Custodian helmet

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The current custodian helmet used by theMetropolitan Police Service in London
The Custodian helmet is the usual name given to the helmet worn by male police officers in
England and Wales (and formerly in Scotland) and certain other places around the world. It is
synonymous with the 'bobby on the beat' image.
[1]

Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Description
3 Production
4 Use outside the Commonwealth
5 Use outside of public safety
6 See also
7 References
History[edit]


Custodian helmets worn byGlasgow Police in 1919.
The custodian helmet is the headgear traditionally worn by male police
constables and sergeants while on foot patrol in England and Wales. Officers of all ranks in most
forces are also issued a flat, peaked cap that is worn on mobile patrol in a vehicle. Ranks above
sergeant wear the flat cap only.
The original design was based on the Victorian British Army Home Service helmet, which itself
was based on the Prussian helmet.
It was first adopted by the London Metropolitan Police in 1863 to replace the 'stovepipe' top
hat worn since 1829. In 1863, the Metropolitan Police replaced the previous uniform of white
trousers, swallow-tailed coat and top hat in favour of very dark blue trousers, a more modern
button up tunic and the early type of helmet which had an upturned brim at the front and a raised
spine at the back, running from the bottom to the top of the helmet, which became known as the
'cockscomb'.
The early Metropolitan Police helmet had a 'garter' style badge on the front of the helmet which
had the officer's personal number anddivisional letter in the centre, backed by a leather insert.
This was surrounded by a wreath design which had the words 'Metropolitan Police' around the
outside and was topped with the reigning monarch's crown. This style changed in 1875, when an
early version of the brunswick star was adopted without the upturned brim seen in the previous
style.
During the 1930s, the Home Office attempted to standardise the design of the helmets with the
'Home Office Pattern', after it became evident that since the Metropolitan Police had adopted it
and produced their own badge, many small county and borough police forces followed suit and
individually adopted their own style badges and designs, which led to many different styles and
designs. Some forces adopted the helmet without any badge, others designed their own, usually
with the county's arms or crest in the centre. One force adopted an Australian style bush hat and
one wore a helmet constructed of straw.
The 'Home Office Pattern' consisted of a helmet with the Brunswick star badge (commonly
known as a 'helmet plate') which would feature the reigning monarch's crown, with the name of
the force imprinted on the plate. The top of the helmet had a 'rose top', which was a raised metal
rose, largely used as an ornament to cover the ventilation hole. However, this standardisation
process was largely unsuccessful, with many different designs being worn by today's police
forces nationally.
The term 'custodian helmet' is used to describe all types of helmet, but in fact only refers to the
original helmets which were made of cork and then covered in felt. Internally, helmets up until the
1970s, and in certain areas the 1980s, had only a sweat band to allow it to sit correctly on the
wearers head, with a single chin strap. The helmet plate and either a 'cockscomb' or 'rose top'
fixed to the top of the helmet, were fitted by pressing the metal lugs attached to the badges
through the helmet and then having small matchstick-size pieces of wood pushed through the
lugs to secure them. Other helmet furniture included a 'ball top' and in some cases a 'spike top'
During the 1970s and 1980s, before specially adapted 'riot helmets' were produced, officers were
expected to conduct public order and crowd control in the standard beat duty helmet. The cork
construction provided little protection to attack and hand-thrown missiles. In order to provide
more protection, the construction of the helmets changed. Visually they remained the same,
however instead of being constructed of cork they were now made out of a very hard wearing
plastic material and covered in felt. Internally, they were padded with foam which was factory
fitted into the shell of the helmet with a webbing-style harness to allow it to sit on the head in the
correct manner. Also, two chin straps were added at this time, one for normal duties which was a
thin leather strap and a 'public order strap' which was made of thick material and included a chin-
cup to securely hold the helmet on the head. As well as these changes, helmet plates were
altered so that the fixings on them were no longer lugs, but were prong-type pins which were
inserted into the helmet and spread apart, so that if the helmet plate was hit by a missile, the lugs
would not cause injury to the wearer.
As well as in the UK, other forces using the custodian helmet include the States of Jersey
Police, States of Guernsey Police Service, Isle of Man Constabulary, Royal Gibraltar
Police, Bermuda Police.
During 2002, attempts were made by police forces in England to replace the custodian helmet
with a more suitable alternative. Some forces adopted baseball-caps for a very short time and
almost all reverted to the helmet. Humberside Police tried a 'squat' helmet which was
considerably shorter than the normal size helmets, and was adopted for use and is still used in
2012.
All police forces in England and Wales have their own 'helmet plates' attached to the front of the
helmet, most of which feature the county's coat of arms/crest or 'EiiR' after Elizabeth II in the
centre. The vast majority are also topped by the Queen's Crown and change with each new
monarch. Also, most helmet plates now feature parts with colouredenamel, such as the force
name or crest. Adding enamel to helmet plates has only been done since around 1985, most
forces before this had plain metal ones with no or little colour. Some forces also used 'night
plates', which were usually darkened apart from the centre, and 'day plates' which were metal, in
order to not give the officer away at night time. This practice had almost completely ceased by
1973.
Police forces in the UK did not issue custodian helmets to Special Constables up until around
1995; however all forces now issue them to male officers.
The traditional cork construction often led CID personnel to call their uniformed colleagues
"woodentops".
Helmets are no longer worn by police officers in Scotland, but may be seen worn by uniformed
Metropolitan Police officers when on Royal duties in Scotland.
The equivalent for female officers is a 'bowler' hat, which still affords the same protection as the
male custodian. Police Community Support Officers only wear flat caps, which have a blue band
on them rather than the police officer's Sillitoe Tartan to distinguish them from police officers.
Description[edit]


