Name/Title
Two pairs of white wool police gloves c1965Entry/Object ID
2371Description
Two pairs of white wool or wool mix police gloves c1965Use
For a police officer to use when on winter point dutyContext
Police officers used to be issued with white cotton or nylon gloves, for both use on ceremonial occasions and when directing traffic on point duty. In Brighton Borough Police white gloves were also used for many years during the summer months to be worn in conjunction with white helmets, as standard summer dress for officers on foot patrol. These particular gloves are a heavy wool type material and their most likely use is for winter point duty, when the lightweight cotton or nylon ones may not have proved warm enough, or alternatively they may have been seen as a more durable alternative to cotton gloves for permanent summer wear. For normal winter use constables and sergeants would have been issued with black leather or black/blue woollen gloves. If these particular examples were intended for traffic direction, they are a useful reminder that officers thus engaged were expected to direct traffic in all weathers.
These gloves were issued to an officer who served in both Brighton Borough Police and Sussex Constabulary/Police. The 1967 memorandum on the formation of Sussex Constabulary only mentions officers being issued with white nylon gloves, so if these were issued as part of uniform, they may date to Brighton Borough Police.