Tony

The Picardy sounds like a good place to start. Perhaps you'll turn up some of those trench names. Do you know this site? http://library.mcmaster.ca/maps/ww1/ndx5to40.htmalthough it may only have allied maps. Only some maps here are German and those that are, are mostly 1918 but you never know http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/Primary-Materials/World-War-One-1914-to-1918/Maps

The older I get the more that seems to happen. so true, especially after a move. Here's the pencil I didn't know/forgot I had, not as crisp as Robin's but has the Sterling stamp on its tip.

Is it for a child or is it a teaspoon?

Yeah he's pretty nifty with a pot of paint is our Steve. Tony Oh thanks Larry.

I reckon that's a bloody good find. I've had a few MKIII and MKIV versions and now wish I had kept them. Tony

Paul at $15 you can't go wrong. Anderson served in the 10/11 Bn. and then 17 (Glasgow Chamber of Commerce) Bn. http://www.1914-1918.net/hli.htm Arthur James Smith was, as already mentioned, probably Horse Transport in the 4th new army. Tony

I really like the bullet pencils, I'm not sure if all the tips were silver but I do know those stamped sterling fetch a premium. While sorting through some stuff recently I found one I didn't know I had, it made my day. Tony

Is that a map reference in the top right corner? If so you probably need to find the map in question to be 100% sure of where it is. Tony

Nice! I like that. I can pin down two of mine and have a photo on one of them being worn by the recipient, the third has a common name on it so although I was pointed in the general direction by the seller, it might just have been a story.

A peace celebration badge? Here's the one I have, perhaps they were quite popular. Tony

What's the large one at the top in the middle - red, white and blue ribbon with a coin hanging from it? I have something similar. Tony

Thanks heaps! I'll wait and see if the area where it bubbled up lifts again, hopefully it won't. Actually I might put another coat of lacquer over the top.

Well, I followed the instructions but for two reasons I don’t think I got the colour right. Reason No. 1 – I don’t have an early brown MKII to use as a guide, so was going from memory and No. 2 – I was concentrating so hard on keeping my tongue in my mouth while painting that I completely forgot there were six colours to mix and it was only after I got to the rust colour stage in the thread, that I realised I hadn’t added any burnt sienna whatsoever. None the less, Steve’s instructions were so good and easy to follow that I'm happy with my first attempt and decided to leave the helmet in its present state. If I restore another I’ll concentrate on painting and not what my tongue is doing. One question I have Steve is that I’m unsure if I used enough lacquer. Where I live now the garage isn’t part of the house, it’s detached and damp when it rains, after leaving the helmet in there overnight the paint bubbled up in a few places, after drying out indoors all went back to normal. So, I was wondering if the cause was not enough lacquer or perhaps the paint wasn’t quite dry enough before applying the next coat? I’m not confident enough to apply anything extra to the helmet so below are pics of my attempt, before and after, of a simple repaint restoration. Any criticism is welcome, sort of Tony

I'd have the bar but will need to get divorced first.

Grenade throwing instructor? Broom sweeping instructor? Bloody nice and unusual picture anyway. Tony

Phew! Good it's the base colour then, I'll start on post 24 when I get up or some time thereafter.

I don't have any photos of the mess but here's the helmet. It's a very dark brown and looks ok to me only I don't know if I'm going to get the correct finish with such a dark (compared to yours) base. So, apply burnt umbra on its own then mix together a bit more lamp black and burnt umbra, making sure it's watery and get dabbing.

Going back to the base coats, I've just done my MKII, it's come out overall far darker than yours so maybe I didn't have enough water in the mixture. Would you just leave it or strip the paint and start again? A little hint for anyone using a heat gun, while preoccupied with drying the helmet you probably won't notice the heat gun power lead taking paint from the mixing plate and depositing it on your work surface

Strapper, I can't see your great grandfather. As for what they were doing in Dec. 1917 here's a link to the war diaries http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?discoveryCustomSearch=true&_q=2+manchester+regiment&_cr1=WO+95&_col=200&_hb=tna&image1.x=44&image1.y=16 It looks like the one you need is the 2nd from the top. Tony Edit: Just seen Odulf has answered your question about the stripes in another thread

Eric, you may indeed. Chinstraps and cockades are bits that can easily fall off and go missing so I'm not too fussed about them being wrong. I have several straps, all of which are probably aged repros, perhaps one of them would look better on the helmet. Call me a pessimist but I don't think original chinstraps will be easy to find, straps that are better repros than earlier repros should be easy to get hold of. A UV light? I don't have one however, if I see a pocket sized lamp I'll no doubt get it and try it out on the cockades. Thanks for the tip. Tony

Aha, not far from Lerbach is a place called Bartelfelde, Osterode where a Gefr.Robert Wiegand is reported as missing in Jan. 1919 casualty list however, his unit is shown as IR 116. The previous year he was listed as slightly wounded but he's just a name in a very long list of names and in 1916 the same man was wounded while serving with RIR 230, unfortunately no mention of a MG unit so perhaps I've hit a dead end. Tony

Steve mate, in post 28 you say mix a blob of each, do you mean each colour in your photo or a blob of all six colours?

That's great news, thanks. I bought it in the late 80s in the UK and it apparently came straight from a house clearance. I never believe the stories but who knows, perhaps it was a souvenir brought home by a soldier and the dealer I bought it from added the chinstrap and cockades. Although you say the cockades and chinstrap are replacements, are you also saying they're original but not to this particular helmet? Tony

Bernhard, thanks for your help! I thought the word beginning with L may have been a B, I find it so difficult to read. The word beginning with L is part of his parent's address, the town I think, so I was hoping I might find him (Robert Wiegand) and the town mentioned in the Verlustlisten to pin him down to a unit. It says 'Zur Erinnerung an die Somme = Schlacht' at the bottom of the card, written in a different hand than the message on the reverse however, it isn't modern German handwriting so it would have been nice to confirm he was actually on the Somme. Tony

Here's a nice card I picked up recently, looks like a Scharfschuetzer badge on his arm and he's just received the EKII for something he did on the Somme, the card is dated 22 Aug. 1916. As more often than not with German postcards, it's hard to find someone who can decipher the letters scribbled on the back so if anyone can help with the words I've marked I'll be most grateful. I did work out that he's being posted to an anti aircraft unit and his name is Robert Wiegand. Sorry about the poor pics, I don't have a scanner. Tony