British or Canadian MkII Shrapnel Helmet

[Flyingdutchman]

Gentlemen,

this is my latest purchase.

A nice Brodie MkII with a camo net. Interestingly there is even camouflage color beneath the net. I would love to remove the net, but it is in such a fragile condition, I don't want to damage anything.

The only thing I can make out is a War Departement stamp inside the shell.

The question is: Is this a Canadian or British helmet ? Does it happen sometimes to see camo colours beneath such a net ? Of course, it gives a great camouflage effect.

Last pic shows an American M1, worn most likely by Sgt. Marvin T.Schapp, 7th. Regiment, F.Company. He received the Bronze Star w/ Oak Leaf Cluster at Nov. 6th, 1944. There is a Cotton Baler Insignia on the other side of the helmet.

The German M35 with Camo unfortunately doesn't show any name on it. However this German helmet appeared in Tom Kibler's book 'Combat Helmets' on page 14/15.

Thanks for looking.

Best;

Flyingdutchman

Edited May 16, 2010 by Flyingdutchman

[Flyingdutchman]

more

[Flyingdutchman]

another one

[Flyingdutchman]

detail

[Flyingdutchman]

another one

[Flyingdutchman]

more

[Flyingdutchman]

last one.

Sorry for the copyright remark, but I don't want to see anything on an auction platform. Thank you.

Rgds;

Flyingdutchman

[Brian Wolfe]

Very nice helmet.

Going by the mark it is Canadian. We used the broad arrow inside the "C" as ours, the British used the broad arrow alone.

Since we were part of the British Empire at the time it is understandable that we would use the broad arrow as well but modified it with the "C".

Thanks for posting the helmet.

Regards

Brian

[Henry 24th]

Very Nice Helmets indeed.

I concur with Mr Wolfe that it is Canadian - the photo in post #4 confirms that the SHELL is canadian. There should also be marks on some of the four "ribs" that form the suspension for the crown pad to the head band.

The marks are usually impressed (rather than printed) and are very faint. Most often the name of the manufacturer than a number.

Thanks for posting

HFJ

[Mervyn Mitton]

Good helmets - but, what caught my attention was Brian mentioning that Canadian war issue had the broad Arrow inside a 'C'. For South Africa it was the broad Arrow inside a 'U'. The 'U' standing for UNION. What about other Commonwealth Countries ? This could make a very good post ..........

[Tony]

Good helmets - but, what caught my attention was Brian mentioning that Canadian war issue had the broad Arrow inside a 'C'. For South Africa it was the broad Arrow inside a 'U'. The 'U' standing for UNION. What about other Commonwealth Countries ? This could make a very good post ..........

These could possibly be one of the maker marks on the liner or shell of Canadian made helmets, if you can find the faint outlines on the liner:

C.L./C. - Canadian Lamp Co.,

G.S.W. - General Steel Wares and Aluminium Goods

A.G./.C. - Aluminium Goods Company (apparently they made helmets for the RCAF)

Below is a photo of a policeman's helmet, the liner has the Everett W Vero & Co. stamp from London, the shell has the WD - William Dobson & Son from Birmingham stamp.

Something I've noticed is that most Civil Defence helmets appear to have an oval padding riveted to the liner as opposed to the standard cross padding as shown in the Canadian helmet above. I think I've also seen oval padding in SA helmets too.

Has anyone seen Canadian helmets with the oval padding?

Tony

Edited May 18, 2010 by Tony

[Flyingdutchman]

Gentlemen,

thank you very much for the input. It is great to learn.

Happily I was able find a stamp from the Canadian Lamp Company. So it is definetely, as mentioned here, Canadian.

Thanks again for your great help !

Regards;

Flyingdutchman

[mk1rceme]

Good helmets - but, what caught my attention was Brian mentioning that Canadian war issue had the broad Arrow inside a 'C'. For South Africa it was the broad Arrow inside a 'U'. The 'U' standing for UNION. What about other Commonwealth Countries ? This could make a very good post ..........

Here is a scan of a very rough sketch of some of the Commonwealth War Department stamps used during WWII. There are a few variations not shown.

[Mervyn Mitton]

Thankyou Mk 1 - and welcome to the Forum. Nice to see the partial set of marks - for future ref. it would be good to add the other, more obscure ones. For interest - did Ceylon and the West Indies have their own marks ?

[Tony]

Thankyou Mk 1 - and welcome to the Forum. Nice to see the partial set of marks - for future ref. it would be good to add the other, more obscure ones. For interest - did Ceylon and the West Indies have their own marks ?

I read somewhere once that Singapore manufactured a MKII Brodie (the Japanese no doubt put a stop to that), the rim was rolled instead of the usual extra beading around the edge.

Tony