Hessian helmet covers

[SMP]

I wouldn't say duped. If the NZ army stores had Indian made covers that isn't an issue. We had to get them from somewhere and they were an ally. The NZ soldiers solar topees were made in Colombo and our Bombay Bloomers in India. Regardless of their manufacture, they were used by the NZ Army and ultimately disposed of.

Agreed.

BTW, does anyone have a cover with NZ stamps inside ?

[User14158]

I know the source of my two was ex NZ Army. This was long before the larger cache was sold.

[Texengland]

What year did you get them?

[User14158]

I'd have to hazard a guess as it was a long time ago. I got my two here in NZ between 2006 and 2008, as I ended up showing my Great Uncle (A WW2 vet) and he died in 2010. At that time a smaller surplus stash was sold and I grabbed two.

[OsiusGaming]

Did dying the covers green always obscure the maker marks? Here's one currently on a New Zealand auction site that's dyed green with maker mark.




WW2 3rd Division helmet cover

[tinlid]

I've seen a few dyed ones with the maker name, but most of them seem not to have been stamped for some reason.

[karkee]

It’s been a while since I posted on this thread and I come back to find that certain members are using my research to tell others that they were “duped”. As you can imagine, that does not sit well with me.

Firstly, further research has revealed that these covers were specifically made by the Indian firm B.C. Nawn & Brothers, Limited of Calcutta. Anklets, Web (pictured in a previous post) and Respirator Haversacks were also made by this firm. Below is an advert for this firm from the August 22, 1943 issue of The Indian Listener as well as a Mk VII Respirator Haversack.







New Zealand and India were both members of the Eastern Group Supply Council during the war and contributed war materials to each other as well as other member of the council. I’ve always believed that New Zealand-made water bottles were provided to the Indian Army, as many seem to turn up in ex-Indian Army surplus found in Greece. We know that India supplied textiles to New Zealand during the war and it is extremely likely that these hessian covers were included. There is certainly a wealth of period photographs showing very similar covers in use by New Zealand forces. Whether this pattern of cover was issued to Indian troops in other parts of the world, like Burma, is unknown, though I have not seen any pictures of Indian troops wearing them yet. Additionally, I do not know if domestic production of covers took place in New Zealand, though it sounds like no extant marked examples have yet been identified.

Moving on to the arrangement/widths of loops as a way of determining an Indian cover from a non-Indian cover, I simply have to say that Indian-made items vary wildly in terms of manufacturing tolerances, even within the same firm.

Additionally, the claim that the ‘H’ stands for Hyderabad is highly unlikely. As we already know, BCNB Ld. was in Calcutta, where a great deal of manufacturing took place. The most common inspection code letters found on Indian-made items are C, W, and H, but I have not been able to assign them a meaning after years of research. At one time, I thought they might refer to the class of good, i.e. clothing/webbing/hessian, however, this did not always match existing pieces. I also considered areas, however, that hypothesis didn’t seem to line up significantly either. At this time, I do not have a good theory regarding these codes.

Lastly, the proposal that the presence of Indian Government acceptance stamps means that these covers were intended specifically for the Indian Army, rather than the New Zealand Army is not true. As previously stated, India supplied vast quantities of materials to the members of the EGSC as well as the Allies in general. Indian wartime production records demonstrate that Australian Pattern shorts were supplied to Australia between 1942 and 44.



Here is a pair of 1944 dated Indian-made KD shorts in the Australian Pattern. As you can see, the stamping is identical to other Indian-made items. These were specifically intended for the Australians, yet there is no Department of Defence stamp.









Here is a 1943 dated Indian-made US Army Field Cap. Again, the stamps are standard Indian production stamps and there is no stamp indicating it was intended for US troops.

[SMP]

Perfect research, well presented. Thank you for your valuable contributions

[Composite]

I have never collected these and never will BUT I LOVE enthusiasm and your post oozes it in gallons! Thank you so much. When one reads about New Zealand items supplied to India turning up in Greek Surplus it gives an idea how hard it all is to track the history down. Thank you again....and keep it coming Mr Kee........who said Allied kit was dull and boring?!!!