A Wolseley helmet provenanced to Private Frederick G. Rance of the 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment. This helmet was manufactured by Percy Ayses & Co. (Author’s collection)
Last year I wrote a companion article to this one, A Berkshire Lad, but have in the last week been contacted by the family of Pte. Frederick G. Rance. I sensed the import and could not but return the helmet to the family to complement the other memorabilia which they have preserved. Continue reading
The Waziristan Campaign (1936-1939) was a series of operations by a combined British and Indian force intended to restore Imperial Prestige in the Waziristan region of the Northwest Frontier of British India. Early reverses of the British by tribal Lashkars caused widespread insurrection among Wazirs, Mahsuds, Bhittanis, and Afghans under the leadership of the mysterious Fakir of Ipi. At the height of the campaign, 60,000 imperial troops were garrisoned on the frontier in towns like Razmak, Bannu and Wana. Continue reading
The late 19th century saw the era of “Red Coats” pass as British soldiers on campaign donned khaki – which was soon to become the first true universal camouflage
Today camouflage has gone high-tech, with digicam or “digital camouflage” being the preferred pattern. This utilizes small micro-patterns as the method for effective disruption, as opposed to the large blotches of cover, which could be easier to spot with the naked eye. This is of course leaps and bounds over the earliest camouflage, which consisted of solid patterns. Among the earliest was khaki. While known for the casual pants, khaki has a long history as the first widespread military camouflage.
This is part I of a multiple part series on the origins and development of “the Original Camouflage.” Continue reading
1st Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment c1892 wearing experimental helmets developed in the late 1880s. (Photo courtesy Michael Barthorp)
Since being introduced into the British Army in the late 1870s several problems with the Colonial pattern helmet prompted a search for a replacement. Those problems were; the rear of the helmet forcing the front peak down thereby making firing a rifle in the prone position difficult, and the lack of sun protection to the temples. There are many period photographs showing the helmets being worn back to front to provide better sun protection to the eyes although, therefore, exposing the neck. Continue reading
On this website, articles had been published about all kinds of inventions and patents that aimed to increase a sun helmet’s protection against heat. There were many kinds of different ventilation systems, double domes, aluminium foil or spine pads as a prolongation of neck flaps for the back. Now, one more idea was unwillingly and unintentional discovered by moths, that ate pieces of a helmet produced by Tress in London for Abercrombie & Fitch in New York. That is red fabric. Continue reading
The formation of Rashid Ali’s ‘National Defence Government’ in Iraq and its strong ties to Germany and Italy seriously threatened the British position in the Middle East in April 1941. As tensions mounted, the Iraqi Army began a siege of the RAF airbase at Habbaniya. In response, the British created a force to relieve Habbaniya from existing units in the British Mandate of Palestine. First Cavalry Division was an element of the newly created ‘Habforce’ (as it became known). Originally arriving in the Middle East in January of 1940 as a garrison and occupation force, the First was the last mounted division in the British Army. Continue reading
An example of a Colonial Pattern helmet with four panels rather than the more usual and authorized six panels. This example is to an Other Rank of the Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey). (Photo courtesy Roland Gruschka)
The 1st Battalion West Surrey was stationed in Malta in 1892 and it appears that this type of helmet was not uncommon in Mediterranean stations for the British Army. However, the Dress Regulations of 1894 state that puggarees were to be worn in such stations as India, Bermuda, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Egypt, the Straits Settlements, West Indies, Mauritius, Malta, West Coast of Africa and Cyprus and that the full Home Service pattern helmet plate was to be worn at other stations, i.e. those where the puggaree was not authorized. There was a term “Mediterranean Order” which translated to no puggaree but full helmet plate and it appears that the cork ventilation was also a feature of this “order.” In 1899 puggarees were authorised for all stations abroad. Continue reading