helmets of the home front New book -Helmets of the Home Front

[2 Black Bands]

Helmets of the Home Front

Hi all..... I am one of the authors - I started this book about 30 years ago and intensified my activity 10 years ago - I’m a helmet and general militaria collector. I wrote this book because it was needed - I became frustrated seeing HF lids confined to one or two pages at best in other books and thought they warranted a book of their own......I certainly wanted a book when I started collecting. If I were to summarise, it’s about 70% about the markings applied, 20% about the various helmets including variants like the CPH and their production and 10% about attachments, carriers etc. Each broad section “Wardens”, “Police”, “Fire” etc. contains a very small bit about the history of that particular group but then quickly jumps into the rules/guidelines about the markings applied, and, where we found them, any known regional variations.....but the important bit is the markings and the photos of them. In over 40 years, on average, I come across a new (to me) marking every week ....last year the draft had 300 pages.....it’s actually finished with 362....I simply had to rule it off before it got too big. There are period B/W pics but copyright rules proved too difficult to include many that I would liked to include. 

It’s being sold by me directly retail £65 if there's any questions I'm happy to field them or PM me, and here’s the kicker....we’ve sold just under half the print run in the first week and I have no plans to re-print. 362 pages, hard cover, over 1,000 helmets, full colour, limited print-run etc ..it would grace any (strong) book shelf and make a great divider between books on M35s and US M1s! Feedback has been positive...the inevitable identification of “wrong-uns” included!

Adrian Blake  2019

[Kenny Andrew]

Looks like a great book  Adrian, thanks for the reviewing it here   

[2 Black Bands]

Thank you. It's been a long time coming....and whilst  I thought it might only have limited appeal, it's flying out of the boxes...which is good because boxes of books around the house aren't always appreciated by "others"    That's one of the big learns from self publishing......make / have enough space for a few pallets! But when they've gone, they've gone...it was a small print run and I don't have any plans to go through all that again.....'tho the wood from the pallets may come in handy.....

I've had a few of the helmets in there questioned...but as I say in the early pages, with over 1,000 in there there's bound to be some wrong 'uns. What has been great (and was one of my hopes) has been the post-publishing ID-ing of some of the "unknowns" in there...some helmets/markings haven't been identified for over 70 years....and then someone comes out of the woodwork with a Company name or an old family photo....perhaps I should write a second book called "Home Front Helmet Mysteries Solved"!

Having spoken to many of the buyers it would seem that current day photos of lids in folks collections is one of the key attractions - when I think back the books by Reinhard, Goodapple, Clawson, Baer and Marzetti had the same attraction to me....I simply wanted to marvel at what was out there (and would probably never own!)

Some one recently said (on another Forum) that Brit Home Front Helmets "aren't militaria"........but no-one says that about Luftschutz lids?????.... 

...and someone else said we should all now prepare ourselves for a wave of freshly painted copies.....

[nicolarudge]

 Hi, Can I ask if your father was George Blake? Were you from London? 

Could you email me nicolarudge1@aol.com I am trying to trace some of my family. 

Thanks Nicola 

[2 Black Bands]

I’m afraid not....on both counts. Good luck.

[Johann johannson]

Do you have any Swedish helmets in your collection by any chance?

[2 Black Bands]

I don’t have any Swedish Home Front Helmets. Sorry but that’s not an area of interest

[firemalc]

Hello Adrian, they say if you do not ask you  do not get and so I am making a cheeky request. I am an archivist for the Massey Shaw Fireboat ( lots of info on our website if you do not already know about us) and I wondered if you would consider donating a signed copy to our small library. We maybe able to generate some sales for you at our various events, but unfortunately all our funds are dedicated to getting the boat ready for her return to Dunkirk. Yours sincerely, Firemalc