Spiked helmets in Thailand then and now

joerookery

joerookery

Well-known member
One of the countries that emulated German helmets was Thailand -- Siam.

You can see the old king Rama V in this 1907 picture.
ramaV.jpg


They still use these helmets -- these pictures from the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
CIMG2483.jpg

CIMG2492.jpg
 
Hi Joe....more Brit home service influence here than German. The bit that we can see of the Kings helmet looks to be the typical Brit cork cloth covered helme. Of course both the Brits, Cdns and the Americans copied the idea of the spiked hat from those victorious Germans of the 1870 Franco Prussian war. Everyone loves a winner!! Brian
 
b.loree said:
Hi Joe....more Brit home service influence here than German. The bit that we can see of the Kings helmet looks to be the typical Brit cork cloth covered helme. Of course both the Brits, Cdns and the Americans copied the idea of the spiked hat from those victorious Germans of the 1870 Franco Prussian war. Everyone loves a winner!! Brian
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Brian means "Foreign Service Helmet." The Home Service Helmet was dark blue cloth. :D
I've been trying to track down one of these Thailand helmets for a while, without luck. But I did manage to find TWO Ethiopian sun helmets this year, as well as sun helmets from Argentina. So not all bad luck.

I also notice that no one copied the Russian spike helmet following the Crimean War. I wonder why? :)
 
Hey Peter,
I think the reason no one copied the Russians after the Crimean was was because they did not have good press, the British managed to make their losses look good.
Gus
 
Crimea Pickle Hauben , there is a mint example kept in the brittish Army museum along with original Lancer tunics from the Charge of the Light brigade. The Russian Picklehauben is very tall . from the viem i saw of it.
mark
 
Gustaf said:
Hey Peter,
I think the reason no one copied the Russians after the Crimean was was because they did not have good press, the British managed to make their losses look good.
Gus
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Gus--
"no one copied the Russians..." :twisted: Try the Prussians! :D

Of course this was before the Crimean-War, so I'm being snide. But I do see that the Prussians/Germans are often credited with being the reason why everyone used the "pointy hat" around the world. But I don't know if that is entirely accurate.

In discussing this matter with other collectors it is worth noting that the British were using spikes on helmets in India as early as the years just prior to the Indian Mutiny (1857). The spikes were certainly of Indo-Saracen influence... much the same way the Indo-Saracen-Slavic influence inspired Czar Nicholas I with his design.

The British sun helmets were most likely inspired by cavalry helmets, and these were soon copied by everyone, while at the same time many nations jumped on the spiked helmets. In the case of the British the helmet was almost strictly for dress use, and it was determined that the field cap would be worn should the Isles need to be defended from invasion. The Home Service Helmet thus was not considered a combat helmet, which the Pickelhaube most certainly was considered.

I just credit this to the role of fashion in the military. This is something that is typically overlooked. However, it is interesting to see that most armies discarded the shako in favor of helmets.

Also, I have to bring it up. I agree that the Prussians/Germans no doubt did inspire numerous nations to use the Pickelhaube. This was appreciating the winners. But I fail to see the same sort of kudos given for other headgear. We seldom see the Poles being credited for the Lancer caps, or the Hungarians for the Hussar Busby. I guess these nations, being more on the losing end, didn't get the rightful credit they deserve.
 
Thanks for the correction Peter and the additional info on the Brit early use of the spike. I have much to learn about these types of head gear! Brian
 
Robert said:
This makes the Austrians stand out with their shakos, but I´ll seize the opportunity to conjure my austrian spike helmet picture again.. so If anybody has a clue about that..?
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A couple of British regiments still used the shako up to WWI, and we know the Germans did as well. And of course the Austrians. I believe some of the Balkan nations had shakos too.

But the point was that it was the main headgear world wide and then in a matter of a decade was almost completely replaced.

I've used the argument that it is akin to suits of armor, and why the amor on the feet changed from rounded to pointy. This was debated for a long time... did the pointy armor provide better balance, did it protect the foot better, or was it stronger? No, shoes just went from rounded to pointy, and so the armor followed suit (no pun intended).

So clearly it was a world wide fashion movement with military uniforms. The shako must have seemed out dated and there was a move to helmets. And hey, it gives us all something to collect! :D
 
b.loree said:
Thanks for the correction Peter and the additional info on the Brit early use of the spike. I have much to learn about these types of head gear! Brian
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Sadly so much information is lost. We know the Russian Czar Nicholas I was inspired by the Slavic helmets, which in turn were inspired by those of the Golden Horde of Indo-Saracen use. The Anglo-Indian sun helmets were also inspired by the Indo-Saracen helmets. Likewise Indian and Slavic architecture has the pointy buildings, which can also be seen in Moorish buildings.

But the interesting thing is whether the Russians and British (Anglo-India) came up with these designs independently. My feeling is that the British may have been influenced by what they saw in the Crimea. But the roots are still the same.

The irony here is that the pointy hats are owed in part to the Mongols, who brought their hat designs to the West. And the second irony is that this influenced the Muslims. So the British and Russians take on a fashion that is part Mongol, part Muslim. That is truly interesting since the Russians tended to be extremely anti-Muslim by the 19th century.

I see these helmets as cousins, much like how the royal families of Europe were related.
 
zipperheads9 said:
Just curious is the belgian early war (1914) head gear Kepi or Shako?
Mark
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There were some units that wore the top-hat style Shako, but hte Kepi was more common I believe.
 
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