Name/Title
White cotton police cap cover c1960Entry/Object ID
2373Description
White cotton, circular cap cover, with two hook and eye fastenings at 12 and 6 o'clock positions, allowing the side panels to be closed. No markings.Use
For placing over the top of a police cap for summer or ceremonial use.Context
From the 1970s onwards, white topped police caps have been exclusively used by traffic officers, to make them more visible at the roadside. These caps have vinyl tops, to ease cleaning and to make them more weather resistant.
However in the past all police caps were blue or black coloured, although some police forces did use white caps for summer use. In most cases where white caps were used, the actual caps were not white but had removable cotton covers such as this. This meant that the caps could easily be kept clean and that the same caps could be used all year round, the covers being removed for winter and night duty.
White caps were used in a limited capacity in Brighton Borough Police, which is where this cover is thought to have been used, though most officers wore white helmets for summer duty. White caps with covers were extensively used in West Sussex Constabulary for summer wear between 1912 and 1936, when helmets were discontinued and all ranks wore caps. In Sussex Constabulary, traffic officers wore white cap covers until they were replaced with vinyl topped caps.
This cap cover probably dates to the 1960s.