~ First World War 58th Division London Territorials Brodie Helmet c1916 ~
In June 1915 the Brodie helmet type A was approved by the War Office Inventions Dept and production started immediately,
The helmet was commonly known as “Helmet Steel Mark 1” and also referred as “Brodie’s Steel Helmet, War Office Pattern”.
In 1916 several improvements were made. A formed rim was added to the outer brim, and a new liner was utilized
But also, as in this case many ‘Type A’ rimless shells were reused and simply fitted with the new Mark 1 Liner.
So what we have here is an original 1915 ‘Type A’ rimless shell with the 1916 improved liner.
The 1916 liner has a leather strap which is riveted to the top of the skull shell; this holds the doughnut shaped pad and liner in place. The liner is fitted
with a draw string net, added for a better fit. The leather chinstrap is held by brass loops riveted to the brim with split rivets.
The helmet is painted in the standard smooth dark green olive colour and features a hand painted insignia of a castle turret with flag within a circle to
the front.
The helmet stamped with a makers mark and serial no. which reads ‘HS 286’. The ‘HS’ standing for Hadfield Ltd of Sheffield, a well known maker of
Brodie helmets during the First World War.
The helmet has been painted under the brim by the owner with his name and regiment. It reads ‘S. Lee 58.T’
~ Dimensions ~
The helmet has an outer diameter of 30.5cm (12 inches) by 29cm (11 ½ inches) and an inner diameter of 23.5cm (9 ¼ inches) by 20cm (7 ¾ inches).
It has a depth of approximately 13cm (5 inches) and weighs 1.06Kg.
~ Condition ~
The padding is in good shape with just some staining. The oil cloth part of the liner is in a good condition with only light wear but is missing most of its
stitching. The leather part of the lining and is a little stiff with some wear but in a decent condition, although it has come away from the leather strap.
The chin strap has a little wear but is in good order. There are sadly only remnants of the draw string net.
The helmet itself has some oxidation and blackening and has lost the majority of its green paint but is free from damage and is in very good shape.
ML