Spiked Helmets....

[Daniel Murphy]

Here are his decorations and awards.

Landwehr service medal II Class (12 year) on Aug. 31, 1912

1914 Iron Cross II Class on Sept. 16, 1914

1914 Schaumburg-Lippe Loyal Service Cross on Dec. 16, 1914

1914 Brunswick Merit Cross II Class on Dec. 30, 1914

Silver Wound Badge on June 4, 1918

1914 Iron Cross I Class on Aug. 25, 1919

?Hindenburg? Honor Cross for combattants on Nov. 15, 1934

Gold (25 Year) Service Cross on Oct. 26, 1938

1939 War Merit Cross II Class with Swords on Feb. 4, 1942

[Daniel Murphy]

His only son, Egge Heeren, was killed in Normandy on July 31, 1944, the Grandson was this mans son. The last entry in Professor Heeren's Wehrpass is dated 1943 and states he is authorized to wear the uniform of Pz. Gren. Rgt. 74, the regiment his son was in at the time.

Edited June 12, 2006 by Daniel Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Professor Heeren's father, Robert Heeren fought for Hannover in the 1866 war and later for Prussia in 1870. His grandfather, Friedrich Heeren served alongside British forces in the Crimea and later in India. His maternal great grandfather Ernst Levin Scharnhorst was an officer in the 2nd Line Battalion of the Kings German Legion dating from 1803. He served in Denmark, was on the HMS Salisbury, and attempted to help save the men on board, but was one of the few survivors. He later served in the Peninsular Campaign and was wounded at Salamanca. He was killed while storming the outer works of the castle at Burgos, Spain in 1812. Upon learning of their fathers death, his grandfather Ferdinand Andreas Karl Scharnhorst and his great uncle August Scharnhorst (13 and 12 years old respectively) both traveled to Helgoland to join the legion themselves. They later received more training in England and both received Patents as Ensign's in 1813. Ferdinand was assigned to the 5th Line battalion and fought through France and was at the Battle of Waterloo. At Waterloo the 5th Battalion was decimated by two haevy cavalry attacks and only 18 men were unwounded. He was one of them and was discharged in 1816 at the age of 17. He later served as an officer in a Guard Regiment of Hannover until 1866. He received the English Waterloo Medal and the Hannoverian Guelphin House Order. When he died in 1893, he was the last surviving officer of the Kings German Legion. Last photo, of the inside. I hope not to have bored you all too much.

Dan Murphy

[Glenn J]

Hi Daniel,

a very nice helmet and an interesting career!

I am a little confused by his early career progession. His service in the army and his eventual commissioning all seem to be the classic progression of a "one Year Volunteer" bearing in mind his academic background.

If he joined the army in say October 1900 or 1901 as an "einj?hriger" he would normally have been commissioned in 1903 or 1904 as a Leutnant der Reserve respectively. He was in fact commissioned with a patent of15.11.04 J4j. This all makes sense and he is consequently listed in the 1905 Prussian Rangliste as a Leutnant der Reserve in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 164.

He could not enter the army as a F?hnrich. An aspirant for an active commission would enter the regiment as a Fahnenjunker and be promoted to F?hnrich after roughly six months. After attending a War School and successfully passing the vote of approval of the officers of his regiment he would be commissioned about 14 months after his initial entry. However as an Abiturient (and in Heeren's case also a Doctorate) his Patent would have been predated by two years. As Heeren's Patent is from 1904 and not 1900 I assume therefore he was never a regular officer. He could possibly have left active service as a F?hnrich and transferred to the reserves and was subsequently commissioned that way?

Regards

Glenn

[joerookery]

I agree with Glenn. My added twist is that it was common to serve as a one year volunteer in Regiment number one and then move to Regiment number two for actual commissioning. He had to find a Regiment that would accept him as a candidate. A One year volunteer could choose any Regiment he wanted and I believe for the most part, there was no problem being accepted. They were free labor for the receiving unit. They did not count against the totals. It certainly sounds like a one year volunteer. Service in Regiment 82, commissioned into Regiment, 164.

Maybe when he moved into the reserves, he went off active duty into the reserves? He could have well served on active duty with a reserve commission.

Nice helmet! What color are the rings on the cockades? Are they gold or silver?

Mike,

Any chance of getting a better picture of that maker's Mark? What does it say?

[Mike Huxley]

First off, I just have to say ... What a fantastic quality hemet you have there Daniel, with the history as well ... just

Now at last I've managed to get those close up's done of my haube. There are a few things that raise questions in my mind over it though.

