Strange Tin

stuart_bates

New member
Does anyone know what type of headdress the large storage/transit tin would have been designed for. The photos show it against a normal Home/Foreign Service Helmet tin. It belongs to a friend and contained an Australian badged FSH of normal size so there was plenty of room!

Stuart
Storagetins-frontview.jpg

Storagetins-sideview.jpg
 
I have been told by a curator at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum that the tin was designed to hold two helmets. His explanation follows -

The tin should probably have some internal fittings, viz. - a hinged shelf about half way down the body of the tin with a small rest opposite for the shelf to rest on; a lip about two inches wide, six inches long and three inches down from the top of the tin, with a hinged flap opposite. At the bottom of the tin might rest helmet fittings, other kit, etc. On the middle hinged shelf would rest a helmet, and on the lip and flap above, another helmet. Thus the top of the bottom helmet is inside the helmet above it, and the top of the uppermost helmet fits snugly inside the lid. We have several of this description but only one with what appear to be contemporary helmets, in this instance, Wolseley pattern.

I don't remember any such internal fittings and I don't remember noting whether they had been removed but the above explanation seems entirely plausible.
Stuart
 
Hey Stuart,
The two helmet thought was the first thing I had, until the photos loaded, the larger diameter of the tin kind of disspells that one I think, as the tin would not need to be larger in diameter, only taller.
Gus
 
Hi Gus,
the Wolseley helmet was 2 1/2" wider than the Foreign/Home Service helmet so maybe these tins were for that style only. I would get a photo from the museum but they charge GBP2.50 per photo. I'll try and get a photo of the inside of the one that I posted but if it had any internal fittings I feel sure that I would have photographed the inside as well, and maybe would have twigged that it was for two helmets.
Stuart
 
Another dealer over here in Oz has a tin of the same dimensions and without any internal fittings. His explanation is -

"As for the tin in the photo, it is actually for the pith helmets of the 1920's (as they are a bigger brim). The helmets were very large for some reason."

This might explain the width but certainly not the height. Maybe two helmets were stored in the tin with sufficiently good packing to avoid damage. In fact, there is a photo of a helmet in the 1900 Dress regulations which is simply called "The Pith Hat" and has a 3 1/2" brim all around. It is described under the heading of "Uniform for Service Abroad" which also defines the normal Foreign Service Helmet as the main headdress, so it's not clear when the Pith Hat would be worn, although it looks distinctly unmilitary.

Stuart
 
Mark,
Sorry for the delay in responding, but I wanted to check on Bearskin tins and so had to wade through years of catalogues. Bearskin tins were very tall and cylindrical with a hinged door to the front rather than the top.

Yeomanry wore shakos, busbies, metal helmets etc. Below is a busby tin.

I have the Army & Navy catalogue of 1907 and it lists a "Double helmet tin" for 10/6.

BusbyTin.jpg

Stuart
 
Thanks for responce The 1920's Pith hhelmets are of same design but i did not know they were of different size.
Mark
 
Back
Top