Name/Title
Winkworth vehicle warning bell c1950-1960sEntry/Object ID
74Description
Chrome plated brass Winkworth electric warning bell for emergency services vehicle, stamped 'Winkworth". No internal workings.Use
For attaching to an emergency services vehicle, as an audible warning device to warn other road uses of its presence and to encourage them to give wayContext
These electric bells were attached to police, fire and ambulance emergency service vehicles, from 1927 when the "Winkworth Electric Car Bells Limited" company was formed until the 1960s, when they began to be replaced with "two tone" air horns. Some police forces, including the Metropolitan Police are thought to have still used them on some vehicles until the late 1970s. They came in different sizes depending on the type of vehicle in use. On police vehicles these bells were usually mounted on the front, often on the bumper or adjacent to it.
This particular bell is believed to have originally come from an East Sussex Constabulary traffic patrol car, probably from the 1950s or 1960s.