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British & Commonwealth WW1 & WW2 Brodie Helmet Maker Stamps


leon21

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i used a wash ( that i normally use for scale moddeling )  and some photoshop tricks and i got something i am 98% sure the date says  1945  but since it was allmost gone it could possibly say 1943, 

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very good Ninus17, that fits in with the dates BMB made them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here we have a WW1 British made helmet stamped HS 38 = by Hadfield Ltd of Sheffield an Heat No 38

It has no liner but still has it's leather chin strap in good condition, has the American 28 Division

insignia painted on front most likely painted post WW1.

Photo's from other sources.

HS 38 (1).jpg

HS 38 (2).jpg

HS 38 (3).jpg

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And other WW1 British helmet stamped HS 457 =  by Hadfield Ltd of Sheffield again no liner but still

has it's leather chin strap, has the 2nd East Lancashire Battalion insignia on side.

Photo's from other sources.

rare-wwi-2nd-east-lancashire-brodie-helmet-shell-leather-chinstrap_11238_pic3_size4[1].jpg

rare-wwi-2nd-east-lancashire-brodie-helmet-shell-leather-chinstrap_11238_pic4_size4[1].jpg

rare-wwi-2nd-east-lancashire-brodie-helmet-shell-leather-chinstrap_11238_pic7_size4[1].jpg

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Found myself a MkII stamped RO CO 1943. It has a 1949 liner fitted which is much deeper than the ones in my other MkII's, so i'm guessing it's really for a MkIV ? Anyway it'll look the part on my brother's 1943 Motorcycle..

IMG_20210709_150152_133.jpg

IMG_20210709_150224_087.jpg

IMG_20210709_150245_266.jpg

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How about this? Be nice on my 1942 motorcycle, but the marks are much deeper than i've ever seen, they are visible from the top where they've dented the rim. I've always associated a brown liner with Belgium helmets too.. If genuine I may have a go at it, but i'm not sure. Thanks.

he.jpg

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Yes the Belgium's bought a job lot of British helmet shells at the end of the war and put their own

liners in them until they started to make their own helmets.

This looks like one of them, looks like the stamp press operator was a bit heavy handed when he

stamped this shell.

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Here we have a WW2 British made helmet stamped F&L 1939 = by Fisher & Ludlow Ltd of Birmingham

Liner by JCS&W Ltd 1939 = J. Compton & Sons & Webb Ltd of London. Has a letter R on front of helmet

for Rescue Party.

Photo's from other sources.

 

F-L 1939 (1).jpg

F-L 1939 (2).jpg

F-L 1939 (3).jpg

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On 10/07/2021 at 10:47, leon21 said:

Yes the Belgium's bought a job lot of British helmet shells at the end of the war and put their own

liners in them until they started to make their own helmets.

This looks like one of them, looks like the stamp press operator was a bit heavy handed when he

stamped this shell.

People obviously liked it as it sold for over £118... I was surprised as I didn't even pay a 1/3 that for the 1943 helmet I bought the other week..

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  • 2 weeks later...

i finally got the repro liner and chinstrap, so now my brodie is complete. i have on porpoise left the crack in the helmet as it is, as i dont know when in time it happend or how it happend, but because it is part of the helmets history ( and i want to preserve history as much as i can ) it also makes it more unique amongst the many thousainds produced. what do you think. is my restoration up to standard, its the first time i have restored a helmet 

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220434356_264949788303011_2274605880265178275_n.jpg

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looks good, I would probably paint the nut and bolt too

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Here's a WWI British made helmet stamped DA 82 = James Dixon & Sons Ltd of Sheffield ( Manufacturer )

and Edgar Allen & Co Ltd of Sheffield ( Steel Supplier ) and Batch No 82 has no liner or chin strap.

Photo's from other sources.

DA 82 (1).jpg

DA 82 (2).jpg

DA 82 (3).jpg

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Here's another WWI  British made helmet stamped HH/O9 = Harrison Bros & Howson Ltd Sheffield

( Manufacturer ) and Samuel Osborne & Co Ltd Sheffield ( Steel Supplier ) and Batch No 9 still has its

liner and chin strap.

Photo's from other sources.

HH 09 (3).jpg

HH 09 (4).jpg

HH 09.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

I picked up a brodie helmet shell at a militaria shop for about 20 dollars and I quite frankly have no idea of it's origin. I assume WW2 based on the condition but the markings seem to be covered up by thick paint and basically unreadable. I'd like some help in determining its origin or where to look on the helmet itself for a heat stamp. There's also some sort of imperfection on the paint near the center of the helmet, maybe formerly a marking of some sort?

image0.jpg
image1.jpg

image2.jpg

 

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welcome Rubis, i would say WW2, if there are any marks they should be next to the chinstrap lugs.

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  • 1 month later...

