The Wolseley Helmet in Pictures

[Stuart Bates]

Well I have finally consigned my book on the Wolseley helmet to the printers. It took me 10 months when I thought I was finished at 6, but so much information came to light that it just had to be included.

I expect it to be available end December or early January. Many of you will know that I turned from 19th century British headgear to sun helmets over the last couple of years (I know, Leigh) and this is the culmination of that endeavour.

I hope that some of you will enjoy the book as much as I did writing it. I must say that forum members were very helpful in filling the gaps.

Stuart

www.militarysunhelmets.com

[Stuart Bates]

Check out the Library forum for more details.

Stuart

[Mervyn Mitton]

Stuart is a friend - and was kind enough to send a proof copy for me to read. I can only say how very impressed I am - both with the detailed content and the wonderful pictures.

For those of us who have the first in the series - then you must have this new one to complete your knowledge and reference material. There are no great shortages of these helmets - I bought two last week - what is rare is the ability to recognise the variations.

Both Stuart and Peter have links from the website given above - and if you pre-order direct, ask them to sign. Yes, with the high postage, they are not cheap - but knowledge is everything to a collector - and these are the only books on the subject.

[Graham Stewart]

Congratulations to you both on it's completion and hopefully I'll be able to get hold of a copy in the UK. An interesting, but very difficult subject to cover as sepia photographs make it hard to identify the many units wearing them. Hopefully you were able to track down those which exist in our military museums to help solve some of the more mysteriously badged examples.

[Stuart Bates]

Graham,

I have placed 300 copies in the UK with a distributor who will supply them to resellers, and am trying to place another 50-100 with another. So you should not have any problems in obtaining a copy without incurring the exorbitant postal costs from outside the UK.

Photographic ID was, and will always be a problem, but I have confined myself to that which, if not proven, can at least be the subject of an informed "guess".

Most of the period photos have provenance.

Stuart

[leigh kitchen]

Lovely book Stuart, I want one - but you appear to have missed this illustration - I picked it up earlier today, & I could'nt help but think of you as I did so............

Sophisticated British seaside postcard humour, this one produced at Holland on Sea, Essex:

[Stuart Bates]

Damn! I would have used this one.

BTW: I have never heard of Holland on Sea, so were there any helmet makers there. I ask because Peter is embroiled in a "discussion" about South African Polo helmets made in the Netherlands because someone has an example with an ink stamp inside of Holland!

Stuart

Edited November 19, 2009 by Stuart Bates

[leigh kitchen]

Not that I know of. Holland is an area of Lincolnshire, England, nowadays I think the name features only in "South Holland", "Holland" derived as a name for the area centuries ago, from the similarity of the flat Lincolnshire fens to landscapes in the Netherlands.

Holland on Sea is on the Essex coast, but that's about all I know.

[Stuart Bates]

Ok, I have taken delivery of my allocation in Australia and the others will (should) receive theirs by 14th January. Distribution is as follows -

Australia & NZ -

stuartbates@bigpond.com

USA -

www.militarysunhelmets.com/

Canada -

www.servicepub.com/

UK -

Jon mills cdwardens@yahoo.co.uk

UK -

http://www.bookworldws.co.uk/

[Mervyn Mitton]

Congratulations ! Not a project lightly under-taken and your research can only benefit collectors. I am looking forward to seeing a copy.

Mervyn

[Stuart Bates]

Mervyn,

your copy is winging its way to you as we speak.

Stuart

[Stuart Bates]

The books have finally arrived in Canada and the UK. See my earlier post for contact details.

Stuart

Edited January 18, 2010 by Stuart Bates