risking a wobble or weave, and so to retain a little dignity for all parties, the Noddy rider was to show his respect with a smart inclination of his head, or to put it another way, he had to give a smart Nod, hence the name "Noddy". As time passed ( and I am sure as officers fell off from saluting and nodding to all and sundry) the Metropolitan Police started to issue a more reinforced and heavier Helmet to riders. These have a greater thickness of cork in the helmet, a smaller helmet plate with a slider fitting, no doubt was to prevent the lugs on normal helmet plates from injuring the officers head should they fall.

You will see from the pictures below that the "Noddy" type helmets were not as tall as a regular beat duty helmet but were a little broader, and that there is only one larger rubber vent on each side. Other differences are the placement of a thick black plastic band around the outside and a different strap system the helmet was also a lot heavier. I have shown the inside of both a "Noddy" and normal Cork helmet for ease of reference. Please look at the photo page for a detailed look at the badges.

Various views of both the "Noddy" and the normal cork helmets for comparison

DID YOU KNOW?

That there are several different Police Forces in London, the most famous is the Metropolitan Police ( of New Scotland Yard fame), they have some 25,000 officers( allegedly!)  They police nearly all of greater London with the exception of Royal Parks, some Borough Parks and the square Mile of London, which is covered by the City of London Police (who number some 800 Officers).

 There is often confusion amongst new collectors (and some old!) between the forces.

 The Photos below show you the differences in the helmets, they are VERY different! the City is on the left the Metropolitan on the right, these are both current issue helmets.

Below those are older photos of Bobbies from the MetMetropolitan Ppolice and City of London. Now you may wonder why the Metropolitan Police Officer looks like he has slept in his uniform, this photograph would have been taken at the turn of the last century and at this time Standing Orders for officers were that they were to be in Uniform at ALL times (except when sleeping) and the Duty band you can see on his Left cuff showed if he was on duty or not, if as in this case he was wearing it, then he was on duty. Officers at this time were rarely permitted time off or leave.

 The Picture of the City of London PC was taken in the 1950/60`s, by which time working conditions for British Police Officers had vastly improved. The pictures clearly show the differences in helmets

An excellent reference book which is considered to be the Authority on British Helmets and Helmet plates is "Badges of Office" by  M.B. Taylor and V.L.Wilkinson. This book is an absolute "must have" for the serious collector. It covers the vast majority of British Police Helmet plates and helmets from 1865 through to 1989, and WILL help you make good buy. It will also give you a better perspective of the number of British badges there are!

 It helps out with items such as dates of Amalgamation of forces, a list of all forces and an excellent history of the British Bobbies helmet. It also has a huge amount of photos of helmet badges. This book has been out of print for some time and is not readily available

 Available New at £20.00 plus postage click below to make enquiries about this book

TOP