TS, Your observations as to the Germanic styling influence in this helmet are spot on. Ever since the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, a number of people in the British Army hankered after all martial things German. This design has much of the pickelhaube in it. This was an army helmet, and British, being made by the London cork maker Hawkes & Company, and showing army issue marks of 1896. It is a known experimental pattern of the 1890s, one of a number of helmets put up for the competition of 'universal helmet', the idea of which was to replace both home service and foreign service helmets with one design. This helmet had somewhat quirky styling, which was to address criticisms of the beautiful Victorian Colonial pattern, which was considered to have serious problems in the depth of both peak and the nape, which made binoculars and rifles difficult to use properly. It was designed by Guy Fleetwood Wilson, who was Director of the Army Clothing department in the 1890s. It is the only rank and file quality helmet ever found with the makers name of Hawkes & Company, of 14 Piccadilly, within it. The company is not known ever to have named another rank and file helmet. The experimental helmet had less of a peak and a much flatter nape. It also had considerable height taken out of the crown. Trialled in Sheffield and Manchester, this experimental helmet was unpopular on grounds of styling, the men disliked it. It never got as far as a hot weather station, hence the lack of a puggaree on this surviving example. This survivior is a real rarity, for only a few hundred of these were made for trialling purposes. It has spent most of the last 100 years in a Welsh barn. The 'Wolseley pattern', a far more elegant design, won the competition for universal helmet instead, being sealed for the army in September 1899. I would like to see pictures of this German naval pith helmet, which you say has some styling in common with this hawkes experimental helmet. Chris Mills.