Name/Title
Eastbourne Borough Police coxcomb style helmet 1964 - 1967Entry/Object ID
2217Description
Blue felt, un-panelled coxcomb style helmet with chrome plated comb ventilator fitting, a wide plastic helmet band and plastic chinstrap. The inner covering appears to be of some sort of applied flocked type of finish green in colour , mimicking the older style of cork helmets that had green buckram type lining. Fitted with chrome plated Queen's crown Eastbourne Borough Police helmet plate with separate coat of arms centre. Marked "Made in England" and "Christys London", size "7".Use
Standard headdress for male constables and sergeants in Eastbourne Borough Police from 1963.Context
A coxcomb style police helmet has a ridge running from the top down to the back and mimics older military style helmets going back to Roman times, although the comb offers no real protection.
Eastbourne Borough Police stands out from all of the other Sussex police forces for regularly changing its uniform and insignia many times over its short 73 year history. This is especially so in relation to helmets, the force using every style of police helmet during this time. It adopted the coxcomb style of helmet in 1963 and used it until the amalgamation into Sussex Constabulary in 1968. This style replaced rose topped helmets which had been used in Eastbourne since the 1930s and was adopted to increase the prestige of the force by making its officers appear taller. They were not popular with officers as the large vent on the comb made them cold to wear especially when riding a bicycle. Interestingly after Eastbourne Borough Police started using these helmets, Hastings Borough Police also adopted them.
This particular example is fitted with a chrome plated Queen's Crown helmet plate. When coxcomb helmets were adopted by Eastbourne Police in late 1963 they were only worn with these chrome badges for both daytime and night use. The previous style of helmet was worn with just a black helmet plate for night and day use, until the early 1960s, after which it appears (from what retired officers report) that it was worn with chrome badges during the day and black ones at night. Following the introduction of the coxcomb helmet, officers who still had them, were given the option of wearing the old helmets with black badges for night use. It is possible, though, that the white metal badge was only introduced with the new coxcomb helmets.
This helmet was used by police officer Terry Geer, who was from a family with a long history of policing in Sussex and elsewhere. Like many police helmets this one was made by Christys, the well known hat makers. It is interesting that both the chin strap and the helmet band are made of plastic.
These helmets were made of glass fibre as reported in the local press at the time of their introduction.