This 'bullion' cloth backed cap badge is the rarest to be issued by Avon & Somerset Constabulary. This is because it is only issued to the three most senior police ranks of Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Chief Constable. The value is approx. £50. See more under my post on peaked caps.
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| A genuine Avon & Somerset Constabulary 'bullion' cap badge |
Here's a comparison of the badge above with some modern equivilants/reproductions.
No. 1 is a genuine patch c1970s-80's and well made.
No. 2 is either a modern equivilant or 'replica'. Reasonalble quality but not as good as No. 1.
No. 3 is a modern variation. This is a slightly different shape to the other two and the quality is not so good. Again, possibly a more recent modern version or simply a 'replica'. The yellow scales of justice seen on No. 1 and No. 2 are poorly done on No. 3 and appear as just two pieces of yellow thread.
Badges No. 2 and No. 3 are sometimes listed on eBay for about £15.
A variety of new cloth badges/patches started to appear in the 1980's. The most common being what's sometimes described as the 'bell' patch because of the shape. This was a standard design used by many Police forces throughout the country in the 1980's and 90's. It was sewn onto the 'NATO' style jumpers. When the jumpers were phased out around 2000, the badge continued to be used on stab-proof vests (see photos below) until replaced by the rectangular version.
Here are two versions of the standard issue bell shape badge. The first has a navy blue background with white letters and the second version has a black background with silver light reflective letters. I imagine that the reflective lettering was a later issue version.
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| Avon & Somerset Constabulary pullover cloth patch |
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Many collectors prefer mint, unused examples of badges or patches but I'm willing to collect used or even broken examples. The cloth patch here still has remnants of the pullover it was attached to. My collection includes an example of a NATO style pullover with original patch and epaulette badges. It's nice to have examples of badges which are still attached to items of uniform, but finding somewhere to keep them can be a challenge!
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| The old style 'bell' patch mounted on a stab vest |
The bell shape patch was replaced with a rectangular version as shown below. The top one has velcro backing whilst the second version has a plain back and would be sewn on. It's now more common to see officers wearing the generic velcro Police badge.
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| An officer wearing the patch shown above - Bristol 2011 |
Here's a selection of generic Police patches. The first one has a velcro backing and the others are sew on patches. Today's patches are mostly using a velcro fastener and sew on versions tend to be older issue. The second example with a slightly square font is identical to that used on Avon & Somerset Constabulary anoraks in the early 1980's (see also British Police Uniform Part 1). The third example is almost identical to the second but the backing material is thicker. The fourth example has a thin transparent vinyl backing.
Anorak/Rain jacket patches
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| An early 1980's anorak badge. Note also how the officers number is sewn onto the jacket lapel |
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| Example 1: Anorak badge 1980's-1990's |
This nylon backed Police patch was used on rain jackets from the 1980's to the 1990's. Example 2 is identical to those used by Avon & Somerset Constabulary during this period. Some Police Forces used variations with slightly different font style (see also my section on uniforms). They were usually mounted on the jacket's top breast pocket. These nylon badges were made of a similar material to the jacket so it blended in well and appeared as if the lettering was woven directly onto the jacket. These are relatively rare since they were removed from jackets prior to disposal.
Example 2:
Note with this example there are no thread joins between letters.
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| Civilian staff woven badge |
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| Dog handler's jacket badge |
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| Dog handler's jacket made by Alexandra Workwear of Bristol |
Police Community Support Officer badges
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| PCSO Jumper sew on badge |
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| PCSO velcro badge |
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| PCSO velcro badge |
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| Traffic PCSO sew on jacket badge |
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| A Bristol PCSO seen here in 2011 wearing a velcro version of the badge in the previous photo |
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| Avon & Somerset Constabulary PCSO badges |
Here are two velcro backed woven badges which are used on protective vests as seen in the photograph below. The larger version would be attached to the rear of his vest. They both have a plain black velcro surface on the back. The smaller one measures 12.5 cm x 4.5 cm and the larger one is about 20 cm x 4.5 cm. Other PCSO badges sewn onto jackets are reflective (see my section on vinyl badges).
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| Avon & Somerset Constabulary PCSO |
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| Velcro patch worn on the back of tactical vests |
The officers seen here on Park Street, Bristol in 2011 are using these badges.
An officer can be seen here with the TS badge. He also has a separate small badge which includes his personal collar number. Notice that both officers use the custodian helmet with black helmet bands. The new current issue helmet now uses a chrome band around the outside. The officer on the right hand side has chosen to wrap the additional leather chin strap around the outside of the helmet. Helmets are fitted with both a cotton web harness strap for crowd control duties and the traditional non-functional thin leather version. Some Police Forces no longer have the leather chin straps fitted since it offers no practical purpose.
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| Avon & Somerset Constabulary civilian staff badges |
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| Western Counties Air Operations Unit (version 1) |
This badge was worn by staff operating a joint Avon & Somerset/Gloucestershire Police helicopter service known as Western Counties Air Operations Unit. The shared helicopter came into service in 1995. It was disbanded on 3 July 2013 and became part of the National Police Air Service (NPAS).
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| Karen Elliot is seen here wearing the WCAOU badge in 1998 |
Another variation of this patch.
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| Western Counties Air Operations Unit (version 2) |
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| Comparison between the two slight variations |
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| Avon & Somerset Constabulary blazer badge |
This blazer badge is used by the Avon & Somerset Constabulary male voice choir.
This next fine patch measures 14 cm high and 12 cm wide. I believe this is a horse blanket badge.
Embroidered badges
Embroidered badges are usually found on more recent or current issue polo shirts and fleece jackets as shown in the examples below. Use of polo shirts for Police on non-operational duties and civilian staff has become increasingly common. They provide a more comfortable and practical, albeit casual alternative to the traditional white cotton/polyester shirt.
A sergeant can be seen here wearing his polo shirt on duty at the Glastonbury music festival 2013:
Other examples of branded clothing include the cotton T-shirt below. This is an official UMBRO product embroidered with the Avon & Somerset Police logo. This example was worn in a 5 a side football tournament in Bristol around 2006.
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| Cotton UMBRO T-shirt with Avon & Somerset Police logo |
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| An official UMBRO T-shirt |
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Intramark Ltd have supplied Avon & Somerset Constabulary with cloth badges and epaulettes. You can see the type of products they offer on their website here.
Here's what I would describe as a 'fantasy' patch. Unless someone can advise me to the contrary, I believe this has never been issued by Avon & Somerset Constabulary. I wouldn't describe it as fake since it's not a copy of anything which has been issued. It's made by a company in Germany. I don't know how it can be economical to produce such an item which has such limited appeal. There's also a version with green rings.
I've recently seen a Surrey & Sussex Police Public Order Medic patch which I believe is genuine. It seems there's been an explosion of badges used by the Police in recent years, similar to the USA. Even some of the terminology used in the US has now been adopted by the UK. Remember when Police crime scene tape arrived? It used to be just orange tape but seems the US influence prevailed once again. There seems to be a sign, sticker or badge covering every activity the Police undertake.
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| Avon & Somerset Police Medic 'fantasy' patch |
Sergeant stripes
Finally, this section wouldn't be complete without the traditional silver wire metal sergeants stripes. These were adopted nationwide in the 1930's. However, a few Police Forces such as Devon & Cornwall adopted their own wide stripes. The silver wire type were used by Avon & Somerset on their tunics throughout the 1970's up to the 1990's.During the 1970's Special Constables used the same ranking system as regular officers. It seems that in recent years these have been replaced in favour of more discreet smaller versions or even just by stripes on epaulettes.
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