Crest-type custodian helmet; in this case with the Hampshire Constabulary's atypical badge
Of the 43 Home Office territorial forces in England and Wales, 20 currently use the comb style,
eighteen use the rosetop style, and four use the ball style. Some forces wore spikes on top of the
helmet, although these have now been phased out. Thames Valley Police is the only police force
in England and Wales not to use the custodian helmet. It was phased out in 2009 because of
budget cuts, and all male officers now wear peaked caps regardless of the duty they are
performing.
Both chin straps can be folded up inside the helmet when not in use, for more strenuous activity.
Most officers choose not to use the chin strap for day to day duties.
All forces except the City of London Police, Hampshire Constabulary and West Mercia
Constabulary use the Brunswick star as the basis for their helmet plate. The helmet worn by
members of the Isle of Man Constabulary is white,
[2]
rather than blue, and officers of the States of
Jersey Police on duty in St Helier wear white helmets during the summer months.
[3]



White Colonial custodian helmet worn by actors portraying NWMP officers
Helmets closely following the British model were widely worn by the police forces
of Canada, Australia and New Zealand from the late nineteenth century on. These were
eventually discarded as being inconvenient to wear when in vehicles or providing insufficient
protection from the sun when on foot patrol. The New Zealand Police retained a white version
until the 1990s. Toronto Police Service retains the white helmet used by Toronto Police Chief's
Ceremonial Unit. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary currently uses the helmet for some
officers (usually senior) and for special events.
Production[edit]
In modern production, hat makers take approximately 30 minutes to complete a single custodian
helmet,
[4]
all of which are made by only four companies: Hobson and Sons (London) Ltd;
Christys, of Stockport; Compton Webb (C.W. Headdress Limited), of Oxfordshire; and Helmets
Limited, of Wheathampstead.
[1]



White Colonial custodian helmet worn by Metro Toronto Police mounted officer, now used by members of
Toronto Police Chief's Ceremonial Unit
The initial process begins with the making of the helmet shell using a vacuum forming machine
and a metal mould. A sheet of black fortified plastic is heated and then lowered over the mould,
where a vacuum pulls the plastic into shape over the mould. Once hardened instantly, a rubber
mallet is used to release the plastic from the mould so that the excess plastic around brim of the
helmet can be trimmed with a bandsaw and sanded. The helmet's fabric covers are made out
of water-repellent wool that are cut in halves and stitched together to give the helmet a distinctive
centred, front-to-back seam. Moving down the line of production, glue is applied to both the
inside of the fabric cover and the outside surface of the helmet shell, the fabric cover is then
steamed and stretched tightly over the shell to prevent buckling. A wooden tool is carefully used
to smooth away any air bubbles as well as to ensure the fabric cover is in full contact with the
helmet shell; excess fabric is cut away.
Now halfway through production, the helmet is left to dry for several minutes. Once it is dry, black
plastic piping is sewn around the brim of the helmet to reinforce it and give it a neater edge. For
rosetop and ball helmet styles, the metal fastening prongs or screws of the chromefixtures are
dipped in chalk to mark their positions on the crown of the helmet; holes are then drilled and the
fixture is secured. For comb-style helmets, the crest, which has vent holes incorporated into the
design, is also fixed by prongs or simply glued into place at the top end of the comb. For all
helmet styles, two vent holes are punched on both sides of the helmet and fitted with black
metal grommets, making a total of four vent holes.
The adjustable head harness is made out of strips of fabric tape and foam stitched onto a
plastic headband; this is then inverted so that a modern-pattern chin-strap assembly and
traditional leather chin-strip can be stitched on as well. The harness assembly is lowered into the
helmet and secured with an industrial stapler. Depending on the helmet style, a broad plastic
band [1], narrow black metal band [2], narrow chrome metal band [3], or broad chrome metal
band [4]
[1]
is wrapped around the helmet and pinned down, concealing thestaples. For additional
protection, a sponge liner is tucked in to the helmet.
Near the end of production, a hole is drilled on the front end of the helmet and an appropriate
police helmet plate is screwed on. The helmet then is sized, cleaned, and inspected. At last, the
helmet is labelled and given a good brush to bring up the pile. It is then now finally ready to be
shipped on to an awaiting police force.
Use outside the Commonwealth[edit]
Some Italian municipal police forces use a white custodian helmet, particularly when directing
traffic.


Florence (Italy) municipal police officer wearing white crest-style custodian helmet.
The Monegasque Carabiniers Company use a white custodian helmet in summer (and a blue in
winter).


Monegasque Prince's Carabinier
Until the mid-20th century, custodian helmets were in use with the municipal police forces of
several Dutch cities, most notably The Hague.
[5][6]

Some early uniforms of the Pennsylvania State Police incorporated a cloth covered helmet,
manufactured in England.
Several photographs exist that show a funeral procession for a fallen officer (John (Jack) L.
Briscoe) in Stockton, California. Briscoe was killed in the line of duty of 5 February 1917.
[7]
Some
of the line officers in the procession wore a modified custodian helmet with a leather band just
above the rim and a silver badge on the front.
The New York Police Department wore a helmet, grey for summer and blue for winter from 1880-
1912, as did several other American police forces. The helmet features in the Keystone
Kops films.
Use outside of public safety[edit]
The Banana Splits were depicted wearing shiny red custodian helmets with a yellow band and
crest.