Headwear

Dark green top and body with red piping. Complete with gilt wire and enamel nation colours cockade with gilding metal national crest in wreath mounted on red felt. Has gilt wire officers cap cords. All matching. Scarce eagle head badge mounted on side of hat. Has liner with sweatshield and makre label circa late 1950 or early 1960. VG condition overall.

Peaked hat complete as pictured. Belived to be Belgian police. Condition GOOD - VG.

British comb top Bobby helmet from the Manchester suburb of Stockport. Complete with leather headband nicely marked, and chinstrap. Queens crown black finish helmet badge. Used, very good condition although the plate on the front of the comb needs to be fastened in place with two badge pins, not included.

Very good condition. ERII cap badge, size 55.

British Rifle Regiment Busby of black fur, black crown and original piping. Also worn by some Canadian rifle regiments. Minor spots of hair loss shown in photo and a sewn in leather repair to the rear. Lining shows use and some deterioration. No chin strap. Does not come with hackle/plume. A very interesting military hearwear item.

Original British spiked officer’s helmet in used, GOOD, condition with some damage and wear. Appear to be original fittings and chinstrap. No helmet plate.

Original British WW One Mark 1 helmet. Type B, non-magnetic manganese steel shell with rolled rim of mild steel, hence magnetic. There is a stamping in the helmet shell at the front but it is not legible. Chinstrap missing but portions remain connected to the brass wire bail and held with the usual split rivet distinctive of British made Mark 1 helmets. Interestingly this helmet has the red diamond mark of the US 5th Infantry Division which joined WWI in France May 1918. CAUTION, the liner of this helmet may contain asbestos.

Original Great War helmet tan painted with sand mixed in. Non magnetic helmet shell. Shows combat dent at front as shown in photo. Very complete liner including rubber “donut” cushion, with leather chinstrap fragile from age. Superb specimen.

Original British WW One Mark 1 helmet. Raw edge, surprisingly uneven as originally made. Maker mark HH/A 55. The HH indicates manufacture by Harrison Bros & Howson Ltd of Sheffield and the A after the slash is the steel supplier Edgar Allen & Co Ltd of Sheffield. The number 55 is a heat treatment lot number. Non magnetic manganese alloy composition helmet shell, therefore the so called Type B version. There are a series of punch marks over the maker mark, unclear what they represent. Leather straps are present but not connected to helmet. Chinstrap bail is brass wire and held with the usual split rivet distinctive of British made Mark 1 helmets. CAUTION, the liner of this helmet may contain asbestos.

Fibre shell marked C broad arrow inside at crown. British manufactured liner by BS (Backstay Standard) dated 44 (1944) and marked 7 ½ size. Liner is in very good condition with web suspension straps tied by lace at crown.

An early Empire Rubber Company economy pattern dispatch rider’s helmet made by Empire in England and provided to Canada early in WWII. Original fibre shell and paint. Marked on leather headband EMPIRE 7 ¼ Pat. App. For.

Early 19th Century, nickel plated with gilt brass mounts and horse tail plume. Original helmet shell with no dents. Rear seam intact, never expanded. Chinstrap is missing the leather which has long since deteriorated. Leather liner and sweat band have likewise suffered over time but are original and have not been altered or restored.

Canadian Mk II combat helmet manufactured by Canadian Motorlamp Company of Windsor, Ontario and marked C.L./C. with date of 1942. All original and complete and in GOOD condition including original chin strap. Liner size 6 7/8.

Canadian Mk II combat helmet manufactured by Canadian Motorlamp Company of Windsor, Ontario and marked C.L./C. with date of 1941. All original and complete and in GOOD condition with dent to top and strap fragile from age. Liner size 7 1/2.

Manufactured by General Steel Wares of Toronto on contract for the Department of Pensions and Health, marked GSW D.P. & H. Not dated. All original and complete and in very good condition including original chin strap and spot welded chinstrap bale. Liner size 7 1/8. Interestingly, the helmet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa, Ontario at the Canadian National War Memorial was modeled after a Civil Defence helmet with spot welded chinstrap bale and not the combat helmet riveted bale, hence there is no rivet evident on that sculpture. Another piece of worthless trivia.

Helmet shell is Canadian Motorlamp Company of Windsor, Ontario and marked C.L./C. with date of 1942. Liner is the US 1917A1 leather liner. The fact that these two items are together makes for a cloudy and very researchable story but the likely scenario is that the 1917A1 liner was installed on the Canadian CL/C shell because it was more comfortable or more readily available as the US surplussed the liners upon adoption of the M1 helmet. This could have been done in the field or by a foreign service, probably European post WWII. The conversation is complicated by the reverse installation of the liner retaining nut at the dome of the helmet because it looks amateur but is potentially correct. In any case it’s an interesting combination or authentic helmet parts and somewhat of an enigma for a research oriented collector.

Original Canadian WWII helmet marked W for Warden civil defence use by the Air Raids Precautions Service (ARP). Manufactured by General Steel Wares of Toronto on contract for the Deparment of Pensions and Health, marked GSW D.P. & H. Not dated. Very interesting civil defence/home front artifact complete with liner and chinstrap. Shows usual dings in the mild steel non-combat shell.

The Mk IV helmet resembles the Mk III D-Day invasion or “Turtle” helmet in the shape of the shell but with a couple of modifications. The chinstrap bales are mounted closer to the edge of the helmet rim, the chinstrap is a simple cotton strap and the liner is fastened to the helmet using a lift a dot fastening system. Supposedly this allowed the helmet to hold water, with the liner removed. Original, good condition, dated 1952 and size 7 ½ liner. One liner pad is partially missing so adjusting this for wear would require repair. Missing pad at crown. Original helmet net with scrim.

Canadian Navy officer’s dress cap in lightly used excellent condition. Size 7 ½.