Jump to content

British & Commonwealth WW1 & WW2 Brodie Helmet Maker Stamps


leon21

Recommended Posts

Welcome to the forum Brodie, all helmets were factory finished in green for the Army or black for the Navy with helmets for the RAF were hand painted

blue on the outside. I can only speculate on why it was repainted black it could be they were short of black helmets at the time and issued with a green one

so had to paint the outside black for which ever branch of service the person was in.

I have a helmet made by BMB and also dated 1939 but mine has the new type of liner with the x shaped rubber instead of the oval pad these BMB helmets

were good enough for combat use, not all home front services  had the cheaper made helmets.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, leon21 said:

Welcome to the forum Brodie, all helmets were factory finished in green for the Army or black for the Navy with helmets for the RAF were hand painted

blue on the outside. I can only speculate on why it was repainted black it could be they were short of black helmets at the time and issued with a green one

so had to paint the outside black for which ever branch of service the person was in.

I have a helmet made by BMB and also dated 1939 but mine has the new type of liner with the x shaped rubber instead of the oval pad these BMB helmets

were good enough for combat use, not all home front services  had the cheaper made helmets.

Many thanks leon21, that info is really helpful. In that sense, maybe we could have two possibilities, haven't we? On the one hand I didn't know navy helmets were finished in black, could this one has been repainted for the navy?

on the other hand maybe it is more plausible it was used in the home front even if it lacks wardens "W" or any other simbol. In that case it would be a shell with army streght standards but use at home I suppose.

and finally, what about the fire fighters brigade, could be any possibility?

many thanks again!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes it could have been any of the services that used a black helmet, police, warden, rescue, ambulance and so on, firemen used green, red, or grey helmets.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, leon21 said:

Yes it could have been any of the services that used a black helmet, police, warden, rescue, ambulance and so on, firemen used green, red, or grey helmets.

Great, thank you very much for your help👏🏼

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Dustyvon, the green helmets would be smooth on the inside and on the outside.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is another helmet that I spotted being sold as a British Home Guard  helmet the seller has mistaken  the helmet as a British 3-hole Brodie.

It is in fact a WW2 South African made Helmet based on the British Brodie and made by the Transvaal Steel Pressing Syndicate, the liners were

made by the Jager Rand Co and 3-holes were punched between the skull and rear rim to attach a curtain type neck flap, these helmets were used

mainly in North Africa. it would have been painted in a sandy textured colour  but has been repainted in post war gloss green paint.

South African Helmet 2.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Hi,

I'm trying to work out the markings on my helmet and have 2 questions.

It has police on the front and on the rim in a faint stamp BMB 1939.

Above this in a firmer deeper stamp it has G01.

I've looked at what the BMB means but I'm not sure what the G01 is???

The liner has BMB with a number 1 above 1939.

What does the number 1 mean?

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forum Anar,  the Go1 will be the batch code of steel used, and the 1 above the 1939 means Mk 1* liner, I have a police helmet by BMB

for the same year as yours. Has it got the x shaped rubber or the oval pad on the liner, any chance you could post some photo's.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the photo's Anar, the liner you have is the new liner that BMB produced in 1939 and was approved by the war office that year with production

starting immediately in BMB, it wasn't until 1940 that this new liner was made by other companies, so the liner would be classed as a Mk1* liner.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a WW2 MK11 Helmet I spotted on an American website being sold as a Canadian made Brodie, it is a British made helmet with a scarce stamp

mark for AMC = Austin Motor Co Ltd of Cowley 1941. The liner has been replaced with a 1949 dated liner and has been painted black on the surface

with white F.A letters = First Aid, the inside still shows it's original light brown colour.

AMC 1941 Helmet.jpg

AMC 1941 Marks.jpg

Liner dated 1949.jpg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know what this liner mark denotes? I know the British used a broad arrow however I thought there were typically broader than this and have not seen one with the ‘c’ through it before.

The liner was made in 1938 by Everett.W.Vero & Co and has the oval top sponge.

As always amy help is greatly appreciated,

Regards,

Jack

1st picture: the liner mark in question 

2nd picture the other makers marks on liner

3B305B77-0C96-4AC5-BD2D-ED9CF3AC2BE8.jpeg

1A008D00-F297-4382-869E-02068FFBA1E8.jpeg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Jack, the mark seems to be the standard mark on British made liners I have the same mark on my helmet liners, I think the number under

the mark is a batch code or a makers code not sure which at the moment.

