A Couple of Brits

Peter_Suciu

Peter_Suciu

Well-known member
Any opinions on these?

1871 pattern 3rd dragoon guards troopers helmet horse
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6614255408&fromMakeTrack=true

CONNAUGHT RANGERS POST 1902 OFFICERS BLUE CLOTH HELMET
http://cgi.ebay.com/CONNAUGHT-RANGERS-POST-1902-OFFICERS-BLUE-CLOTH-HELMET_W0QQitemZ6614263263QQcategoryZ583QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Hi Peter:

From experience, I can comment only on the Home Service helmet. It looks quite good. However, the customary red silk lining is missing from the sweatband.

Chas.
 
Hi Peter:

This will provide a point of reference. I have found these sell on eBay for much less. Regiment is the primary determining factor of value.

http://morrismilitaria.com/britishhelmets.html

Chas.
 
Thanks for posting a Brittish Helmet. I have been interested in Home Pattern Helmets for awhile but stayed away because of lack of knowledge
 
I was also thinking about this one. The price seems reasonable.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6613525888&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

I had a Gloucestershire WWII pith helmet years ago, wish I still had it. These would be pretty cool together.
 
Hi Peter:
These home service helmets are very collectible here in Canada and of course in the UK. Our Canadian militia units and small Reg forces wore these. They are not common here in Canada despite this tradition. Perhaps, this is due to their cork and cloth construction. Their brass spikes and bases are fairly common and available here at shows but not the helmets. Unfortunately, I do not have much more to add. Are you collecting examples and info for for a future article? In the pickelhaube realm they of course represent a copying of the German Hauben. Everyone loves a winner and the Prussians were certainly the big winners in the Franco Prussian War of 1871. Brian
 
Thanks for the info Brian. Always thinking about possible future stories, but this is more something of a collector's bug.

As I've mentioned I dabble in different areas. I've been really into the Victorian Era since I was a kid. I think the most fascintating period in history is that leading up to WWI. But ironically the earliest British helmet I have is a MkI steel helmet. The Foreign Service Helmets are extremely hard to come by, I guess since they were used overseas in the Empire. So I figured a nice Home Service Helmet would round out the collection.
 
I think the most fascintating period in history is that leading up to WWI.
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I am rapidly joining you on the German side. I have been researching this era a lot recently and there is so much and so little in English language sources. I'll figure some of it out some day.

2 tidbits from yesterday. Britain was 3-5 times more likely to ennoble a rich industrialist than Germany 1871-1914. 1/2 half of German ennobllement was concentrated in just 4 cities. The guyus in the Ruhr did not seek it.

This one stunned me. in 1870 Germany male life expectancy was 36. It was raised to 45 by 1910. Stick that in your landsturm calculations.....
 
This one stunned me. in 1870 Germany male life expectancy was 36. It was raised to 45 by 1910. Stick that in your landsturm calculations.....
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Hey Joe,
Infant mortality can really squew life expectancy figures. I believe during that time it was discovered that washing one's hands before assisting in a birth greatly enhanced the chances for survival of the infant. It is interesting that the educated doctors were the last to learn this simple life saving fact.
Gus
 
Infant mortality went from 25% in 1870 to 15% in 1912. Hygene but also shots. Smallpox vaccine in 1874 but the biggie was diptheria serum which cut the death rate in infected kids from 50% to 1 in 6. The German pediatric Society of doctors was not formed until 1883. It is amazing what we take for granted today.
 
Yes Joe, but we should not take medicine for granted, even in today's advanced world, doctors can still be blind to the real problems, Maggie's father succumbed to scurvy about 20 years ago, the doctors did not have any idea what it was. It was a few years later that we became aware of the symptoms of scurvy. Another thing that the medical community can not recognize is hypoglycemia, it is often referred to as delirium. Any one who encounters some one who is acting in an irrational manner should determine if the individual has eaten recently, if not, orange juice is the quickest and easiest way to fight hypoglycemia, but try telling that to a medical staff. oops sorry, I will get off my soap box, but remember the words of Maggie's father, "Don't let them do your thinking for you"
Gus
 
