Tommy Helmet

[Jakke]

Hello All,

I'd like to share this British or Canadian mk.II helmet.
I picked it up when I was 10 years old at a 'junk market' for 400 frank. (that's about 10€ or 15$).
The helmet is marked G&S 1942. The date stamp is faded on the liner but is still visible on the helmet itself (though not in the pictures because of the helmet texture).
I have some questions and maybe you could help me out:
- is the helmet british or canadian?
- the marking on the left side of the helmet, anyone recognises it? Maybe it's more of a personal marking, like a name? "Jaid__" or "Jald_ _"?
- Any remarks on the texture and color? is it common to hav this kind of texture?

that's all for now, enjoy the pics and best regards,

Jakke

(more pictures coming soon)

[Jakke]

some more pictures

note: the chinstrap is not original to the helmet.

[beorn]

Hi, the helmet is made in Canada and yes it is quite common to se them in some kind of rough texture. the britts and the germans had the same problem, shiny helmets so if you add rough paint or in this case sand in paint your helmet stops shining an it can save you life in the battlefield. A fun detail is the name on this one and it makes it unique. Nice lid!

/Bjorn

[Jakke]

Hi Bjorn, thanks for your reply.

At first I thought the name would be something like an identification for a a certain unit or so. It seems the guy taped off that piece of the helmet before adding the new layer of rough paint.

Thanks, and best regards,

Jakke

[magicdutchmen]

Very nice; here's my tommy with rough paint
marked TTC (teddy's toy company 1943)

[Jakke]

I like it!
They look very much the same considering texture and colour!

[Call to arms]

Great helmet

I have one myself and its great to see another one. Its helps to remind us that great efforts were needed by many country's of the realm. People say that for a time Britain stood alone in the second War but just as in the first great conflict we had many country's willing to contribute to the war effort.

[mk1rceme]

The helmet in the first post is of British manufacture. Canadian Mk.II's did not have that kind of chinstrap lug. Liner is also British.

Second helmet shown is also British.

[Jakke]

Hello,

Regarding the helmet in the first post:
An earlier post stated the opposite and it was said this helmet was Canadian. I have no books for reference, so I tried to look up the manufacturer on the internet ('G&S'), but with no luck. I only found this:

"The Helmet, steel, airborne troops MkI"
wartime manufacturers: Briggs Motor Bodies, G&S (a short contract in 1943 only).
reference: article about British airborne helmets: British WW2 airborne uniforms, insignia, equipment, headgear and weapons.
So this would indeed mean that G&S is a British manufacturer.
Can you describe the differences between Canadian and British liners/chinstrap lugs?
(btw, the chinstrap is not original to the helmet as said in opening post)

Thanks in advance & best regards,

Jakke

[Adrian Stevenson]

Sorry I missed this thread earlier.

As now already stated "G&S" is indeed British. The maker is, at present, unknown. BTW the site you show is owned by Luc, a Dutch friend of mine.

I have shown a Canadian made helmet on the forum here:

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/world...my-helmet.html


There are no big differences between them and British made examples.

Cheers, Ade.