Name/Title
Brighton Borough Police white helmet 1953 - 1959Entry/Object ID
1082Description
Two panelled white cloth covered cork white Brighton Borough Police helmet, with white cloth hatband and green buckram type lining. Fitted with chrome plated ball top and chrome plated Queen's Crown Brighton Borough Police helmet plate with a separate coat of arms centre. Inside on the leather headband is a maker's stamp marked "Christy's London" and also a stamp "Made expressly for G. Eade and Son 158 North Street Brighton". Paper label inside showing size as 7 1/8. There are clips on the inside of the helmet for a removable chinstrap and traces of the agent that was used to whiten the helmet, around the inside edge of the rim.Use
Standard daytime summer headdress for Brighton Borough Police male constables and sergeants 1952 to 1967.Context
Brighton Borough Police first introduced the white helmet in 1933 for daytime summer use.
They were worn in conjunction with white gloves, making officers more visible amongst the crowds of tourists and at the same time raising the status of the Force.
Their use ended in 1939 and only resumed in 1952, again worn in conjunction with white gloves. They continued to be worn as daytime summer wear until the Borough Force was disbanded at the end of 1967 and amalgamated with the other Sussex Forces to form Sussex Constabulary in 1968.
The badge or helmet plate on this example, with a "Queen Elizabeth Crown", dates it from 1952-1967. This style of helmet is known as a "ball top", which was used for both summer and winter wear in Brighton from the 1890s onwards.
This helmet was made by the well known hat maker Christys of London and was supplied by G. Eade and Son of 158 North Street Brighton. Eade and Son were at this premises between 1889 and 1958 , listed as "Hatters, Outfitters and Umbrella Makers". It was common practice in the past for police forces to order uniform through a local third party, rather than straight from the manufacturer. This example is one of two helmets the museum has, that were used by PC Peter Stevens, who served with Brighton Police between 1953 and 1959. The other is a blue helmet (item 1085) and there are also photos of him wearing both a winter and summer example which may be the same helmets donated (items 1084.2 and 1084.3).
While Brighton Borough Police are well known for using white helmets, they are not the only Sussex police force to have issued them, or indeed the first. Both the Hove and Eastbourne Borough Forces used white helmets before Brighton, Hove possibly as early as the 1890s and Eastbourne from the 1900s. However it appears both had stopped using them by the 1930s or earlier.