Help South African MKII Helmet Used by Dutch in Indonesia and other items

[joaobr]

Hello gentlemen,

 

I recently obtained this lot from a Dutch veteran of the Indonesian conflict 1945-1949. Basically it is British material from World War II that was reused in Indonesia from 1946 onwards.

The use of a South African helmet with sand paint and repainted dark green with the emblem of the "5th Regiment Stoottroepen" painted on it is curious.

In this case, I don't know if this painting and emblem were painted by the veteran after the war or during. I appreciate opinions.

 

It has a patch of the 5th Regiment Stoottroepen and two with the Dutch lion. It seems to me that the emblem of the 5th Regiment Stoottroepen was removed from this type of beret that also came with the batch.
There is a Patch with 3 red bars, not exactly what they mean, it looks like an overseas bar.

And there is also a blue cloth shoulder patch with a metallic bomb emblem and a red bar, I know it's Dutch. But not exactly what kind of rank it indicates, I believe it is corporal

 

The lot came with a set of 3 dogtags that appear to be made from a very thick paper/fiber. Very similar to the English model, there are several inscriptions on them and they are very difficult to read as they are dimmed. Here's what I managed to read from them:

dog tag 1: I V RS (or R5)
                    625594 (or 625894)

Dog tag 2: A. Jeanty
                     230200004
                    I - VII - RS (or R5)
                    SEAG . RNA (or SEAC. RNA)

Dog tag 3: A. Jeanty
                    230200004
                    V - IX - RS (or R5)
                     SEAG . RNA (or SEAC. RNA)

Other items are: some metal badges for uniforms. I couldn't identify one of the Pins, the green shield with some letters inscribed on it.

 

The lot came with a leather holster, but I don't know if it originally belonged to the set...

 

Finally, there are two pieces that I couldn't identify exactly: a tin box that looks like a lunch box. But I didn't find that manufacturer and model.

 

And, finally, a red cross pin with inscriptions in Chinese. I couldn't find what period it was from and what its purpose was.

 

I thought it was a very curious set, all these pieces were together. These pieces made me study a little about this conflict in Indonesia.

 

If anyone can give me more information and opinions about the pieces, I'd be happy.

 

Thanks

The rest of the images:

Edited May 11 by joaobr

[archie777]

Hi Joaobr,

 

I post your helmet on a SA Collectors group and hope to get any answer back.

 

Hope for the best

 

Regards

Archie

[archie777]

Hi Joaobr,

 

This is the feedback on the group. 

 

Why the SA helmet was used, is unclear, but the emblrm was definitely painted on.

 

Regards

Archie

[joaobr]

On 5/11/2024 at 1:43 PM, archie777 said:

Hi Joaobr,

 

This is the feedback on the group. 

 

Why the SA helmet was used, is unclear, but the emblrm was definitely painted on.

 

Regards

Archie

Hi Archie,

 

Thanks a lot for the help. It really is very curious that the South African helmet reached the Dutch. I imagine that it may have been saved from English units and the commonwealth and sent as aid material to the Dutch, since in Indonesia they used several reused materials from the 2nd World War from the USA and UK.

 

I'm still studying and researching more about other pieces from this set.

 

Thanks!

[archie777]

Hi Joaobr,

 

I wish I could help more

 

Many SA colectors wanted to buy the helmet, but I only laughed at then.

 

Excellent items to have in your collection.

 

When they started cleaning at the Cross Swords in Baghdad, I was fortunate to get a British helmet worn by an Iraqi soldier during their war against Iran, as well as a helmet worn by an Iranian soldier.

 

Brought them back to South Africa and part of my collection now.

 

Regards

Archie

[joaobr]

1 hour ago, archie777 said:

Olá  Joãobr,

 

Eu gostaria de poder ajudar mais

 

Muitos colecionadores da SA queriam comprar o capacete, mas eu só ri disso.

 

Excelentes itens para ter em sua coleção.

 

Quando começaram a limpar o Cross Swords em Bagdad, tive a sorte de conseguir um capacete britânico usado por um soldado iraquiano durante a guerra contra o Irão, bem como um capacete usado por um soldado iraniano.

 

Trouxe-os de volta para a África do Sul e agora fazem parte da minha coleção.

 

Cumprimentos

Archie

Thank you very much for the compliments and these items are really excellent pieces in my collection.

 

I also have an SA helmet with a painting that, if I'm not mistaken, is from the 6th Armored Corps in South Africa.

 

A colleague told me that the different numbers in the dogtag before the acronym "RS" (which stands for Regiment stoottropen) refer to the units to which the soldier was assigned, but I'm still having difficulty cross-referencing this information

 

Another piece that I found very curious were the 3 red "overseas bars", I don't know if they are really Dutch or from another country, as I can't find references to how this emblem was used in the Netherlands.

 

Anyway, I really appreciate your help and answers.