Dating Police Helmets

Dating British Police helmets

The helmet plate (badge) fitted to the helmet will help identify the period the helmet was used or issued. Without the helmet plate it can be difficult to identify even the decade it was made.


Other clues come from the external appearance, design, type of lining used. For example Avon & Somerset use a helmet plate which only requires a single hole and the London Metropolitan Police still use a helmet plate with three ‘prongs’. Avon and Somerset helmets use a black or chrome band on the outside which is secured by two small ‘rose’ motifs on each side and two plain studs front and back. The Met police use just plain studs on all their helmets since at least the 1980's. Dating helmets is difficult as the date of manufacture was rarely included. The oldest helmets are made from cork or felt. Cork helmets continued in production until the late 1970's. Stiffened felt helmets were typically used by Police Forces in Northern England, although they were used by Somerset & Bath Constabulary for a limited time in the early 1970's.

Some of the modern ABS helmets have the British Standard number included which can help narrow down the period of issue. For example on some Custodian helmets a label was sewn onto the webbing harness strap indicating BS 5240 Pt1 1987. We can then assume it was produced between 1987 until the British Standard was withdrawn in 1995. The white '56' label shown in the picture below is the head size in centimeters.

Some current helmets like those issued by the Metropolitan Police often have a label with date of manufacture as shown in this photograph above.

 

Labels or writing identifying either the Police force or the owner are often removed prior to disposal. Current issue Met Police helmets have a blue and white rectangular cloth badge sewn onto the inside helmet liner. It's often possible to see evidence where it was removed, leaving a rectangular imprint and remnants of stitching.

Current issue London Metropolitan Police helmet labels

 

My own research found that makers of Police helmets haven't kept accurate records which could provide information such as when certain helmet modifications were made. This makes research more difficult but period photographs can sometimes help.