British Motor Cyclist's helmets of WWII

[Menno]

Here are some picture's of the steel lid.
The color is more brown the green, also the inside, so I think
it's not repainted, you can still see the cork finish.
It is military isn't it, or were there also civilian helmets like these.
Maybe a different branch for the brown color?
cheers Menno

[tinlid]

The HSDR were painted dark brown sometime in 1944, instead of the khaki green. They were used by the ARP/CD DR's as & when they had used up the HCDR (pulp helmets).
They carried on making these helmets through the 40's & into the 50's, & were replaced in the 60's by the fibreglass crash helmet.
Out of interest could you have a good look inside to see if there is the maker stamp of BMB.

[Menno]

The maker stamp on the liner is BMB indeed, size 7 1/4 , 1945
Does this mean it's more scarce/wanted or are there enough around?

[tinlid]

Hi, 45 dated helmets tend to go for slightly less than say an 42.43,or 44 dated one. But it's still WW2 which can only be a good thing Can you have a look to see if there are any stamps on the inside of the steel shell as I've never looked inside any of mine as the liner is fitted which makes it hard. BMB made all HSDR so was wondering if they stamped the shell as well.
Thanks.

[Menno]

Hi, I can find no stamps inside the shell. The stuffing is made from horsehair and is glued to the leather.
Regards Menno

[Unionjack]

Just obtained my first HSDR and have found this thread invaluable.
Mine is dated 1953 and it is very interesting to note the differences.
All I can see, is that they used a foam rubber instead of the thick felt, and the thin metal plate rivetted to the shell is of a shiny silver finish, probably an alloy of some sort. It is otherwise identical to the type introduced late '42.

[tinlid]

Glad you have found this thread useful, could you post some pics of your HSDR.

[DGregory]

Thanks for preserving some of this history. I still have my uncle's despatch helmet from WWII. He was a Canadian stationed in England. He never made it past there as he was involved in a crash while riding convoy and wound up in a coma. He told me that from time to time the escort at the back would switch with the front. He was moving to the front when a 5 ton lorry turned right in front of him.
This helmet is black in colour with Ccl, 1942 and 6 7/8 inscribed in the headliner.
It has artwork along both sides (a wing with "BUCK" in the centre...BUCK coming from his last name - Buckner).

[Mark K]

Welcome to the forum DGregory many thanks for posting pictures of your uncles DP helmet I for one would love to see some more detailed images of the helmet including the flash painted on the side and the goggles.
The goggles IMO were manufactured by Resistal and are quite hard to find in this configuration with the natural rubber Dust boots .

Regards Mark

[tinlid]

Thanks for showing , & as Mark said, more pics would be great.