van Grinsven, Michel. "Politiehelmen". Pictures from a private collection. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011 . Retrieved October 3, 2010. Although it seems the initial coxcomb style was the norm for around the first ten years of the Custodian’s existence, general fashion or the existing sun helmet’s shape may have inspired an almost immediate reduction in height of the Custodian (fig. 5 to 7) and in the early 1870s a down turn of the brim. In the mid-1870s, however, a fundamentally different design appeared as an alternative Custodian. It had a symmetrical dome with no coxcomb, instead it had an apical finial, these ranged from spikes and mounted balls, to button like ornaments, including the ‘rose top’ (fig.10 & 11). This was to become the most used ornamentation on the alternative Custodian, often leading the ‘bell’ shaped style to be generically called ‘the rose top’, although balls, spikes and other finials persisted in some regional and divisional police forces. Early on the spiked form led to some police helmets being almost indistinguishable from the 1878 army Home Service Pattern. The materials and construction, however, of both the new alternative Custodian and Home Service Helmet were based on contemporary lightweight sun helmets such as the early Colonial patterns then being produced in Britain. (Note; the ‘Colonial pattern’ is a generic term for a comb-less sun helmet style which was developed in the 1850s & 60s from the Air Pipe. Steep brimmed, with extended rear; the Foreign Service Helmet is an example of a ‘colonial pattern’, but one specifically produced for and issued by the Army after 1877. The colonial pattern started to be replaced by flatter, broader brimmed sun helmets in the 1890s-1900s, e.g. the ‘Wolseley’, the Custodian’s brim followed suite in the 20 th century (see fig. 8)). Helmet from the United Kingdom The custodian helmet used by the Metropolitan Police Service in London

During the third quarter of the 1800s the evolution of the tropical sun helmet meant it lost its ‘air pipe/coxcomb’, leading to what was generally called the ‘Colonial’ pattern sun helmet and ultimately the official adoption of the ‘Foreign Service’ helmet. Taking advantage of these sun helmet developments, the Army ‘Home Service’ pattern helmet was developed in the 1870s and was officially adopted in 1878. It was only as these appeared that purely ornamental considerations seem to have come into effect on police helmets. It seems that even during the 1870s design stage of the Army Home Service Helmet the new pattern was offered by Christys to the various police forces as an alternative, more elegant pattern than the coxcomb? Many forces did indeed take up the new Army Home Service pattern helmet, often including militaristic ornamentation, probably in the interests of style and regional or divisional individualism. (1) What influenced the first Custodian’s shape?Most marked police vehicles are white or silver with retroreflective livery markings on the side. These markings usually take the form of a blue and yellow battenburg markings along the side. The custodian helmet is an iconic symbol of British policing, still used by a number of metropolitan police forces, and I am delighted that they will be returning to the streets of Thames Valley. Gloucestershire Constabulary states the same that it must be worn by officers and PCSOs when in public view. A common sense approach is also adopted in times of emergency or impractical circumstances. Figure 1. Top left, an Ellwood & Sons ‘Air Chamber’ military sun helmet, patented 1851, following traditional Indian designs it has a light weight cork construction, is cloth covered and has an ‘air pipe’ comb allowing air to freely circulate in the dome. Top right, a ‘Custodian’ police helmet by Christys & Co ltd (1952), uses almost identical construction methods; a version of this basic design was introduced in 1863 and was the only Custodian type for at least 10 years. Bottom left, a development of the sun helmet; a Christys & Co Ltd, late 1800s Colonial Pattern Sun Helmet. Bottom center, the attached Christys label. Bottom right, a near identically constructed police helmet, again by Christys, offered to the police as an alternative ‘Custodian’ style in the mid 1870s.

As well as in the UK, other forces currently using the custodian helmet include the States of Jersey Police, States of Guernsey Police Service, Isle of Man Constabulary, Royal Gibraltar Police, and Bermuda Police. The term "custodian" originated as a specific make of helmet used in Britain in the late-twentieth century. Because of this, "custodian" was never an official or unofficial name for similar helmets worn in other parts of the Commonwealth. 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 until they were replaced. The New Zealand Police retained a white version until the 1990s. Other names for a Custodian Helmet The design documents for the original 1863 British Police helmet, or ‘Bobby helmet’, have long been lost, and it is thought no examples of the first model still exist. There has been much speculation over the years about its actual origins. Here it is argued that it was in fact a direct development of Victorian Indian sun helmets, with only its later (post 1875) ornamentation owing anything to European (British) military helmets. Figure 11. “What’s going on ‘ere then?” At the ‘Sydney Street Siege’ (1911) a mixture of the coxcomb style on City of London Police and rose tops on Metropolitan Police. (Note that by this time the ‘Wolseley’ style flat, extended rear brim is standard).

Generally, police officers are required to wear hats except in exceptional circumstances such as emergencies and whilst driving. Why do female police officers wear different hats? The New Zealand Police retained a white version of the custodian helmet until the 1990s. The same helmet was used by the Samoa police, who still make limited use of it. The Toronto Police Service discontinued regular use of the helmet in 1945 in favour of a forage cap [37] but retains the white helmet for use by the Toronto Police Chief's Ceremonial Unit. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary currently uses the helmet for some officers (usually senior) and for special events.