G’day from Australia Guys, I have this Brodie helmet that has been in my family for as long as I can remember. Now I have time, I am attempting to semi-restore the helmet to a wearable state (on occasion) but not take away too much of the originality of the texture and paint. As you can see it is a raw edge version and the only markings I have found are ‘1941’ on the chin stay retainer as pictured; however, it does have what appears to be ‘Mk III’ above the 1941, in the crease of the chin stay retainer. (I thought MkIII’s were the Turtle helmet??) I’ve done some research where the belief is this to be an U.S. version (noting the absence of slit pins on the chin stay retainers) but I doubt that. The only place I can think of how we came to have it in our possession was either through my Uncle who’s father-in-law fought at Gallipoli (too early for the helmet) or at a long shot this is a Dutch helmet (my family is Dutch and they were in Soerabaya 1948-51) that came out of Indonesia to Australia (doesn’t explain the colour!). Particularly note the top pin. The colour, orange is quite bright but seems to be from the era, without signs of layers of paint of pri restoration. I have a repro liner and chin stay on order and intend to ‘Tiddlie’ it up a bit a display roughly as is but eventually with a canvas cover for desert warfare. I broke the top pin in my attempt to remove and will need a replacement but I am unable to find a replica of the original.

Any suggestions on the colour? What are the recommendations for the inside of the helmet paint scheme? Happy to receive any advice and observations! Thanks in advance.

Leo

I can add more photos if required.

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8C2F3D61-5E2F-4DBE-BB53-2A0FBDFE8D7C.jpeg

7938CBF3-70DE-4AA7-9C31-C4B9D8C9651B.jpeg

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Welcome Leo to the forum, the MKIII Turtle helmet was developed in 1941 but not manufactured

on mass till late 1943 and not used till D-Day 1944 along side the Brodie Helmets.

It's possible some of the chin strap lugs could have been made in 1941 intended for the MKIII and

used in the Brodie helmets being made in 1941. Or it could be a Dutch made shell refurbished post

war using surplus British Brodie chin strap lugs and shells.

The inside colour of the helmet will be the original factory finish , with the outside being over painted

a sandy colour at some time, you should be able to find a replacement nut and bolt for the top of the

helmet online I've seen them made of brass.

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9 hours ago, leon21 said:

Welcome Leo to the forum, the MKIII Turtle helmet was developed in 1941 but not manufactured

on mass till late 1943 and not used till D-Day 1944 along side the Brodie Helmets.

It's possible some of the chin strap lugs could have been made in 1941 intended for the MKIII and

used in the Brodie helmets being made in 1941. Or it could be a Dutch made shell refurbished post

war using surplus British Brodie chin strap lugs and shells.

The inside colour of the helmet will be the original factory finish , with the outside being over painted

a sandy colour at some time, you should be able to find a replacement nut and bolt for the top of the

helmet online I've seen them made of brass.

Thanks Leon - the Dutch theory is gaining pluasability!

I’m also hoping to get around some museums and militaries shops over the holiday season and do some more research.

Thankyou for your response! 😊👍

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi,

Here's yet another ww1 helmet that appears to have made it to the postwar dutch army and possibly civil defense. I found it earlier this week in the Netherlands. It is stamped FS154 and I believe it is an MK1*. The date on the chinstrap bail is hard to read but I think it is 1939 (see picture).

The liner and chin strap are typically what you'd expect in a postwar dutch refurbished brodie type helmet. The paint may be a dutch repaint (my first guess), or could it be from the 1939 MK1* refurbishment? I'm not very familiar with MK1* helmets...

Best regards, Clément 

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Yes a WW1 shell by Thomas Firth & Sons of Sheffield, then refurbished around 1939 and re-painted.

I think the paint is original showing it's age, I would expect the Dutch  to have painted it in a more

grey type paint.

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On 26/12/2019 at 06:40, leon21 said:

Here we have another British made helmet stamped FS 169 by Thomas Firth & Sons of Sheffield both Manufacturer and

Steel Supplier and Heat/Batch code 169. has the RED Brodie stamp on inside of liner.

Photo's from other sources.

FS 169 (2).jpg

FS 169 (3).jpg

FS 169 (4).jpg

FS 169 (1).jpg

Hi there! I’m new to this forum but I recently purchased a helmet with the same markings! I was curious to know what year the 169 batch was made. Thanks in advance!

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Welcome to the forum Heydchap, does your helmet have a rim or is it rimless?.

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1 hour ago, leon21 said:

Welcome to the forum Heydchap, does your helmet have a rim or is it rimless?.

Yes it has a rim around it, it’s almost identical to yours :) 

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Depending on which liner it has if it has a donut ring then it was made in 1917, if it hasn't then

it was made in 1916.

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1 hour ago, leon21 said:

Depending on which liner it has if it has a donut ring then it was made in 1917, if it hasn't then

it was made in 1916.

Ah great thanks for the info! I don’t have the helmet in hand yet, it’s still on its way, but here’s some images of the liner 

80041B82-A510-408A-A2FB-DC0D2FD07171.jpeg

983ECCAF-62F3-4B78-BFD6-00D146041824.jpeg

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