Keep your scalp dry

9

911car

Well-known member
I was given this seasoned spike helmet by a French family. Brought back from the "Great War" by the great-grandfather. Never saw the shelves of a collector or an auction catalog before...
Nothing really special but this oversized screw-on eagle plate and nice markings: RJR81 2B 1913, and the soldier's name.
However, looking more closely I saw that something had been stuffed into the spike. It turned out to be a piece of (natural) sponge. I wondered if the owner had done this to absorb humidity, especially if he was mobilized during the hot August 1914 month...View attachment 1
 
Bruno,

This problem of humidity, especially from rain coming through the spike (or here from the sweat that does not evacuate properly) is a very interesting question we discussed about recently on a french forum.
Your found does not wondering me.

If the rain was not a very big problem for wearers of M95 with fixed spike ( in contrario to sweat ), I think it was for wearers of M15 with spike taken apart or even of M95 helmets whose spikes were taken away (much period picts are showing such removal). So we came to the hypothesis that a lot of M15 wearers did not take their spikes apart during the autumnal rainy monthes, only during hot summer monthes, because of better ventilation of the head.

We came to this conclusion through two brought back M15 saxon helmets of mine (R100 and RJR245), both with wearers name in them, and both with original spike still mounted on them (100% matching grey hue with the other fittings of the helmet). I could easily track those guys in the german "Verlust-Listen" and both have fought at the Somme in the first lines ,one being wounded on the 6 in Vermandovillers and the other taken prisoner on the 12 September 1916 in Bouchavesnes, as the rain falled down like cats and dogs, as mentioned in all german unit histories for this period in this front area.

Just look at a M15 without spike and try to imagine wearing it during nasty weather.....Your scalp will be totally wet, the liner will glue to your hair. Very bad for the inside helmet´s leather too, not protected through shell lack. It mays explain the fact that we sometimes see some helmet covers whose spikes were first removed to adapt them on M95 without spike or on M15 with spike taken apart, and then later resewn with a different sort of cloth.

Philippe
:)
 
What about cold air? We always stuffed the inside of our helmets with a sock or scarf during the winter. Cold air coming down those spike vents would be miserable in cold weather.
 
See how the space between the eagle's legs and wings is not voided? That in an M1871 pattern eagle. No doubt. Really interesting that it is on an M1895 helmet. Screw posts yes?
 
Cool markings!
It seems that the adler got one of its wing broken in the past and has been period /resoldered/repaired.
Great wartime helmet that is showing that nothing was thrown away! Prussian were true "canny savers" :D

Philippe
:)
 
Another thing to look at when we ad a helmet to the collection if there is not a sponge in the spike like this one
I never looked that far into a spike before
Nice suprise that sponge

Jonas
 
Congratulations. I have never found a sponge before.
I did purchase a Prussian M95 long ago that had newspaper laying between the helmet shell and the liner.
I thought that perhaps the helmet had stretched and the owner was trying to make it fit better, but maybe it was for humidity too!
Very interesting what we learn here.

John :)
 
argonne said:
Cool markings!
It seems that the adler got one of its wing broken in the past and has been period /resoldered/repaired.
Great wartime helmet that is showing that nothing was thrown away! Prussian were true "canny savers" :D

Philippe
:)
Click to expand...

Thank you Philippe for your interesting comments regarding spiked helmets and weather insulation...
As of the plate, I looked closely and found no evidence - contrary to what the photo suggests - that a wing was repaired. There is a streak of greenish stuff which may be old spilled Mirror (Brasso).
Do you happen to know whether IR87 had some of its reserve in RJR81?..
Bruno
 
SkipperJohn said:
I did purchase a Prussian M95 long ago that had newspaper laying between the helmet shell and the liner.
Click to expand...

Intriguing, John! Was there a sufficiently large part of the newspaper to show a date, or possibly (part of) a war report or a headline, maybe along the lines of "Im Westen nichts Neues"? I find those (scraps of) old newspapers fascinating!
 
I agree with Tony. I've also a helmet with paper in the spike base (an M-15) and always thought it to be a winter thing. During WWII US tankers would tape over and even paint over the vent holes in their tanker helmets. I would imagine the inside crown support was put in to combat moisture in the dome from rain (or condensed sweat). Just m' two cents.
VERY nice helmet by the way!

:D Ron
 
Jaap Verduijn said:
SkipperJohn said:
I did purchase a Prussian M95 long ago that had newspaper laying between the helmet shell and the liner.
Click to expand...

Intriguing, John! Was there a sufficiently large part of the newspaper to show a date, or possibly (part of) a war report or a headline, maybe along the lines of "Im Westen nichts Neues"? I find those (scraps of) old newspapers fascinating!
Click to expand...

Jaap,
I remember that the newspaper was written in German and that it fell apart when I removed it from the helmet. It went in the trash long ago. Such things didn't seem so important then.

John :(
 
911car said:
Do you happen to know whether IR87 had some of its reserve in RJR81?..
Click to expand...

Bruno, as the Hartwigs Busche´s "Formationsgeschichte des deutschen Infanterie 1914-18" mentions:

Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 81
ℜ
Aufgestellt in Meschede (R.Stb., I.), Siegen (II.) und Wetzlar (III.)
Unterstellung: 21. Res.Div.
Kommandeur: Oberstleutnant v. Jordan (I.R.Nr. 116)
I.: Major Seelemann (I.R.Nr. 87) gef.: 9.9.14
II.: Major Frhr. v. Hügel (I.R.Nr. 81)
III.: Major Lauteschläger (I.R.Nr. 81)
Verluste: 91 Offz., 2390 Uffz. und Mannschaften.

I can not right decypher the Bataillon number of your RJR81 stamp (2B or 3B), but as the JR87 garrison was Mainz, it does not seem there is some direct relation as usual with the formation garrisons of the II and III/RJR81 (Siegen and Wetzlar). But during war and because of shortage of equipment, a lot of things were possible. However, JR87 and RJR81 were parts of the same AK XVIII. And as you can see, the commander of I/RJR81 came from the JR87 :wink: An kind of relation seems to exist!

Philippe
:)
 
Thanks for the search!
I would say 2B...
I will send you the name of the owner, which is engraved under the visor. Something like Woyter, if I remember correctly, but I must re-check, and I am now at work.
Bruno
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top