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Mk III Helmet with Provenance

Article about: Hello folks. This is one of two items I recently acquired belonging to the same soldier, 2nd Lt John Anthony Kenneth Hall of the Essex and York and Lancaster Regiments. The other item, his b

  1. #1

    Default Mk III Helmet with Provenance

    Hello folks.

    This is one of two items I recently acquired belonging to the same soldier, 2nd Lt John Anthony Kenneth Hall of the Essex and York and Lancaster Regiments. The other item, his battledress blouse, can be seen here: British Battledress with Provenance

    This helmet was issued to him just prior to his participation in the Allied invasion of Normandy, at which time he was serving in the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment. The regiment landed on Gold Beach at around 1PM, by which time the worst of the fighting had moved inland.

    It is a Mk III, painted in early khaki green with a rough finish. The shell was manufactured by Briggs Motor Bodies in Dagenham in February 1943. The liner is of much earlier manufacture, dated 1940, and manufactured by 'JCS&W Ltd'. I have read that these helmets were issued without liners, and that the receiving soldier would transfer the liner from his older helmet to his new one himself. This would certainly have solved the logistical issue of issuing hundreds of thousands of new helmets in the correct sizes, and would have cut down on all-important manufacturing times.

    The liner and chinstrap have seen better days, but the shell is superb. There is some light rust staining on one side, but otherwise it retains virtually all of its paint, with just a bit worn off around the brim. It's also very large, the liner being a size 7, and the shell measuring over thirteen inches from front to back. The initials 'A H' are written on the chinstrap, representing 2nd Lt Hall's middle and surnames.

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    Regards, B.B.

  2. #2
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    Nice early khaki green Mk3, not often you can see the date on these.

  3. #3

    Thumbs up

    Nice Mk3

  4. #4
    SMP
    SMP is offline
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    That would be nice lid even without the extra provenance . Gotta love those early Khaki MKIIIs.

    Congratulations on a great score

  5. #5

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    Thank you all. I agree that even without the provenance it's a great lid, which is why I jumped on it with I first saw it. The D-Day connection is the icing on the cake. Even better that I have the battledress he most likely wore it with. I'm thinking a mannequin might be in order at some point, whenever I've got the space for one.

    B.B.

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