Name/Title
Brighton Borough Police chrome plated helmet plate 1952-1967Entry/Object ID
300Description
Chrome plated Queen's Crown Brighton Borough Police helmet plate, marked "Brighton Police", with seperate coat of arms centreUse
For use on a police helmetContext
The use of a "Queen's" or St. Edward's Crown on this helmet plate, dates it from 1952-1967. Generally speaking chrome or white metal helmet plates such as this were intended for use during daytime, with almost identical black ones being used during the night. The rationale was that a black helmet badge would not reflect as much light at night and alert a criminal to an officer's presence. This was the practice in Brighton, though some police forces did not use different badges for day and night use.
This particular helmet plate is thought to be made of aluminium rather than the normal copper alloy, and it has a separate piece in the centre with the coat of arms on. These badges were used for day use all year around in Brighton between 1952 and 1967, replacing an earlier version with a King's Crown. The fact that it has a separate centre may indicate that it is earlier rather than later as there are other versions made out of a single pressing which are thought to be later.
This style of badge is called a Brunswick star and its use on police helmets goes back to the 1870s. However it only became more common after 1934 when the Home Office attempted to standardise police uniforms and insignia.