Sillitoe tartan is a distinctive chequered pattern, usually black-and-white or blue-and-white, which was originally associated with the police in Scotland. It later gained widespread use in the rest of the United Kingdom and overseas, notably in Australia, as well as Chicago and Pittsburgh in the United States. It is used occasionally elsewhere, including by some Spanish municipal police, in limited use by the New Zealand Police and in parts of Canada, where it is limited to auxiliary police services. The Sillitoe pattern may be composed of several different colours and numbers of rows depending on local customs, but when incorporated into uniforms or vehicle livery, it serves to uniquely identify emergency services personnel to the public.
History The pattern was originally used as a symbol of Scottish heraldry, appearing in the coats of arms of various families. It is claimed that the pattern originated from highland soldiers weaving white ribbons into their black helmets. Later, the pattern was also used by some Scottish volunteer regiments of the 1860s and the Lovat Scouts during the early 1900s. The pattern was first adopted for police use in 1932 by Sir Percy Sillitoe, Chief Constable of the City of Glasgow Police, who required them to be used on cap bands. This was in order to distinguish police from other public servants who wore similar hats. Originally white bands were used, with the black added as the bands otherwise quickly became dirty. The use of the pattern remained solely Scottish until 1961, where it was adopted by the South Australian Police. It spread to the other Australian states and territories and the wider UK in the 1970s.
Usage by country
Australia
Blue and white chequers have become the ubiquitous symbol of policing in Australia. The pattern was introduced into Australia by the Commissioner of the South Australia Police in 1961, following a fact-finding tour of Glasgow in 1960. Committee member Sgt. W Rodgers suggested the inclusion during his time in SA Police, as he had observed during his earlier years in England. The police forces of the remaining states and territories progressively adopted the pattern during the 1970s until it was displayed on all Australian police uniforms except that of the Australian Federal Police, who use a black and white Sillitoe tartan on their cap bands. The Australasian Centre for Policing Research (ACPR) approved a national specification for police vehicle markings in 1995 which saw all vehicles marked with a chequer band stripe running the full length of the vehicle. This was adopted by all states with the exception of New South Wales which eventually adopted the national standard in 2002. Other coloured chequered patterns may be used to denote other emergency services and particular usage varies from state to state. For example, in New South Wales the Ambulance Service uses red and white chequers on ambulances and paramedic's uniforms, while the State Emergency Service uses orange and white Sillitoe tartan. St John Ambulance uses a white and green pattern on their vehicles and operational uniforms in both South Australia and Victoria. In New South Wales the Roads & Maritime Services Traffic Emergency Patrol have adopted a yellow and purple Sillitoe tartan whereas the Victorian counterpart, VicRoads have adopted a green and white variant.
New Zealand General law enforcement in New Zealand is handled by the New Zealand Police the country's national police service. The New Zealand Police wear a blue uniform, similar in colour to those found in Australia. For the majority of police branding the New Zealand Police use their own branding instead of the Sillitoe tartan marking such as the Police Koru, Tide Koru, Koru line, tukutuku chevron, Police tohu, Police crest, Police logo and coat of arms. The New Zealand Police very rarely uses Sillitoe tartan markings on vehicles, the only instances are on the now retired Armed Response Team (ART) vehicles, a singular Mobile Police Base and the Police Eagle helicopters. The vast majority of police vehicles instead use specially designed reflective Battenberg markings. The only other use of Sillitoe tartan markings is on the unform to ensure police can be easily identifiable even for international visitors.
United Kingdom
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