Original British Comb Top West Midlands Police Bobby Helmet – Formerly Part the Yeoman Warder’s Club Collection Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Formerly part of the decoration of the Yeoman Warder’s Club at the Tower of London comes this contemporary (Circa 1990s-2000s) British Bobby Police Helmet is of the “Comb Top” variety. The traditional Bobby helmet was named after the creator of the British Police Force, SIR ROBERT PEEL, who became Prime Minister under Queen Victoria. The particular version seen here, known as a “Comb Top”, replaced the earlier “ball top” and “rose top” helmets used in many areas. The pattern features a pronounced ridge on the top of the helmet, which is capped off by a silvered fitting bearing a coat of arms.

The enameled silver type Helmet plate bears the Heraldic Shield of the County of West Midlands Police in the center. The dark blue enamel circle inside the starburst reads WEST MIDLANDS POLICE, and the badge is surmounted by the correct “Queen’s Crown” for Queen Elizabeth II. Condition is quite good, and the helmet still retains the liner and both chin straps. A great collector’s item!

IMA recently acquired a collection of headgear from the Yeoman Warder’s (aka “Beefeaters”) Club located at the Tower of London. The club has a strict policy of allowing only members of the Yeoman Warders and their guests entry. It has become a tradition over the years for visiting guests with any current or prior military or police service to leave one of their pieces of headgear. Over the years this collection has grown to large, leaving the Warders to liquidate the collection to IMA! Making this quite the exclusive offering!

West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of 348 square miles (900 km2) with 2.93 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country. In 2020, there were 6,846 officers, 484 police community support officers (PCSO), and 219 volunteer special constables.

The force is currently led by Chief Constable Dave Thompson. The force area is divided into ten Local Policing Units (LPUs), each being served by four core policing teams – Response, Neighbourhood, Investigation and Community Action & Priority (CAPT) – with the support of a number of specialist crime teams. These specialist teams include CID, traffic and a firearms unit.

West Midlands Police is a partner, alongside Staffordshire Police, in the Central Motorway Police Group. The force is party to a number of other resource sharing agreements including the National Police Air Service.

West Midlands Police was formed on 1 April 1974, owing to the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 which created the new West Midlands metropolitan county. It was formed by merging the Birmingham City Police, the earlier West Midlands Constabulary, and parts of Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent Constabulary, Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary and West Mercia Constabulary. The first Chief Constable appointed to the new force was Sir Derrick Capper, the last Chief Constable of Birmingham Police.