Police Helmet Rose Tops

British Police helmet ventilation tops

The 'rose top' is an ornamental feature to cover a hole on the top of  the helmet. The hole is designed to aid ventilation. I have seen a modern rose top helmet from the 1990's period without any hole. I assume this was omitted in error, since the whole point is to have a means of ventilation. Police helmets also have one, or more commonly two eyelet holes on each side for ventilation.

Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmets feature a ‘rose top’. Other forces use ‘ball top’ or ‘comb’. The rose tops fitted to early cork helmets issued by A&S were made from a light alloy metal which easily dented. Current versions are made from chrome plated metal and slightly thicker than those from the 1970's. However, these are still often dented or even completely flattened over time.

The earliest versions are more ornate and often blackened brass. The brass usually has more of a bronze sheen. Later versions were of a lighter more yellow brass and often simply painted with black gloss paint. Early ‘white metal’ versions were nickel plated and later versions were chrome plated. There were also plastic versions produced in the 1980's for some Police forces.

Rose tops initially had three lugs which were secured to the helmet with short wooden pegs or matchsticks as with the helmet plate. Some less common versions had a screw fitting. Modern rose top helmets with polystyrene liners used by some Police forces today use the screw type fixing.

Up until the 1950's, it was common for some Police forces to use day and night helmets. Day helmets would have white metal or chrome badges and helmet tops. Helmets used for night duty had helmet plates and tops which were either blackened brass or painted black. Avon & Somerset helmets have only used chrome type of helmet plates and tops. Some non-Avon & Somerset examples are shown below for comparison purposes. 

Comparison of two early Edwardian period rose tops. The design is much more detailed than those produced during later periods.

1970's Avon & Somerset rose top

 Example of a rose top from an Avon & Somerset Constabulary 1970's cork helmet.

Example of a rose top from an Avon & Somerset Constabulary early 1980's helmet.

 Early example with brass lug fitting.

Later c1960's version with lug fitting.

Split prong version used by Avon & Somerset since the 1980's.












Single screw fixing version used by some Police forces. The example shown here is a modern plastic version.

A 'ball top' type of helmet used by the Port of Bristol Police c.1930's. This is the same as that used by the Bristol Constabulary during the 1920's.

A rose top on a 1940's period Somersetshire Constabulary helmet.

A 1950's/60's era black rose top. Note that the three pointed pattern seen on the top edge in this photograph, points towards the front of the helmet.