Lost Skeleton
Well-known member
'Each one a Pocket Hercules'
Due to display limitations, my pursuit of helmets and headgear has been greatly slowed in recent years. However, I happened upon the attached at SOS '25 and couldn't resist. My interest in the Bantam Battalions (men whose stature was between 5' and 5'-2") stems from having read William Boyd's The New Confessions back in the 1980s. In the novel, the protagonist, John James Todd, runs afoul (pun not intended) of the fictional 17th/3 Grampians, of whom he caustically reflects, They seemed more like goblins or trolls than members of the same race as ourselves.
For more on the 216th:
wartimecanada.ca
Due to its oilcloth interior and pressed leather general service chinstrap buttons, the service dress cap is British-made. Whether this constitutes a problem regarding Canadian provenance, I couldn't say, but the cap badge appears to have been mated to the cap for an eternity. The seller informed me he purchased the cap with an old cold collection out of Minnesota.
Regards,
Charles
.
Due to display limitations, my pursuit of helmets and headgear has been greatly slowed in recent years. However, I happened upon the attached at SOS '25 and couldn't resist. My interest in the Bantam Battalions (men whose stature was between 5' and 5'-2") stems from having read William Boyd's The New Confessions back in the 1980s. In the novel, the protagonist, John James Todd, runs afoul (pun not intended) of the fictional 17th/3 Grampians, of whom he caustically reflects, They seemed more like goblins or trolls than members of the same race as ourselves.
For more on the 216th:
216th Battalion CEF
The 216th battalion was recruited in the Toronto district amongst men 5 feet to 5 feet 2 in height, and mobilized in Toronto, Ontario, with a strength of 30 officers and 793 other ranks. The battalion embarked from Halifax on 18 April, 1917, on the troop ship Scandinavian, and disembarked in the...
Due to its oilcloth interior and pressed leather general service chinstrap buttons, the service dress cap is British-made. Whether this constitutes a problem regarding Canadian provenance, I couldn't say, but the cap badge appears to have been mated to the cap for an eternity. The seller informed me he purchased the cap with an old cold collection out of Minnesota.
Regards,
Charles
.
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