Name/Title
Sussex Police female constable's tunic 1989Entry/Object ID
2417Description
Black wool female police constable's tunic with four small buttons to the front, two waist pockets, and epaulettes on the shoulders. Attached to each epaulette is a small button and the chrome plated metal letters and numbers "DH60". All buttons are chrome plated, marked with a Queen's crown and "Sussex Police" and stamped to the rear "Grantham". On each lapel is a Sussex Police coat of arms shield badge. Inside on a label is marked "J. Compton Sons & Webb Ltd By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen Uniform Makers" and another marked "J.Compton Webb & Sons Ltd Sussex Police WPC Jacket Size M18 Bust 100 Length 68".Use
For use by a female constable in Sussex PoliceContext
In May 1970 Sussex Constabulary began trials of the "Hartnell" women's uniform, which had been in use in the Metropolitan Police since 1968, having been designed by couturier Norman Hartnell. However the force did not adopt it and continued to use a tunic with four pockets, all with buttons.
Instead, in 1972 Sussex Constabulary in line with many other police and forces, adopted what was known as the "Surrey style" uniform for its female officers. This consisted of a short tailored tunic, normally with only two waist pockets, epaulettes and no belt. This style of tunic, with some variations, continued to be issued to female officers until 2002, when tunics were withdrawn for all but limited ceremonial occasions. These variations included reducing the number of front buttons to three and removing the epaulettes.
This particular tunic was issued to WPC Alison Harrison in June 1989. She had originally joined Sussex Police in 1984 as WPC BW254 Wolfe, but in 1989 got married and received the new warrant number "DH60". After that she continued most of the rest of her service in plain clothes, allowing very accurate dating of this tunic. As regards the shoulder numbers, prior to the late 1980s the letter B was used to signify a female officer for Sussex Police warrant numbers, although this letter did not appear on uniforms, which only had the first letter of an officer's surname over a number. In the late 1980s, though, new unique warrant numbers were needed, so the letter B was replaced with a D and then shown on uniforms. Tunics like this with four front buttons marked, "Sussex Police", and epaulettes were issued in Sussex Police until the mid 1990s, when they were replaced with simpler tunics without epaulettes and having just three front buttons, only marked with a crown. This tunic was made by the firm of "J.Compton Webb & Sons Ltd", who supplied uniform to Sussex Police from the late 1980s. Prior to that uniforms had been made by the company "Grantham". After approximately 1995 simpler more generic uniforms were supplied for both male and female officers by the company "Dewhirst".
Unlike male constables and sergeants, who used to wear blue shirts, female officers in Sussex Constabulary and Sussex Police wore white ones, with black ties, though for a period in the 2000s the ties were replaced with black and white checkered cravats. At the time this tunic was issued it would have been worn with a black clip on tie.