home guard helmets

[Jerry B]

Sorry I don't have a picture but I saw a mkII tommy helmet for sale last week and I wondered if it might have been for the Home guard?

It was the type with 3 holes drilled close together on one side of the rim so I know that means it was not for front line use but I don't know if this type was issued to the Home guard or only for other civil defence and factory guard etc.

It was painted a matt green colour, khaki or olive, I'm not sure which and it had stenciled on the front in black a capitol A over a 4 digit number, which I can't remember.

I know that A was for the Anglesey homeguard, but would they have used a 4 digit number code?

The liner was dry and crackly and the shell was quite badly pitted and rusty though a lot of the paint was still insitu and it would probably clean up quite well, though the liner would have to be treated gently as it was in the first stages of falling apart. It still had a chinstap on it and all looked to have been period and untouched.

It had a 1940 dated size 7 vero liner and the last digit of the date on the shell was under the chinstrap lug, but I could read 194?

[tinlid]

The home guard were issued about 700,000 MkII No.2's, & also the standard MkII.

[Jerry B]

The home guard were issued about 700,000 MkII No.2's, & also the standard MkII.

Thanks tinlid. Any thoughts on the markings I described, capitol A over a 4 digit number?

[tinlid]

Would need to see it really, but normally an A would be for Ambulance. But if the helmet is painted textured khaki colour outside then it's most probably home guard, but what it stands for have'nt a clue.
Aaron

[Jerry B]

Would need to see it really, but normally an A would be for Ambulance. But if the helmet is painted textured khaki colour outside then it's most probably home guard, but what it stands for have'nt a clue.
Aaron

Hi Aaron, thanks again for the quick response.

It is a small size capitol A and numbers and they looked quite unlike anything I have seen for ambulance or similar CD markings and the stencil had a military look to it. The paint was a flat matt green colour, though I can't remember if it was textured. As I posted in the first post, I looked up the Home guard unit abbreviations and A was for Anglesey, though that does not mean it is anything to do with that, it just looked to have a military look to it, but I am still learning on these so I could be barking up the wrong tree.

[asterperious]

The home guard units had alpha numeric district codes - you see them on some of the BD jackets that turn up you'll see an arched flash 'pomyshires home guard' and underneath individual sqaure blocks like 'A384' so likely out of a district HQ or somethign. But without a picture hard to say.

http://www.s234171324.websitehome.co...G-Insignia.jpg

[Jerry B]

I went and bought it, partly because I wanted to know if it is Homeguard or something else.

[moaning minnie]

Very nice indeed jerry,regards minnie

[tinlid]

The majority of home guard helmets were painted khaki, this one has it's factory finish grey so probably not. It's got a nice rare maker liner G&S, the A could be for Ambulance or for one of the many workers who worked in the large factories.

[Jerry B]

The majority of home guard helmets were painted khaki, this one has it's factory finish grey so probably not. It's got a nice rare maker liner G&S, the A could be for Ambulance or for one of the many workers who worked in the large factories.

In the hand it looks green not grey and I'll take some out door pics tomorrow in the daylight. Thanks for the input and as you say, most of the Home guard helmets were painted Khaki, so even if it is grey as you think, it could still be HG. All the ambulance ones I have seen did not have markings like this, though I agree it could be factory guard as I suggested that in my original post. Good info on the liner maker being rare as I did not know that, but sadly it is very dry and starting to come apart. Can anything be done to preserve it?

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Very nice indeed jerry,regards minnie

Thanks Minnie, I had to get it to find out and it is unlike any others I remember seeing previously.