Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1951

Date Range To

1968

Materials

WOOL, RAYON

No. Pieces

1

Length

96.3

Width

51.7

Description

OLIVE GREEN WOOL PEA JACKET. DOUBLE-BREASTED, WITH TWO ROWS OF FOUR BUTTONS AT FRONT CLOSURE. BUTTONS EMBOSSED "POLICE FORCE" WITH CROWN AT CENTRE. LEFT SLEEVE HAS TWO WHITE STAR BADGES SEWN NEAR SHOULDER; RIGHT SLEEVE HAS THREE WHITE CHEVRONS. EACH SHOULDER TAB HAS "3" SHOULDER TITLE/PIN. ZIPPERED VERTICAL POCKET AT LEFT BREAST; ALSO TWO FRONTAL WAIST POCKETS AND ONE INNER RIGHT BREAST POCKET WITH TAG EMBROIDERED "TIP TOP CLOTHES BY TIP TOP TAILORS". BLACK THREADS REMAIN ON UPPER SLEEVES WHERE SHOULDER TITLES(?) REMOVED. RAYON LINING.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

SAFETY SERVICES

History

BELONGED TO BILL WEST, THE 16TH PERSON ON THE FORCE. HE WAS GIVEN THE NUMBER 3 AFTER BEGINNING SERVICE IN 1951. ORIGINALLY FROM CARDSTON. HE BEGAN HIS TRAINING AT 19 AND WAS THE FIRST MAN UNDER 25 TO BE HIRED. TRAINING CONSISTED OF LECTURES FROM 2-4 DAILY FOR EIGHT MONTHS. WEST SERVED FOR 35 YEARS. HE POUNDED THE BEAT FOR FIVE YEARS (5 NIGHT SHIFTS/4 DAY SHIFTS) THEN SERVED WITH TRAFFIC AFTER 1956 WHERE HE REMAINED UNTIL RETIRING AS SUPERINTENDENT IN 1986. FOR FOUR YEARS, SGT. WEST'S PATROL WAS UNIQUE IN THE HISTORY OF THE MOTORCYCLE SERVICE WHEN HE OPERATED A BIKE AND SIDECAR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WHEN THE MOTORCYCLE TRAFFIC DIVISION WAS INTRODUCED, SGT. WEST REQUESTED THEY WEAR DIFFERENT COLOURED UNIFORMS W/ BOOTS & BREECHES. IT IS CLAIMED THAT THE KHAKI UNIFORM WAS PUT INTO SERVICE IN 1951 AND REMAINED IN USE UNTIL 1969 WHEN CHEIF CARPENTER WANTED A CONSISTENCY IN UNIFORM DUE TO THE PUBLIC'S TENDENCY TO TREAT TRAFFIC OFFICERS DIFFERENTLY. AFTER 1969, TRAFFIC OFFICERS WORE THE BLUE UNIFORM WITH BLACK RIDING BOOTS. FOR ADDITIONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFO ON THE LATE BILL WEST, PLEASE REFERENCE THE PERMANENT FILE. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS, INCLUDING SOME DONATED BY THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICES. FOR A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE LETHBRIDGE POLICE COLLECTION, SEE RECORD P19960112001. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF INTERVIEWS AND CORRESPONDENCE WITH CURRENT AND FORMER LETHBRIDGE POLICE, SEE PERMANENT FILE P19960112000.

Catalogue Number

P19960112136

Acquisition Date

1996-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail