MkII insignia help

MadJoe · 07-05-2010, 08:38 PM

I found this at the fleamarket recently. The shell is dated 41, couldn't find a date on the liner. Looks like there was another shield under the paint also. Is it a british marking or some other country used post war?

**tinlid** · 07-05-2010, 08:46 PM

Hi,
I'm pretty sure it was used by the Irish army post war, & I think the paint work & divy sign is from that era.
Aaron

**Adrian Stevenson** · 07-05-2010, 09:02 PM

I would agree with Aaron.

Cheers, Ade.

MadJoe · 07-06-2010, 10:02 PM

I thank you both for your responses. Not quite what I wanted to hear but nevertheless its still a helmet with a lot of character.

**Steve83** · 07-09-2010, 05:17 PM

I've seen a few like this, as the other said, Irish Army.

**noelh** · 07-09-2010, 05:47 PM

The badge is that of the Irish army 1st Division of the Southern command. The paint is laid on thickly. It would seem to me that they were frequently repainted for annual parades etc. They used to paint the vehicles in the same colour.

I have one from the Eastern Command obtained through contacts on this website. I wore one when I served as a reservist back in the 1980s. They were in use for a long time.

I'm beginning to think I might be interested in obtaining one helmet from each of the commands, Curragh, Western, Southern.

**tinlid** · 07-09-2010, 08:53 PM

Hi Noelh,
There's one on the US ebay, No, 150464659286. He descibes it as Australian coatal artiilery, but I'm pretty sure it's Irish, it has a shield on the front with a red spear pointing up.
Aaron

**noelh** · 07-10-2010, 12:29 PM

Yes, it's Irish all right. Eastern command badge. Just like mine. I notice too from the picture that there's a black line around the helmet just which mine has too. Clearly these helmets sat for years in stores stacked one on top of the other so that the black material from the liner of the helmet above melted onto the one below.

Definitely not Aussie coastal artillery!