WWIIBuff

I know this is an old thread, but I am adding some additional information I found about this item, just for the record. These were indeed an SOE made item, not OSS. Below are two photos from the book "Aston House, Station 12 SOE's Secret Centre" by Des Turner related to this item. Aston House (Station XII) was a facility that produced special devices, equipment, and supplies for SOE and other clandestine branches. One of their fist famous items was the Signal Relay (SR1), better known as the Time Pencil, and later modified and renamed the Switch No.10 Pencil Timer. Ms. Scottie Hales shown in the picture below was the secretary at Aston House. She was given one of these message containers that had been converted into a cigarette lighter, also shown below.

A very nice and extremely rare item. Only the second one I have ever seen. I am not sure if this is OSS or SOE made. One was published in the book "SOE Equipment Airdropped In Europe 1940-1945" and now resides in my collection. I believe it is made of silver plated brass. See attached pictures.

Nice SOE Fog Signal and container. The OSS version was a bit different. I've attached pictures of an OSS example from my collection.

My reply is probably too late to help you out since the MAX show is over, but yes it is a good one. The question becomes how complete is it inside and what was the asking price. A lot of these have come on the market recently, so the prices have really dropped. Did you buy it?

You were very fortunate. My pair also came from Ebay, but I paid quite a bit for them.

Don't worry, you'll get a set, everything turns up eventually.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Too bad it is not larger and clearer.

I should clarify that it is The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders I am referring to. The tunic I have has the 8th Army symbol on the ribbon bar, so I assume it is from the 2nd or 5th battalion, but pictures from any battalion would be helpful.

Hello Gentlemen, I am working on putting together a mannequin of a Cameron Highlander officer of WWII wearing his military tunic with a kilt and sporan. Does anyone have a period picture in their collection that you can post showing what this uniform ensemble would have looked like? Or perhaps a picture of a mannequin in your collection wearing the same uniform setup? Thanks John

Those are fantastic. Quite the example of WWII quality and craftsmanship of insignia. Here are a pair I have. They are nice too, but not as nice as yours.

Fantastic pieces Erik!! You've really done well growing this part of your collection. Thanks for sharing. John

Hi John, thanks for the reply and the welcome. Actually I purchased my helmet thinking it was a white KM pith helmet, but missing the front insignia. However when it arrived, I knew I had something different. There were two white KM versions, one with a silver eagle for administration, and one with a gold eagle for a line officer. I am not sure if there were two different color options or not for the large LW eagle. The scan below shows a page from the F. W. Assman and Sohne catalog with the large LW eagle listed (as well as the KM version), but it does not mention color. Curiously it is listed as being for a parade helmet. The white Luftwaffe pith helmet appears to be even rarer than the blue version, and may actually be one of the rarest pieces of 3rd Reich headgear. The leather trim and chinstrap were a pure white, but the helmet itself was actually an "off-white" (unlike the KM version which was a bright white) or a very light tan (lighter than the common tan LW pith with the light brown trim). As I mentioned, the picture I posted above is the only example I have heard of so far. John

Does anyone have any pictures in their collection, or books, or period magazines that show the WHITE Luftwaffe Tropical Pith helmet in wear? Or does anyone have one of these helmets in their collections that they would be willing to post pictures of? I am also in the market for one of the eagles for the front of this helmet, so if you know of one that is available, please let me know. Here is a picture of the only example I know of this helmet. This helmet was owned by the friend of a WAF forum member, but it has since been sold.