Today's trivia

There was one disturbing trend in secondary students. 2% of rural kids from the Volksschule were myopic. Urban Volksschule students were from four to 9% myopic. Clerks, merchants, bookkeepers shot up to 44%, realgymnasium students were at 58% and gymnasiums students 65%.
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The quality of British home service helmet plates from the Victorian era and for that matter any metal fitting produced by the Brits was certainly of exceptional quality and equal to that of the Germans. I have examined quite a few of these pieces although I never collected them.
One additional point from my history background which may tie into the comment regarding enoblement of industrialists is the fact that one of the reasons for Britian experiencing the First Industrial Revolution is the fact that unlike their counter parts in Europe the Brit nobility was encouraged to invest in new industrial projects like factories, canals and railroads. Louis XIV for example forbade his nobles to engage in "trade".
The British King on the other hand, was a major shareholder in the Hudsons Bay Company. Thus, the king gave the HBC all of the lands drained by the rivers flowing into Hudsons Bay. Check out a map of Canada and you will see that this was an enormous land title. At a minimum one half of the country!! In addition, Elizabeth Ist actively encouraged Drake to attack Spanish galeon convoys because she had invested in his ships. She was expecting a return for her money. Thus, there was a tradition of noble and Royal involvement in British trade and industry. I suspect that Noble European involvement and recognition of industrialists on the Continenet was much less. The Brits did not have one year volunteers in their armies. A rather long winded reply, Brian
 
I have seen several of the White 6 panel wolsely helmets and they come in Issue and Ptivate Purchase . The 1 Blue Home Pattern I have seen is a 12th York Canadian Militia.
A colledtor friend keeps teasing me wirh tales of another ,but to 34th Ontario County .
Nice looking helmets
 
Since I have my History hat on.....perhaps some of our newer members are not aware that the Kaiser was Queen Victorias' grandson. His mother was one of her daughters. He was also the 1st cousin of the Russian Csar. WW1 was a real family affair! By 1914 the British king was the Kaisers' uncle!! The British royal family even today has heavy family ties with the German nobility.
The real connection goes back to George 1st of Hanover who became King of England after the death of Queen Anne. If memory serves neither Geo I or II could speak English. Enough.....Brian
 
George the 5th's Sister was Queen of Rommania and fell to the allied cause ,I believe Kaiser Wilhelm was George and Niclos's Oldest cousin .She was German Albert was German . She arranged marrages to benefit her families standing in Europe .Besides I thought the Russians were the provokater of the Haube? :)
Now the bullets will fly
 
This is some very interesting stuff, the way the families were so connected. I mentioned previously that the English kings were also Elector of Hanover. That only passed to Victoria's cousin because a woman couldn't hold that role. If Victoria could have held the office she would have been vassal to her own Grandson when Wilhelm II became Kaiser.

And talking about trivia, I believe I read that at the start of WWI it is worth noting that only England had a truly professional army. Every other power, including Germany, had conscripts and required service. The British still had a volunteer army and thus truly professional by standards of the era.

And yes, the Russians were the inventors of the modern spike helmet but no doubt it was inspired by medieval Russian helmets, which were inspired by the helmets of the Byzantines, who took the idea from the Persians! At that point who knows who dreamt it up.
 
Hi Peter:
Re your comment on the Brits having the only truly professional army. The Kaiser certainly did not think so and thus the famous quote about "Britains contemptable little army".The term "old contemptables" was consequently applied to the first group of British troops that fought in 1914. The survivors of this group were called "Originals" by the troops that followed. The Germans used conscript armies but these were highly trained from what I understand. The Brits, Canadians, Australians etc did not. They were all volunteers and proud of it. They were very much amateurs compared to the Germans but learned quickly and ultimately beat the Kaisers Armies. The Australians and Canadians were used as storm troops in the last 100 Days of the war. The Canadians for example fought one quarter of the German Army and defeated them during this last period. Coscription was voted on and introduced in Canada as a result of an election in 1917. This split the English and French Canadians as the people of Quebec did not want conscription. However, the conscripts did not really reach the front in enough numbers to make much difference before the war ended.
This happened again in WW2 with much the same result. Conscripts that did reach the fighiting in WW2 were called Zombies by the volunteers. They had no respect for them. In Canada we pride ourselves in the tradition of volunteer armed forces. Brian
 
I did talk to my editor and I am going to do a short piece on Home Service helmets. I've been doing a ton of digging on the subject and I've found some great information.

Does anyone have any photos they'd like to share. Send me an e-mail or PM if you have a British Home Service example that you'd like to include in the article. I'll be sure you get a copy of the article and photo credit.

This is hobby writing for me. But I thought it would be good to do this one.
 
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