Police Sun Helmets

The Guatemala City Transit Police use a colonial pattern helmet

Many police forces around the world still use white sun helmets during the summer months. Interestingly, many of these seem to be based on the colonial pattern helmet.

In the eternal city of Rome police officers use a white colonial pattern helmet

Another view of the Roman police helmet

A Florentine police helmet similar to the Roman pattern, but with an added comb on the top

A Florentine police helmet similar to the Roman pattern, but with an added comb on the top

A mounted police officer in Toronto wears a white colonial pattern helmet

A mounted police officer in Toronto wears a white colonial pattern helmet

The Hanoi police use a helmet similar to what the North Vietnamese Army used in the Vietnam War.

The Hanoi police use a helmet similar to what the North Vietnamese Army used in the Vietnam War.

The Chennai City Mounted Police Officer wears a Bombay Bowler style sun helmet

The Chennai City Mounted Police Officer wears a Bombay Bowler style sun helmet

Possibly an officer of the Luton Borough Police c 1930s.

Possibly an officer of the Luton Borough Police c 1930s.

Peter Suciu

6 thoughts on “Police Sun Helmets

  1. AvatarGeoff Burt

    Hi, the above photo is not a Brighton policeman (wrong helmet) and is also not 1960’s (latest it could be is 1953 as the helmet worn by the Copper bears a “Kings Crown” helmet plate). Could be Eastbourne, or Hastings, I would guess 1930’s-40’s.

  2. AvatarNick

    Not Eastbourne or Hastings he looks like a constable in the Luton Borough Police. Luton was a centre of the millinery trade before the war hence the dapper straw helmet. A few other forces wore straw helmets until the mid 1930s when, in the interests of standardisation of uniform styles, they were dropped.

  3. AvatarEnzo F.( from Italy)

    During my recent holidays(july 20-27) in Lisbon ,i have seen portuguese policemen to dress a white Wolseley pattern P.H.

  4. AvatarTim

    Interesting article, I would love to see a short piece on this site of the relationship between the British police helmet and its similarly shaped and constructed cousins the British foreign service helmet and home service helmets.

    The Wikipedia page about the so-called “custodian” helmet spread much unsubstantiated nonsense, such as the police helmet being modelled on the pickelhaube (I don’t believe there is any evidence for this – not least because the original helmets looked nothing like pickelhaubes). This dubious claim is supported by a very selectively chosen image of a most atypical spiked police helmet (basically a copy of a home service helmet).

    In fact, the form of the police helmet gradually converged into a shlhaube.

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