Name/Title
Brighton Borough Police "Corker" motorcycle helmet c1947-1952Entry/Object ID
2277Description
Black leather or vinyl covered, cork four panelled motorcycle helmet with peak, foam padding, and red coloured lining. Has leather harness type strap and a round King's Crown Brighton Borough Police cap badge to front marked "Brighton Police" with coat of arms centre. Inside it has a very faded markers mark of which "Corker" can be made out.Use
For use by a constable or sergeant when riding a motorcycle.Context
The first recorded use of a motorcycle by Brighton Police was in 1921, when one was used during a visit to the Town by the Prince of Wales to unveil the Indian War Memorial at Patcham (Baines 1967). However it was only in 1931 that three motorcycles were purchased for general police use (Baines 1967), two of which were used for daily motorcycle patrols throughout the 1930s. By 1956 the force had five motorcycles and that number probably grew if the Brighton Police followed the lead of other police forces at the time and invested in lightweight machines for more patrol work.
In the 1930s it was common practice for police officers on motorcycles to simply wear caps and googles. It was only after the Second World War that it became more routine for officers to wear protective helmets.
The helmet pictured has a King's Crown Brighton Police cap badge which dates it to pre 1952 and it is unlikely to date to any earlier than 1947, when Brighton Police once again became independent from the wartime Sussex Combined Police. Though the maker's details inside the helmet are indistinct, the word "Corker" can be made out and this was a trademark for this particular type of helmet, as made by the hat makers "J.Compton Sons & Webb Ltd"