How to tell whether a Mk.1* Brodie was used by the BEF
Just a general enquiry (also my first post)
How do you tell if a Brodie Mk.1* was used by the British Expeditionary Force.
I.E. Was there any special markings? What colour were they (one of he various military greens or even brown?)? Is there a certain manufacturer or date?
There wouldn't be any surefire way to tell. You could only speculate on where and how the helmet was used, based on the date of manufacture. A helmet manufactured in, say 1938 or 1939 'could' have been issued to a member of the British Expeditionary Force, but unless you have concrete provenance there's simply no way to know. Unless of course the helmet was flashed, but then you'd have no way of knowing when the flash was applied.
From what I've seen and understand, earlier helmets tend to have a smooth dark green finish, as opposed to later ones, where it seems a 'sandy' paint was more common. As I only own one Brodie helmet, I don't feel all that qualified to speculate further.
Regards, B.B.
Welcome along Tom.
If you own an item and can post pictures of it then this can help ID it for sure, although you obviously have guessed you are talking about Mki* helmet. If you are lucky enough to obtain one from the family of a veteran then this is known as provenance, the story of the helmet and its owner. For most collectors this can be a rare phenomenon but can make a mundane item a thing of immense personal value to you as an enthusiast and collector.
Happy collecting.
Personally I'd highly recommend that you don't worry about all those samey greeny things......nothing interesting there...nothing which illuminates a shelf...at best there's a badge stuck on the side (which is hard to see)...or possibly covered by a tatty ol' net.....eeeeuuuugh!!
What you need to focus on is Home Front helmets...colours, stripes, stars, diamonds, lights, visors, variants....literally thousands of different markings and styles :-)
Seriously matey, welcome aboard.....nice to see someone slightly younger than me join our ranks and share our interests...good luck!!
oh, and re the MkI*...it's pretty much all been said....but buy the item...not the story....and if you do buy an item with a story...write it down...add to it as and when...and keep it with the item..so many great stories are lost over time being detached from the item.
It is a really difficult question to answer. For one thing there is no such thing as a "BEF" helmet, unless, as already stated, it has direct provenance to the family, or some other cast iron history.
The fact is that most ( all ?) of the helmets worn by the regular soldiers that comprised the BEF where MKI*s. This is because all their MKI helmets were refitted to MKI* configuration from 1397 . There does not appear to be a standard colour for these early refits. These are the "true" MKI*s. I believe that a lot of the painting was performed at unit level , though we will have to wait till Marcus publishes his findings to be sure. The paint on later MKI*s was more standardised, and is similar to the rough khaki found on early army MKIIs. These later MKI*s are a sort of transitional MKI"/MKII since they often have MKII chinstrap fittings.
I believe that a lot of the earliest MKII helmets went to RA/AA/ and mainland based army units , but a few undoubtedly went to the BEF.
So if the helmet has non standard khaki paint, a 1937/1938 dated liner, MKI chinstrap fitting and strap, plus a division flash to a known BEF unit , then it has a chance.
Lastly, a lot of known BEF helmets seem to have their owners name, or service number marked in them.
Hey, Adrian, you know that deep down, underneath all that gaudy paint, they are all really khaki - just like you !by Composite
Racist!......well, Helmet-ist at the very least......
Oh..and “gaudy”.....really?.......and I thought we used to be friends. :-)
Hi Blackcat, I don’t own a BEF or what I think is one I am just wondering for future reference, thanks.
I am more interested in and collect Home Front/ Civil Defence Brodies as Composite said, they are much more interesting in my opinion.
It is always commendable to want to broaden your knowledge on the subject. You'll be better equipped when the time comes to go looking for one, whichever helmet you may choose. Best of luck to you!
Regards, B.B.
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