Jolly Good -- My Latest British Helmets

Peter_Suciu

Peter_Suciu

Well-known member
I have too much competition for the nice German spikey things. Here are a couple of my latest English purchases.

This is a 1878 Pattern Home Service Helmet. This is from the Northamptonshire Regiment.
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And this is my British Wolseley Pattern Foreign Service Helmet. This helmet example is from the WWI period, and features the patch of the Lancashire Fusiliers. This unit fought at the infamous Gallipoli campaign in 1915.



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thecorkhelmet said:
The 1858 Home Service Helmets I especially like. They are getting more expensive and harder to find. Here are my 3.
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First question, what do you mean by 1858 helmet? Shakos and other headgear were in place until 1878, which is when these Home Service Helmets were introduced? I've never heard of an 1858 helmet.

Second question, is the one on the far left an OR helmet? That looks very nice btw! Can you post a close up of the badge?

Interesting that with these British helmets the OR helmets are harder to find as they had to be turned in, and then were likely destroyed! :o

The one on the far right, is it the Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)?

The middle one is artillery, but which division? I can't tell from the photo but it looks like Militia badge for either the Northern or Hants Artillery. Am I close? :D

Some truly great helmets you have there! My next purchase is going to be a Foreign Service Helmet. I'm in the process of tracking down a nice one!
 
I think I may have found the right guys. Can you give me any and all info you have regarding the 1834 Pattern Dragoon helmet." 1st or Kings Dragoon Guards". I have a Trooper/NCO version in my collection and have researched them to Canada in 1837.I have a hard time finding uniform regs for these and/ or prints of them in wear. Any info at all will be welcome. Thanks.
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BILL said:
I think I may have found the right guys. Can you give me any and all info you have regarding the 1834 Pattern Dragoon helmet." 1st or Kings Dragoon Guards". I have a Trooper/NCO version in my collection and have researched them to Canada in 1837.I have a hard time finding uniform regs for these and/ or prints of them in wear. Any info at all will be welcome. Thanks.
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According to "Head Dress of the British Heavy Cavalry" by David JJ Rowe, the helmet that you're speaking of was introduced in 1834. However, this book does not include any photos of said helmet. This text covers helmets from 1842-1934. I also looked in Kipling and King's "Head-Dress Badges of the British Army: Volume One" and was unable to find any reference.

The helmet would only have been in use for about 13 years until the introduction of the 1847 'Albert' Pattern Helmet used by the 1st to 7th Dragoon Guards. I'm trying to find my copy of a book on Guard Uniforms that I purchased at the Guards' Museum in London.

Could you post a photo of the helmet. The sources I've found say it was one of the most beautiful cavalry helmets of the 19th Century.
 
I love these helmets as well as the White pattern Wollsely 6 panel of the same pattern .I seem to find these as expensive as alot of Haubes.
Corky is your Wollsley helmet WW1 or Boer War period ?
Mark
Nice helmets everybody
 
I believe it is WW1. Sorry for the delay in answering. I was in charge of security at a Rock concert 3 hours from home. It lasted 6 days and we also had to set up and take down the stage. We only got rained on once and I only had to throw 1 person out. He stole a security golfcart. Corky
 
Last time I steal a golf cart! My Canadian Militia Regiment has a couple of the White version of the Nome pattern helmet both are pretty much crushed . Of course our officers and nco.s Mess's have the 2 good examples of these . To the 34th Foot Ontario County ,Canadian Milita.
Mark
 
Bill,

I have only just joined and saw your request about the 1834 pattern helmet. I decided to post a reply even though it’s a bit late in the day. I have an 1834 pattern officer’s Heavy Cavalry helmet to the 6th Dragoons or Inniskilling regiment. Following is an extract from W.Y. Carman’s book ‘Head Dresses of the British Army, Cavalry’.

“On the 14th October 1834 a circular memorandum was sent to Dragoon Guards and Dragoons stating that a new pattern helmet had been approved for officers, N.C.O.s and the men of Heavy Cavalry regiments. This was the all brass (or gilt) helmet as described in the 1834 Dress Regulations as ‘gilt metal, with ornamental scrolls on the sides; oak-leaf ornamented brass crest, with a separate bear-skin crest’. This helmet surely the most beautiful of all British helmets had the Hanoverian Royal Arms with battle honours on a pointed rayed plate above a metal strip bearing the title of the regiment. The metal comb was ornamented with a fine floral pattern and curling foliage was on the back part of the skull. The ear bosses were now of rose pattern and the scales scalloped. The imposing fur crest of the previous helmet was still worn but could be replaced by the well modelled forepart of a lion, also in metal.”

This pattern was worn between 1834 and 1843. My helmet has the Victorian Coat of Arms and therefore is of 1837+ vintage.

In describing the 1843-1847 pattern helmet Carman states that “the various titles taken from actual helmets read as follows – 1st or the King’s Dragoon Guards, 3rd or Prince of Wales’s Dragoon Guards… 6th or Inniskilling Dragoons. The battle honour ‘Waterloo’ was on the plates of the K.D.G. and the Inniskilling Dragoons. My helmet has the battle honour ‘Waterloo’, I have seen an identical helmet on the net (www.mdld.org/6thInniskilling.htm) and I have seen a 3rd Dragoon Guards helmet with the battle honour ‘Vittoria’, ‘Talavera’, and ‘Peninsula’ which is correct. I don’t know what battle honours the 1st or King’s Dragoon Guards had.

Hope this helps,

Stuart

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the 1st dragoons are the Scots grey's and the second are the Wwelsh dragoons . If that is any help, They are very 1830's helmets .This is the period when all armies made up the biggest and most decorated uniforms ,The infantry in Brittain wore the Bell Shako .
Mark
 
The Dragoons consisted of 3 regiments -

1st (Royal) Dragoons
2nd Dragoons (the Royal North British then later the Scots Greys)
6th Inniskilling Dragoons

The British Infantry wore a variety of shakos up until 1878 when the Home Service Helmet was approved. The Bell Topped shako was introduced in 1828 and replaced by the 'Albert' shako at the end of 1843

Stuart

53rdRegimentBellTopShako.jpg
 
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