Featured My Whistle Collection (End of 2015)

My collection of antique whistles:



Top:

1. Metropolitan Police Whistle. Ca. 1930.
2. " " " Ca. 1960.
3. " " " Ca. 1975.
4. City Whistle. Patent. Alfred DeCourcey. Ca. 1915.
5. EMCA City Whistle. Ca. 1922.
6. The ACME City Whistle.
7. " " " " (earlier model. Has patent date of 1908 on it, but I doubt it's that old).

Middle:

8. J. Hudson & Co. WWI British Army Officer's 'trench whistle'. Dated 1915.
9. The ACME Boy Scout Whistle. Ca. 1920.
10. The ACME Boy Scout SCOUT GUIDE Whistle. Ca. 1920.
11. Unknown. 'Made in Germany'.
12. EMCA Whistle. Date unknown.

The police whistles, and anything marked "ACME", "EMCA" or "J. Hudson" were all made by the same company (J. Hudson & Co. of Barr St, Birmingham), which is still located there today (today called the ACME Whistle Co).

Still hoping to find a WWII ARP whistle...

 

One of the most memorable sounds for me, was the first time I heard a Bobby's -- shrieking throughout the billowing fog in an old Sherlock Holmes film.

 

Very cool!
Shangas, what's that holder/hanger thing? It looks like a re-purposed or home-made piece. Perfect for displaying old whistles.

 

Looks like a spoon rack, Gila. My grandmother had one on which she displayed a wide variety of souvenir spoons from places she (and her mother before her) had visited. I have most of the spoons now, but no rack.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Thanks!

 

Do you need a rack, Sue? Try to keep my spoons to around 600 (used to be 500, but oh well), but can't resist picking up the racks when I see them...

~Cheryl

 

ACME: Acronym for American company that manufactures everything?

Those are all young squirts

 

I don't really know where I'd put one, Cheryl.

 

Is that wood, Terry? Really old?

 

Hi folks!

The rack is indeed, for holding souvenir spoons. But I use it to hold whistles. I had nowhere else to properly store them, otherwise.

An "ACME" is something that is supposed to be the top, the best, highest quality.

Although if you believe Warner Bros, it stands for "A Company that Makes Everything".

The Metropolitan whistle (the three at the top left) have been manufactured by the same company continuously since 1883. They're still manufactured today. They were in official police service with Scotland Yard until about 1970, when they were withdrawn from service (As I understand it, they're still issued for the sake of tradition, although they're probably only used for directing traffic these days).

The Met whistle was used all over the world. Canada, Britain, Europe, Africa, China, Hong Kong, Australia...it was even available in the USA, for use by the police. Variations of it were also used by firemen, train-conductors, ship's officers, cyclists, Air-Raid Wardens...that's why this style of whistle is called a 'general service' whistle, because almost EVERYONE carried one for one reason or another.

I carry one whenever I go out. It's great for hailing cabs!

 

AWESOME IDEA, Shangas...
In self-protection/self-defense courses, women in America are often advised to carry pepper-spray and a whistle. I carry both, plus a little .22.
Edit - I'm going to see if it helps hail cabs, too!

 

The Whistle Collection Continues!!



New additions:

EMCA City Whistle (1st whistle. Second Row).

ACME Girl Guides Whistle (Middle whistle. Second Row).

ACME Referee Whistle (Middle whistle. Bottom Row).

 

Me too, Baker! I have 4 racks. One with ancestors' coin spoons and the other 3 with mother & my souvenir spoons. Great way to display your whistles, Shangas!

--- Susan

 

Shangas!! LOVE your collection!!!!! I have a couple of Bobby whistles, but I don't think anything special.....yours are terrific!!!!

 

I'm a person with a disability, so it helps to carry something which is failsafe, that I can use in an emergency (and believe me, I've been in emergencies in the past where I wish I had a whistle, so I now carry one religiously!)

It would've been easy to make my own, purpose-built whistle rack (and one day, I just might), but for the purposes of convenience of storage - that was the best I could find at a pinch.

And it was dirt cheap, too. In retrospect I probably shoulda bought more.