Name/Title
Sussex Police Chief Constable's tunic 1986 -1993Entry/Object ID
1837Description
Dark blue/black wool senior officer's tunic, with nylon lining, two breast and two hip pockets each with small buttons, 4 large buttons to the front and a wool belt with a two pronged chrome plated buckle. Each sleeve has two small buttons at the cuff. There are epaulettes, each with a small button, having an embroidered crossed tip staves within a laurel wreath, surmounted by an embroidered Queen's Crown. Each lapel has an embroidered gorget patch of laurel leaves, topped with a small button. Both the epaulette badges and the gorgets are embroidered with silver wire thread. All of the buttons are all silver plated with Queen's Crowns inside a laurel wreath and marked to the rear "Grantham". There are medal ribbons over the left breast pocket for the Queen's Police Medal, the Silver Jubilee Medal, Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, the award of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and that of Knight Batchelor. Inside there is a label within marked "Moss Bros Covent Garden Chief/Cons. R. Birch, QPM 75/4214 21/8/86 L". The left breast pocket has two vertically placed thread loops which appear to be for attaching additional decorations, possibly to retain a set of medals.Use
For use by Chief Constable Sir Roger Birch 1986 - 1993Context
This tunic was used by Sir Roger Birch who was the chief constable of Sussex Police from 1983 until 1993.
By the mid 1980s Sussex Police had stopped using belts on tunics for the majority of male police officers and had begun issuing belt-less examples. However some senior officers, especially chief officers continued to wear tunics with belts, as they do to this day.
In the past and to this day many chief officers have had specially tailored, often bespoke uniforms made. This particular tunic appears to have been specially made for Sir Roger Birch by Moss Bros, more well known today for hiring formal wear. The tunic makes an interesting comparison with that of Sir Roger's successor Paul Whitehouse (item 611), as not only it but also the buttons and badges, are of a much higher quality than that worn by Mr Whitehouse.
The label inside the tunic identifies it as having been made in 1986 and the museum also has the matching pair of trousers made for it (item 1838). The inclusion of the medal ribbon for Knight Batchelor shows that Sir Roger would have worn this tunic from then until his retirement in 1993. He was knighted in the Queen's Birthday honours in June 1992. Sir Roger had been previously been made a CBE in December 1986 and awarded the QPM in 1979. He became the Chief Constable of Sussex in 1983 having previously been the Chief Constable of Warwickshire from 1978.
This tunic would have been worn with a tie.