Name/Title
Sussex Police assistant chief constable's tunic c1985Entry/Object ID
956Description
Black wool assistant chief constable's open necked tunic with four large buttons to the front, two breast pockets and two hip pockets, all pockets having small buttons. Attached to each shoulder is a silver wire wreath insignia badge containing crossed tip staves and each lapel has an applied gorget patch with a silver threaded stripe topped with a small button. There are also two small buttons attached to each cuff. All of the buttons are silver plated and are marked with a Queen's crown within a laurel wreath. Over the left breast are two medal ribbons, for the OBE and the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. There are also three thick threaded loops presumably for attaching a medal bar to. Inside is a label marked "Tailored by Grantham In England".Use
For use by Sussex Police Assistant Chief Constable John DibleyContext
In the past it was common for chief officer ranks to have better quality tunics than those of other officers. These were either obtained privately by the individuals or on their behalf by police uniform departments, and sometimes these uniforms were bespoke for the officers concerned. In Sussex Police this practice seems to have been in decline by the late 1980s/early 1990s, with assistant chief constables in particular, wearing modified versions of off the peg tunics, as worn by all officers. However there was some inconsistency, Sir Roger Birch, the chief constable until 1993, wore specially made tunics (item 1837) and even his replacement Paul Whitehouse, though preferring off the peg tunics, still adopted a more elaborate style than that issued to most officers, with a belt and epaulettes (item 611). This situation has continued with Sussex chief constables, with the previous one, Giles York, who retired in 2020, favouring a belted tunic with epaulettes, unlike that available to other officers.
This particular tunic was issued to Assistant Chief Constable John Dibley, who was in this post from 1976 until 1989, and is a modified version of a standard Sussex Police tunic, not a specially made one. This style of tunic was the first adopted by Sussex Police which had no belt or epaulettes and was introduced around 1985 for the majority of male officers. It has quite distinctive lapels with a protruding top half and was subsequently replaced with a similar tunic without this feature in the late 1980s. Other than addition of gorget patches, replacing Sussex Police lapel shield badges, and chief officer style buttons replacing "Sussex Police" ones, this tunic is identical to those issued to all lower ranked male officers in the force, not withstanding that they would have have different or no rank insignia. The only significant difference is the addition of two cuff buttons not normally seen on these tunics. For later versions of modified assistant chief constable tunics see items 342 and 610. It would have been worn with a black tie and a white shirt. The museum has the matching trousers for this tunic (item 956.1) and ACC Dibley's cap (item 956.2).
The medal ribbons reflect the award of the OBE or Officer of the Order Of the British Empire, granted to John Dibley in the late Queen's Birthday Honours in 1984, and that of the Police Long Service and good Conduct Medal, which at the time was awarded after 22 years service.