Custodian Helmet - Current

Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet - current issue

This is a an example of a Custodian helmet used by Avon & Somerset Constabulary. New helmets issued since about 2015 now feature a chrome metal band around the outside (see update at the bottom of this page).

Avon & Somerset Constabulary Police helmet

 

Chrome alloy helmet rose secured by three 'prongs'

Avon & Somerset helmets have always featured a 'rose' motif on each side of the helmet band

Standard double eyelet on each side to aid ventilation

These helmets are fitted with both a traditional leather chin strap and cotton web harness strap for use during public disorder. This is folded inside the helmet. The leather chin straps continue to be fitted, even though they offer no practical use. When not in use these are simply folded inside or across the outside of the back rim so it doesn't get in the way. 

The previous owner's number has been written inside the helmet liner on this one. As it begins with a number 5, it's likely to have belonged to a Special Constable. A higher turnover of Special Constables compared to regular officers, means there are probably more surplus ex-Special Constabulary helmets.

Leather chinstrap

Velour type of headband lining

 

The only label on this helmet is a black size label and no other makers marks exist. The black label is printed with gold lettering but this fades over time. On this example the gold has faded but it's still possible to read the label in the right light. It reads "Custodian Helmet" and "EN 397:1995" followed by the size (59cm), just visible in the photograph below. The EN number relates to the British Standard for protective headgear. EN 397:1995 was subsequently withdrawn and replaced with EN 397:2012.

Here we can see the grey foam lining behind the headband. This appears to be a more durable type than that used on earlier helmets. The soft foam used on helmets during the 1980's and even early 1990's would almost always deteriorate when exposed to heat and moisture. These helmets can often be found now with the foam crumbling away leaving just the thin backing material.

At one time there was a standing order that the helmet must be worn whenever an officer left his vehicle. These days things are much more relaxed.

Genuine issue Avon & Somerset helmets with their original helmet plates can be difficult to acquire. Strict disposal procedures mean that helmet plates are always removed prior to disposal. Police helmets fitted with Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet plates sometimes appear on eBay, but these are often listed by dealers who have added the helmet plate to a random helmet. Even collectors can be caught out and may be selling a helmet they believe to be genuine when it's not.

I once acquired what I believed to be an Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet only to find on closer inspection it had been made to look like one. It had a chrome helmet band which someone had painted black and fitted an Avon & Somerset helmet plate. At that time, Avon & Somerset did not issue helmets with a chrome band. The chrome banded helmets issued today are also of a slightly different design. The helmet band was not even removed prior to painting so there were some very small traces of paint on the helmet itself. That's why buying from photographs alone can be risky.

The maker C.W Headress has supplied custodian helmets to Avon & Somerset Police. These have been supplied with the option to have helmet plates already fitted. Helmets are sometimes supplied without helmet plates, which are then fitted by the Police Force themselves. The first ABS helmets produced had a cork liner inside which was sometimes damaged when the helmet plate was fitted.

Here's a comparison with the current issue London Metropolitan Police custodian helmet. 

  New current issue helmet

St. Pauls carnival July 2019

The photograph above shows Avon & Somerset Constabulary officers wearing the older and new style helmets. White shirts have been replaced by the black nylon version. Officers continue to wear the high visibility vests, even under their stab-proof vests. Note the different type of cloth insignia worn on their vests. One officer has the generic POLICE velcro patch and the other uses the velcro Avon & Somerset Police issue version (see also my section on cloth patches).

Since about 2015 Avon & Somerset Police have been issuing officers with a new variant of the custodian helmet. The most notable difference is a change from black to chrome band around the outside of the helmet. There is also no middle seam usually found on wool covered helmets. This change is due to a new national procurement framework which means helmets are purchased via West Midlands Police. The West Midlands Police have previously used a custodian helmet with chrome metal band for many years. The chrome band certainly makes it easy to spot the Avon & Somerset Police newest recruits!

Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Police are doing the same. In 2014 Gloucestershire Police reviewed their uniform requirements and chrome helmet bands were included in the uniform options.

Procurement partnerships with other Police Forces have been created to make cost savings by buying the same uniform and equipment. This would explain why the chrome helmet bands have appeared with all three Police Forces, as they are all being supplied by the same helmets as West Midlands since 2015. Chrome bands were last seen on West Country Police helmets during the time of Somerset & Bath Constabulary in the early 1970's.

The photograph below was taken at the annual Glastonbury music festival held in Somerset within the last few years, possibly 2016 since the mobile phone pouch used by the male officer was reintroduced in black for 2017. It appears that the Special Constable on the left is wearing one of the new helmets with a chrome band and there is no seam on the helmet. 

Glastonbury music festival c.2016

Avon & Somerset custodian helmet with chrome band and no visible seam

Police at Glastonbury music festival Somerset, 2017

Current issue West Midlands Police helmet with chrome band

Here are two Avon & Somerset Constabulary officers on duty wearing their new style helmets. You can clearly see these helmet have chrome bands and there is no central seam running down the middle.