The Sillitoe Tartan is the name given to the distinctive black and white chequered pattern which was originally associated with the police in Scotland, but which later spread to Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as to some other places such as Chicago. Based on the diced bands seen on the Glengarries that are worn by several Scottish regiments, the pattern was first adopted for police use in 1932 by Sir Percy Sillitoe, Chief Constable of the City of Glasgow Police.[1]
Sillitoe Tartan may be composed of several different colours and number of rows depending on local custom, but when incorporated into uniforms or vehicle livery serves to uniquely identify emergency services personnel to the public.
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The Sillitoe tartan was an exclusively Scottish phenomenon until introduced in South Australia in 1961.[2] From 1972, within the United Kingdom, the original black and white Scottish version began to rapidly spread throughout England and Wales and it is now used by all police forces in Great Britain. Most forces use black and white chequered hat bands, however the City of London Police is unique in that it uses distinctive red and white chequers. Blue and white chequers are also associated with the police, and may be used on vehicles and signage.
Subsequent to the launching of Battenburg markings on police vehicles in the 1980's, the police introduced retro-reflective versions of the Sillitoe tartan markings to their uniforms, usually in blue and white, rather than the blue and yellow used on vehicles.
Blue and white chequers have become the ubiquitous symbol of policing in Australia. The pattern was introduced into the country by the Commissioner of the South Australia Police in 1961, following a fact-finding tour of Glasgow in 1960.[3] The police forces of the remaining states and territories progressively adopted the pattern during the 1970s.[3]
While blue and white chequers denotes police across Australia (with the notable exception of the Australian Federal Police, which uses black and white chequers), 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 (NSW) 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 and Traffic Authority Traffic Emergency Patrol have adopted a yellow and purple Sillitoe Tartan[4] whereas the Victorian counterpart, VicRoads have adopted a green and white variant.[5]
| National patterns | ||
| State/Territory Police | Blue / White | |
| Australian Federal Police | Black / White | |
| State/Territory Emergency Service | Orange / White | |
| State patterns | ||
| NSW: Ambulance Service Northern Territory: Fire and Rescue Service Victoria: Country Fire Authority |
Red / White | |
| NSW: Patient Transport Service NSW: Volunteer Rescue Association South Australia and Victoria: St. John Ambulance |
Green / White | |
| South Australia: Metropolitan Fire Service | Red / Navy | |
| South Australia: Country Fire Service | Red / Orange | |
| NSW: Corrective Services,
South Australia: Police - Protective Security Services, Victoria: Police - Protective Services Officers |
Yellow / Navy | |
| NSW: Fire and Rescue NSW,
South Australia: Country Fire Service |
Yellow / Red | |
General law enforcement in New Zealand is the responsibility of the country's national police service. The New Zealand Police wear a blue uniform, similar in colour to those found in Australia, and share the same three-row Sillitoe Tartan of blue and white. The patern is also borne across stab vests and elsewhere.
Use of the Sillitoe Tartan is rare in Canada and is usually limited to auxiliary police services. For example, the Toronto Police Auxiliary wear a red and black chequered band on their caps.
Only a few police forces in the United States have adopted the chequered pattern: the Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Police, Brookfield (Illinois) Police, Forest Park (Illinois) Police, Evergreen Park (Illinois) Police, Hillside (Illinois) Police, and the Pittsburgh Police. The American departments use a two-row pattern, vice the three-row pattern common in Europe and Australasia. Many other departments in the United States and Canada, while lacking the tartan on their cap bands, have begun using two-row reflective versions as part of the design on high-visibility outer garments and vests.
Chicago's pattern is dark blue and silver for patrolmen and detectives, and dark blue and gold for sergeants and higher ranks. Sillitoe Tartan caps were introduced for patrolmen to purchase on July 10th, 1967 and the wearout period for the old plain caps was May 1st, 1968 [1][2]. The band is around not only the department's service caps, but winter knit caps, summer baseball-style caps, the campaign hats and horse bridles of the mounted unit, bicycle helmets, and dog collars as well; it is not worn on the fur trim winter hat nor the light blue riot/motorcycle helmets. The Chicago Police also use the pattern on some signage, graphics, and architectural detail on newer police stations.
The police of Brookfield, Forest Park, Hillside, and Evergreen Park follow the same color protocols as nearby Chicago, although Evergreen Park and Hillside use black vice dark blue, in keeping with their uniforms.
The Pittsburgh Police use a black and gold pattern, in keeping with their uniform colours. Pittsburgh's use of the tartan is in keeping with the blue and white chequerboard band across the city's coat of arms and flag, and the prominence of black and gold in the city's arms, flag, and sports teams' uniforms, inter alia.
Whilst not part of their standard uniform, officers from the Joliet Police Department (Illinois) have been noted to wear a green and white chequerboard band around their hats during the Chicago's Saint Patrick's Day Parade.[6]
In Florida Deerfield Beach Fire Station 102 use a yellow and red 3 tier sillitoe tartan pattern on the sides of their rescue amubulance. This pattern is identical to that used by Fire and Rescue NSW.
Blue and white sillitoe tartan is used by the several local Spanish police forces. Both the Toledo and Mijas local policia use a three tiered version on vehicles in a fashion very similar to Australian police vehicles.[7][8][9] The Ajuntament de Sóller and Barcelona local Policía both use two tiered blue and white versions.[10][11]
The Royal Brunei Police Force use blue and white sillitoe tartan on various police vehicles but not on uniforms.[12][13]
The Royal Malaysia Police use a gold and blue sillitoe tartan on vehicles but not on any uniforms or insignia.[14][15]
The Hong Kong Police Force use to a limited extent both a 2 and 3 tier blue/white sillitoe tartan scheme on traffic vehicles. This pattern appears to be similar to the Australian style of police markings.[16][17]
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