The chequered band
Sillitoe’s Tartan
Sir Percy Sillitoe (1888-1962)
Chief Constable of Glasgow, 1931-1943.
Sir Percy Sillitoe was appointed to the post of Chief Constable of Glasgow on the strength of his reputation as Chief Constable of Sheffield. He was responsible for the transformation of the police force in Glasgow, reorganising it into seven divisions and closing thirteen police stations.
Civilians were employed to administer police support services, with new departments created to handle fingerprints and photographs. Radio communication was established between police vehicles and headquarters and compulsory retirement was introduced for those with thirty years service.
He also tackled corruption among Glasgow bailies, resulting in jail sentences for five magistrates. He is best remembered as the man who cracked down on Glasgow's gang culture.
Gangs such as the Billy Boys and the Norman Conks terrorised some inner city areas in the 1930s. Given a licence by Sillitoe to be harder than the hard men, the police regularly ambushed the gangs and jailed their leaders.[1]
Another innovation was the distinctive black and white diced cap bands, which became known as the "Sillitoe Tartan".
In 1932, shortly after he took office as Chief Constable of Glasgow, Sir Percy Sillitoe arranged for black and white diced cap bands to be tested by the Mounted Branch and by August of that year he deemed the test a success, ordering that all caps should bear the distinctive cap-band.
Sir Percy, in summarizing the introduction of the chequered band, wrote: -
"Another small innovation which was, I think, welcomed, was the fitting of the blue-and-white diced bands around the peaked caps of the police officers. Frequently in the past motorists had refused to stop on country roads when they were signalled to do so after dark by an unidentifiable figure in cape and cap – and as a motorist myself I cordially sympathized with them, for there was no way at all of knowing if one was being halted by a bona fide policeman or a hold-up man, and one certainly did not wish to risk stopping to find out. White capes seemed impractical, and white caps would not have been sufficiently distinctive. But the ‘diced band’ of the uniform of the Brigade of Guards would be unmistakable and seemed ideal, so I borrowed it for my men and it became known as Sillitoe’s Tartan. Since then all the Scottish police forces have adopted it."
It was not long before all Scottish Police forces were using the diced cap-band and it remained distinctively Scottish until 1974 when the remainder of UK Police forces adopted it.
Since then a number of individuals and forces have claimed to have 'invented' the idea, but the small article (below) from the Police Review of 26 August 1932, is the earliest documented mention of the distinctive cap bands known.
Australian forces
The distinctive chequered band that adorns caps worn by members of the Australian Police Forces was first introduced into South Australia by Brigadier John McKinna in 1961.
Soon after his appointment as Commissioner of the South Australia Police, Mr. McKinna realized that much confusion existed in the minds of the general public when it came to readily identifying the minor differences that, at the time existed between the uniforms of various organizations such as City Council Parking Inspectors, Metropolitan Fire Services personnel, and the Police Officers.[2]
Whilst on a fact finding tour of Glasgow, Scotland in 1960, Commissioner McKinna saw the chequered band being worn, and later followed up by letter seeking permission to use the distinctive band in South Australia which was accepted into the dress code of the South Australia Police.
The South Australia Police was not only the first police agency in Australia to adopt the tartan, it was the second police agency in the world to do so, the tartan now being something which today is accepted almost world-wide as the official police logo.
The tartan was adopted by the Queensland Police service in the early 1970’s after Commissioner McKinna visited the Queensland Police and conducted a review of their operations and uniform.
Across the world
A number of overseas Police forces such as St. Helena, Policia Local of Spain, Falkland Islands, Oman and the Chicago Police Department in the USA now use the diced cap band. The ultimate accolade is the adoption of the black and white chequered design by the European Union as the symbol of Police in Europe.
History
Heraldic origins
[3]
The chequered band of three rows of blue and white squares is found in a number of coats-of-arms in Scotland. It represents the Stewart family and has long been a heraldic symbol. It is said that it was first created when highland soldiers wove white ribbons into the black head bands of their bonnets, thus creating the chequered effect.
Military use
A version of the chequered band was used by a number of Scottish Volunteer Regiments around the 1860's and the Lovat Scouts wore it at least into the first few years of the 20th century.
Notes
[1] Mitchell Library, GC 363.20924 SIL
[2] Allan L Peters