I've seen BMB made liners with the number 256 under the mark and Helmets Ltd liners with the number 316 under the mark, and your Vero

made liner has the number 536 under the mark.

So can I ask members with British made liners for Brodie helmets to let us know who the maker is and the number under the mark on their liners.

It would be most helpful.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for clearing that up for me,

I can only find the symbol on one other of my helmet liners. It’s on another Everett.W.Vero & co liner and it is only a partial stamp. The first digit is not there and the second one only part visible, it could be either a 3 or a 5 with the last digit being a 6, so another clear example is needed.

Thanks again,

Jack

1st photo: The partial mark

2nd photo: The other makers details 

EA76970B-08E9-4265-977C-86C65458E513.thumb.jpeg.08e940b652c7d5f4e09930ec0a8bec79.jpeg

9C98D183-2DCD-4C53-901E-26C02B72E6A6.thumb.jpeg.1993d9cde933b726adeee0f540c25ada.jpeg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might be, personally I think it looks more like a 5 than a 3. However it could easily be either and as it is not a clear at least another vero example is needed to draw conclusions on wether it is a marker number or batch number.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Jack, I've found several Vero liners  for the same year all with different numbers  so I would say they are batch numbers.

Here are a few numbers I've seen 359, 10,and 468.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Intresting, as you have seen a 10 I reckon that my second one is 56 then and is not missing another digit but rather doesn’t need one.

Is there any information on how many helmets/liners were in a batch? Or how many batches were completed a year?

Thanks for all the help,

Jack 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a magnetic brodie with green sand finish, the base layer seems to be a smooth greenish/1569C0CE-DDD0-4A7C-B1BF-47E4371AE8C8.thumb.jpeg.f84d4808026fd54043cc75b50378aab2.jpeggrey, with same green overpaint.! It has a 1917 liner with doughnut.!

It is stamped with MYЯRYS logo then LS 18

B920AB76-5857-4543-A74F-F95814E57B35.thumb.jpeg.e6b8db5ad30b0937f94019a5cab291c3.jpeg

BA0F95CD-CD27-43E9-AED9-840A4AE93373.thumb.jpeg.e8387038a61e6ab3bb47ab483adfb2b4.jpeg1A413970-829F-45F3-BA77-41BDE71FA260.thumb.jpeg.ed7856a0f74ed15c5f3c78571d5f28d1.jpegC64B9964-47C0-404A-8DF5-F7E7A96C24B7.thumb.jpeg.6b9c4f6c64c4d890d21627aa38266f8e.jpegA3D026CF-6B1E-43FA-BDFB-9983CA23A465.thumb.jpeg.b4639e6cdb5333ddf20946ff59437ee6.jpeg1094CC41-CA36-4EB1-A929-84ECCF7CD5BD.thumb.jpeg.3c7c476f5f4fb458e83bf096f2883ce7.jpeg42EEC291-A6C0-40C4-888B-A8CE12149BD2.thumb.jpeg.6c2103aeb2ac3513686327cf874fc57e.jpeg91DF6E25-ED04-4C74-88EC-39F49CF71B6F.thumb.jpeg.8edd085e233311cf1f895c5a301d4373.jpeg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forum Kenneth, the helmet could have been made by Miris Steel Co Ltd of London who made them from 1916-1918.

There should be a letter M before the LS for MLS which is one of the stamp marks they used. On page 1 of this post there is a photo of a

MLS mark I recently uploaded has the same logo but very faint so hard to read the letters, the 18 being the batch number of steel used.

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very similar to the example I had, but with a smooth green finish. Unforunately traded away with an almost complete WW1 uniform many years ago.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no M. This helmet is magnetic and, there is a theory developing that these where stamped out by leadbeater & Scott of sheffield before the order was changed to manganese.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I've read the same theory also Kenneth, but as far as I know Leadbeaters & Scotts stamp mark was a large letter L with a letter S entwined in a triangle.

It's possible they were used as a Sub-Contractor to  help  Miris to complete the order of helmets and used a different stamp mark.

 The photo on page one has the Miris logo and stamp mark  MLS which Miris themselves used  being steel supliers and helmet producers

so  its possible they helped out Miris to complete their order for the War Office

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just had another look at page one. The LS in MLS is a different type of font than the LS found on mine.! 

My theory is miris supplied the steel.! And whoever LS is , stamped out the helmets.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Announcements

  • Welcome to the Treasure Bunker Forum - Please feel free to join and share your knowledge, with our growing data base of collectors and historians, both new and advanced.



×
×
  • Create New...