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Hi, Yes this helmet was from during her reign - I've had it many years so it was probably worn during the 1980's.

Hi Coert, Yes, the chinstrap posts have been changed to steel - and you're correct, it looks like the rear discs from the original posts have been reused behind the wappen leather wedges. Thanks for pointing this out, I hadn't noticed this before. Cheers, Jamie

Hi Lars, Many thanks for your reply - I've wondered about those markings for years! Cheers, Jamie

I have owned this Prussian M1915 pickelhaube for many years. Whilst examples of this type are fairly common, I've always thought that this one appeared complete and original. It is likely to be a 'conversion' looking at its liner and its 1914 date stamp, but the fittings are the correct M1915...

1871 pattern officers helmet of the Royal Horse Guards, with the skull in silver and the helmet plate in gilt surmounted by the ER II pattern crown, a wreath of laurel leaves to the right hand side, oak leaves to the left and the figure of St George on horseback slaying a dragon at the bottom...

Thanks Patrick, The officers versions are very scarce - I was indeed fortunate to find this one a few years ago. Cheers, Jamie

The Other Ranks pattern of helmet was similar to the above but generally of a lesser quality. Also shown is a representation of the uniform from a cigarette card of the period and the 1891 painting by Robert Payton Reid 'Lothians & Berwickshire Yeomanry Cavalry resting on Belhaven Sands'...

Pictured below is an officers helmet of the Lothians and Berwickshire Yeomanry Cavalry likely to date from the 1890's. It is in the 1871 Albert pattern style comprising a silvered skull, chin chain attached by two rose pattern ear bosses, fluted spike with ball and a white horse hair plume of...

The Lothians & Berwickshire Yeomanry Cavalry were formed in 1888 and consisted of two troops from East Lothian, one from Berwickshire and one from Midlothian before being joined by a troop from West Lothian in 1892. In 1899 the War Office announced the formation of a new force of mounted...

Thanks Thomas - that's a great looking shako! Jamie

Thanks for your note. The post-war period must have been a difficult time for civilian policing so it is reasonable that they reused as much as possible of what remained from the previous period. It was surprising that they were able to supply at least a limited number of the shako plates with...

The county of East Lothian lies to the south of the Firth of Forth in the eastern central lowlands of Scotland. It borders Edinburgh to the west, Midlothian to the south-west and the Scottish Borders to the south. Its administrative centre is the town of Haddington, indeed the county was called...

Hello all - Many thanks for your notes! I was lucky to be born and brought up here, there's certainly no shortage of history all around me! Cheers, Jamie

The regular Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Regiment and the 90th Perthshire Light Infantry. It can trace its roots to that of the Cameronians, later the 26th of Foot, who were raised in 1689. The...

An officers black shako with the post 1954 pattern coat of arms - interestingly, the chin strap has a push button fastening in the middle. I'm unsure if this was a variation or was privately fitted by this officer.

An officers shako for traffic control with a white body for increased visibility and with the 1951 pattern coat of arms. The left hand side chinstrap post retains the loop for securing a plume.

Senior officers Berlin police shako with the 1951 pattern coat of arms - as an indication of rank, the medallion on the star is raised and protrudes approximately 1cm.

The police in West Berlin showed their revised uniform in the Olympic Stadium on 30 September 1951. A black shako was now worn with the shako star plate and national cockade. The plate featured the Berlin coat of arms which was introduced in 1934 with the so-called 'wall crown'and rounded bottom...

Hi, Thanks for your note! There's so much history that its hard to do it justice in a few lines - unfortunately most of it needs to be left out. For a dance in Princes Street Gardens in '44 this might well have been held at the Ross Bandstand (pictured below). It was named after William Henry...

In 1926 the Association of Chief Constables in Scotland commissioned Mr A. Cairns, an art teacher from Dumfries Academy, to design a crest that would be suitable for all the police forces in Scotland. This design was completed in 1927 and depicted a thistle head surrounded by thistle leaves on...