A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a large multi-piped church organ. Whistles have been around since early humans first carved out a gourd or branch and found they could make sound with it. In prehistoric Egypt, small shells were used as whistles. [1] Many present day wind instruments are inheritors of these early whistles. With the rise of more mechanical power, other forms of whistles have been developed. [2]

So then, for research purposes we will be restricting the view of police whistles to those that have the following on the stamp —- from the manufacturer. What condition is the whistle in? How large was the police force and how long did it last? Can the whistle be dated by that? How old is the vintage and construction? MP4 was made by Bent & Parker and also included here, this one matches the one pictured in ‘the book’ but has different numbers. Let’s start with two group pictures. The first picture displays the following: Ancient whistle found in Assos". Hürriyet Daily News. 19 October 2022 . Retrieved 11 February 2023.

In 1883 tests were carried out in open country with favourable wind conditions, at the Rifle Range, Hunslow Heath. A regulation rattle competed against a Manchester City Police whistle. The official tests showed that the rattle could be heard faintly at 500 yards and not at all at 800 yards. The whistle could be clearly heard at 900 yards but was ill-defined at 1000 yards. The Metropolitan Police decided to go ahead and advertisments were placed in the press inviting whistle manufacturers to submit models. Exactly how many companies submitted whistles is not known but three names are on record; C J Piejus & Co, Bent & Parker and J Hudson & Co. The various whistles submitted were tested on Clapham Common and one of the patterns sent by Hudsons, similar to the Manchester City Police whistle, was chosen. A mix-up led to the contract being placed with Bent & Parker. (Interestingly, Joseph Hudson, the founder of J Hudson & Co, at some time in the 1860s worked for Bent & Parker, having started work, aged 12, in 1860). For many beginning collectors, using Collecting Police Whistles by Martyn Gilchrist, the ‘bible’ of whistle collecting, might be a leap too far at first. Yet there may be a real interest in police issued whistles and nowhere to start on a smaller scale to learn about them. Who named and where did Metropolitan police whistles came from? One characteristic of a whistle is that it creates a pure, or nearly pure, tone. The conversion of flow energy to sound comes from an interaction between a solid material and a fluid stream. The forces in some whistles are sufficient to set the solid material in motion. Classic examples are Aeolian tones that result in galloping power lines, or the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (the so-called "Galloping Gertie" of popular media). Other examples are circular disks set into vibration. [3] History [ edit ] Early whistles [ edit ] Carved whalebone whistle dated 1821. 8cm long. Quillacinga clay whistle, c. 1250–1500 AD, at the Museum of Texas Tech University. What about exceptions to the rule? What about presentation whistles? Or special issues. Or engraving afterwards.

scroll down to see the very few of the lot found , some more I will hopefully update in the future , but bare in mind some are so rare that no actuall whistle is known to exist. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Whistle". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol.28 (11thed.). Cambridge University Press. pp.595–596. While the previous article dealt with How to date J. Hudson whistles by Stamps and other means, Victorian and Post Victorian stamps and the next would try to deal with whistle manufactured 1870 – 1882.I tried to keep the article short even if there was a lot more to say , Kindly send in photos of very rare ones which are on the list for the benefit of all . The Metropolitan Police whistle holds an esteemed place in law enforcement history because it represents the evolution of communication tools used by police forces worldwide. The whistle's unmistakable sound symbolises authority, duty, and public safety. In 1883, he began experimenting with pea-whistle designs that could produce an intense sound that could grab attention from over a mile away. His invention was discovered by accident when he dropped his violin and it shattered on the floor. Observing how the discordant sound of the breaking strings travelled ( trill effect), Hudson had the idea to put a pea in the whistle. [6] Prior to this, whistles were much quieter and were only thought of as musical instruments or toys for children. After observing the problems that local police were having with effectively communicating with rattles, [7] [8] he realised that his whistle designs could be used as an effective aid to their work. [6] [9] Bird whistle Now let’s look at an MP1 not pictured in the CPW book. It is an MP1 refurbished with a replaced mouthpiece. You note the shape of the mouthpiece and if you looked inside you would see a little bit of rolled edge that was done by machine which saved labor. Since the top was kept, it still has the inspection mark.

The story and history behind these whistles make them an excellent and thoughtful gift for anyone associated with the police force. To make the gift even more unique, you can engrave an original Metropolitan police whistle with a special message for your loved one. This gift will be treasured and kept for years to come; each ACME Metropolitan police whistle is handmade and of exceptional quality. Service whistles If a whistle says Metropolitan on it you do not automatically assume it is a police whistle. Granted the name has become synonymous, but that is a general misconception. Now you will see occasionally police type( referring to the tube shaped design ) and of course that would be accurate, but still a little confusing, as it is a ‘type’ and not an actual police issue.Typically, the buttons were taken from the clothes of that particular uniform and formed into a whistle. It was a very rustic ( literally ) way to make them. Police stamped buttons are rare as most button whistles were for military or livery. Manchester City Police prior to 1882 and the 1885 adv and later Dowler supplied their whistles , At that period Police Forces in Great Britain were using all kinds of whistles since probably the 1840’s ( we have records for manufacturers making Police whistles in the late 1850’s ) and there was no standard. One may note the 1885 adv. It is now over 200 years since the police first used whistles. The Thames Marine Police had bosuns’ calls at the end of the 18th century, and city police used whistles from around the 1820s. Originally they were not an item issued to every officer but were kept for special operations and situations. These early whistles are not identifiable as they did not have any special markings. They would have been round pea and Beaufort whistles; the latter is a conical shape. From the 1860s some forces began to equip all officers. The Metropolitan Police issued a few whistles in 1870 but they were little used. However, when used they proved to be ideal. The Liverpool Police were equipped with Beaufort whistles probably made by Thomas Yates and, during the 1880s and 1890s by W Dowler & Sons, J Hudson & Co, J Barrall, R A Walton, and from about 1900 by A De Courcy & Co. After the adoption of the GSW by the 'Met' many other forces began to equip all their officers, and those already using the Beaufort whistle exchanged them for GSWs (Some Scottish forces, notably Glasgow Police who used round pea whistles, changed to escargot whistles). The GSW could be held in the teeth keeping the hands free but this was not possible with the Beaufort. Hudsons were not the only manufacturers and three other companies, W Dowler & Sons, A De Courcy & Co and J Barrall between them supplied appreciable numbers to many forces. Today, practically all GSWs can be dated to a few years, broad guidelines are given below.