Name/Title
"Ever Ready" electric battery police lamp c1946 - 1960Entry/Object ID
60Description
Pressed metal black painted electric dry cell police lamp, with belt clip, twin handles on rear and a fixed red coloured filter. Marked "Ever Ready" on base and scratched on rear "F.Hamey"Use
For a police officer for traffic control at nightContext
In the 19th and early 20th centuries police officers still used oil lamps for night duty, which were hung on their belts. These were both messy and expensive to maintain but were more reliable and cheaper than the first battery powered torches invented c 1899. However after the First World War technology had improved and electric lamps began to be adopted by police forces. The Metropolitan Police began using them in 1920 (Fido and Skinner) and East Sussex Constabulary in 1921 (Kyrke 1969).
What is interesting about the designs of these early battery lamps and those used later, is that they often retained features of the old oil lamps, usually having handles at the rear and a clip to enable the lamp to be hung on a belt. They also tend to be box shaped. It was only in 1962 that the Metropolitan Police adopted cylindrical torches (Fido and Skinner).
This particular lamp made by "Ever Ready" is a common type and its features show it was intended for police use. Ever Ready was a British Electrical company in business from 1906 until 1999, famous for producing batteries and lamps. This general style of lamp was used by the British Police until the 1960s and could date anytime from the 1930s. Though it does not have any direct police provenance, it came as part of a collection of police related items from across Sussex. Also it is marked on the rear "F. Hamey", and a PC Fred Hamey was a member of East Sussex Constabulary, joining in October 1946. Similar Ever Ready lamps were known to have been used by police within Sussex (see items 65 and 66). The permanent red filter indicates that it was used for stopping vehicles.