Rimless Brodie relic from the Somme.

[AndyM35]

I was lucky to pick this one up a few years ago on eBay. The damage to the shell which speaks to the ferocity of the fighting was what I first noticed on this helmet however the tag attached to the shell was also quite intriguing. Potentially a relic of the battle of Bazentin Ridge (14-17 July 1916). With a tiny bit of green paint remaining this relic is surprisingly solid.

One side of the tag reads “British Helmet - Switch Trench - Highwood End. Between Bazentin and Longueval. 10/63. And on the reverse side “W.Moss - Oxford Uni course. World War 1 orig”. Makes me wonder if it was picked up on some field trip some 48 years after the guns fell silent on the Western Front.

An interesting relic that I’m pleased to have in my collection.

Andy

[BlackCat1982]

A relic that speaks volumes. Nice that it is still looking strong after 104 years.

[Jerry B]

the first great war brodie I got (& still have) is a relic but with no history with it

[HARRY THE MOLE]

This relic is more interesting than you might realise. It could have been witness to the most intense machine gun barrage of the Great War. On the night of 23rd/24th August 1916,the 100th MGC put down a barrage on the German switch line in support of an attack on High wood. The ten guns of the company put down a sustained barrage for a full 12 hours, in which time just one full belt (250 rds) short of one million rds were fired by the 10 Vickers guns without a single breakdown. The guns only stopped to change barrels where needed. Four petrol tins of water... and all the urine tins from the surrounding area were used to keep the guns cool, and soldiers used malt shovels to clear away the empty cases from under the guns.

The gun team of Sgt P. Dean, D. C. M., fired just over 120,000 rds... a staggering 10,000 rds per hour! The attack was deemed a 'brilliant success' and all objectives were taken.

Cheers,
Steve

[toot]

well at least it was over quick for the poor BUGGER, R.I.P.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

well at least it was over quick for the poor BUGGER, R.I.P.

You cannot just assume that the helmet was being worn when it sustained the damage, it might have been one discarded by a walking wounded. The battlefields were full of discarded equipment, and much of it was damaged in subsequent artillery fire.

[AndyM35]

Thanks for the information and map Steve. I’d read that the fighting was intense in that sector but not as intense as you described. Those Vickers barrels must have been glowing red! I’ve read a lot of Lynn McDonalds books and am currently reading Passchendaele. She’d have to be one of the best authors on WW1 that I’ve ever encountered. I’ve been intrigued in the fighting around High Wood since I got this helmet so if you can think of any titles that deal with it specifically I’d love to hear of them.

Andy

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Hi Andy,

I would recommend 'High Wood'. I have an old copy of a book called 'MACHINE GUNNER 1914 -1918... Personal Experiences of the Machine Gun Corps', by C. E. Crutchley. If you can find a copy do not hesitate to buy it.

I used to be a lover of the maxim gun - the Vickers being a modified maxim, and at one time I had no less than 11 of them... and three German Maxims as well. Below are pictured some of the guns that were in my collection. All the guns shown are different.

Cheers,
Steve

[AndyM35]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll start searching. I find some of the older books have great narratives as the authors spoke to the soldiers in person as many were still alive. For example, Bill Gammage’s The Broken Years whom I believe worked in a nursing home at one time and listened to the veterans as they recounted their stories of service to each other. It’s freely available from The Australian National University. Here’s a link: Open Research: The broken years : Australian soldiers in the Great War

Amazing machine gun collection and something you don’t see often nowadays. I thinks there’s one currently for sale on Collector’s Guild for about $6,000!

Thanks for showing,
Andy

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I've remembered the name of the book...
'The Hell They Called High Wood: The Somme 1916'. It was published in 1984 (I think). I will pm you with further titles when I've had a think, but you should also consider downloading official war diaries from our National Archives. Decide on the brigade you want to research, and then download the brigade and battalion war diaries for the appropriate months. If nothing else, it will help disprove the belief of 'Lions led by donkeys'. The meticulous planning that went into all operations is quite astonishing. Contemporary accounts are better than any books.
Cheers,
Steve