Need help identifying pith helmet

[Battery Command Post]

That's a very nice hat, good find

The official name for it is the Khaki Solar Pith Hat, which was introduced around 1938 as the universal hat for troops in India (the Foreign Service Helmet being retained for all other 'tropical' areas'). As for the maker, Imperial Hatworks of Bangalore were a very well known and major supplier of all types of headgear to both the Indian Army and British troops stationed in India. I believe they were an Indian-owned company (so not really 'Imperial' in the wider sense) and operated from the 1930s through the to late 1950s. I would guess it is indeed an officer's privately purchased example.

The insignia is less easy to pin down. Although flashes on these helmets were common, they are notoriously badly recorded. The Garhwal Rifles is as good a guess as any, and the only way to find out for sure is either luck or tracing the officer in question. However, I would tend to disbelieve the story you were given as it sounds like either a bad case of 'chinese whispers' or just a sales story (i.e. bullshit) to me. It isn't Ghurka or DAK, so I would tend to stick to the old 'buy the item not the story' cliche and dismiss the whole story.

If you want my best guess I would go for an English regiment. I know for sure that the use of a green top fold in the puggaree like that was a well known feature of hats used by the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regt), and of course, the Maltese cross shape is a feature of their cap badge. At least one battalion of this regiment used a similar green cross shape as a patch in WW1, so there is a precedent, and green is their regimental colour.



That's my thoughts... apart from the nagging "wish I owned it" one

Rob

[MG42]

Thanks, I didn't really buy it for the story as it was already a great piece. I think the Notts and Derby is more plausible and I'll dig through my cap badge collection to see if I can find the cap badge and maybe reunite them.

[MG42]

Can anyone give a possible retail price for something like this?

[Jerry B]

Can anyone give a possible retail price for something like this?

In this condition, probably less than £50, though others might have a different price in mind. I might be interested in buying it.

[MG42]

Just wanted to make sure I didn't overpay for it as I was a bit unsure about condition but your opinion reassures me that I did OK

[Jerry B]

Just wanted to make sure I didn't overpay for it as I was a bit unsure about condition but your opinion reassures me that I did OK

Yes, I thought after I posted that might be the case. If you got it for less than £50, you did alright, especially with the flash, always makes them worth a bit more.

[MG42]

Thanks for the info, I'm relatively new to collecting (apart from picking up the odd thing here or there) and my knowledge isn't too good yet so it all helps me learn

[Jerry B]

Thanks for the info, I'm relatively new to collecting (apart from picking up the odd thing here or there) and my knowledge isn't too good yet so it all helps me learn

Well you have come to a good place to help you, though it can be a bit slow on the allied stuff sometimes.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Don't know if this helps, but here is a pic taken in the Notts & Derbys Regt Museum. (They have now banned pics being taken ) The example of a pith helmet there is pretty much devoid of insignia other than evidence of a cap badge to the front.

Cheers, Ade.

[MG42]

Interesting, I think that the patch on my pith is a bit too vague to be pinned to one particular regiment so it could be a different regiment?