Joe it came from AOK's and Remy stands by it, although he does say that the scales are replaced, but all else is original. Please give me your honest opinions gents !!!

I'll apologise for some of the pics .... my camera skills are not great, so please bear with me.

First a full front view with shots then from all sides.

Edited October 30, 2005 by Mike Huxley

[Mike Huxley]

next

[Mike Huxley]

left side

[Mike Huxley]

and rear

[joerookery]

I think the scales are perfectly correct but long. They are the correct chin scales with the correct faux rosettes. It seems however, that they are perhaps one scale too long. So if it is a replacement. They may have come from a helmet that was larger to begin with. Nice helmet, really love the wappen!

[Mike Huxley]

This next shot shows the plate removed and this got me a little worried ... your thoughts please

[Mike Huxley]

the reverse off the wappen

[Mike Huxley]

and the attachment "wing nuts" ...I've not seen this type before

[Mike Huxley]

Here's the spike

[dwmosher]

Mike:

Either the chinscales are correct and the plate is replaced or visa versa. As Joe indicated before, in 1914 the bavarians "simplified" their wappen w/o the intricate vines. Your helmet wappen is the earlier style and as I said before, the chinscales are M-1915 officer style.

Regards

Dave

[Mike Huxley]

Chin scales ... yes your right Joe ...they are too long

[Mike Huxley]

Both cockades

[Mike Huxley]

And the reverse

[Mike Huxley]

Nearly finished ... just a couple of shots to go. A pic of the inside with something written there, I can't make it out though.

[Mike Huxley]

Last one

[Mike Huxley]

Joe ... That Prussian Pioneer helmet of yours, is it made with a black felt? It is a beauty!!!!

[Daniel Murphy]

Glenn and Joe,

Thanks, for commisioning info guys. I had thought that a one year volunteer would have been commisioned shortly after his one year of service was completed. Therefore with that and the lack of a reserve (landwehr) cross on the helmet (It does not appear to have ever had one), I had assumed (I know dangerous territory) he was a fahnrich. His WW2 records confused me even more. In reference to his earlier service, at times he was referred to as Leutnant and at other times as Leutnant der Reserve. He joined I.R. 82 at Gottingen on April 1, 1900. If you have any more info on him, I would very much appreciate your letting me know. Another piece of the puzzle solved. BTW, the cockade rings are silver.

Dan Murphy

Edited October 30, 2005 by Daniel Murphy

[Mike Huxley]

Joe,

Here's that closer shot of the makers mark you asked about.

[joerookery]

Either the chinscales are correct and the plate is replaced or visa versa.

maybe both.

The guys at pickelhaube.com could probably give a lot more information. I often find that more eyes are better than two! Here are a few rambles from me.

convex chin scales

They sure look that way, don't they? But I have found that finding the difference can be very difficult and the best way is to look at the rosettes.

Round Rosettes are for flat chin scales and oval ones are for convex chin scales. Diameter supposedly 27mm.

This one has a round rosette. So therefore should be a flat set of chin scales.

Q. What is the difference between Bavarian Officer Cavalry, Artillery and Infantry helmets?

A. That is a very interesting question. Frankly, I always thought it is virtually impossible to sort them out. In order to provide unity for the manufacture of helmets after 1914 all Bavarian officers carried rounded chin scales. Prior to that time infantry and foot artillery units carried flat chin scales. "The Kriegsministerium-Verordnungsblatt Nr. 17 of the 20th of February 1914 introduced convex scales for officers of foot troops. The flat scales were permitted to be worn until the 1st of January 1916."

The oval rosette pictured above comes off a Bavarian helmet, but not one with M15 rosettes. Were there oval shaped M15 rosettes? I don't know.

The holes on the front of the helmet body are known as elongated holes. Frequently, this indicates an exchange of wappen. You have this wonderful early wappen from pre-1914. The chin scales are from 1915-1916. So maybe both. I know if I found this fine wappen. I would pop it on my helmet, if I could.

I have not seen that maker's Mark before. It looks super! The initials DRP stands for Deutsche Reich's Patent and you can see the patent number. Many helmet covers are marked DRP.

[joerookery]

Daniel,

I had thought that a one year volunteer would have been commisioned shortly after his one year of service was completed.

Short answer no. Somehow, the "conventional wisdom" of one year volunteers had most of the information wrong. This has been continued through a lot of dealers. I really need to rewrite my article and intend to do so I soon as I finish the article on the Neumann catalog.

The existing article on one year volunteers is at http://www.coljs.com/articles/OneYearVolunteer.htm. There have also been some recent discussions at Pickelhaubes.com