While the sun/pith helmet originated in India, as we have noted the British were not alone in considering the importance of such headgear in tropical climates. By the end of the 1870s France had adopted its own version and it does seem that these were influenced, and perhaps even copied, from the British pattern. However, as with the helmets made in London, the French Model 1878 pattern was made of cork, likely supplied by Portugal, and produced in Metropolitan France. Throughout its Africa and Southeast Asia colonies the French military used helmets made of cork, and this remained the case until after the Second World War.
Tag Archives: French
Force Publique Movie Prop Helmet
Sun/pith helmets in the movies have often been hit or miss – and in some cases have even caused some confusion regarding fact vs. fiction. Most notably are the helmets in the 1964 epic Zulu, which featured helmet plates on the front. Because of this movie many new collectors expect that helmet plates were generally worn in all stations abroad (The helmet plate was authorized only for the so-called Mediterranean stations).
However, the 2016 production The Legend of Tarzan offered rather surprisingly good depictions of the Belgian Congo’s Force Publique. While these are technically the “villains” in this overly PC movie, which is just the latest take on the “King of the Apes,” the uniforms and helmets are actually fairly accurate.
The French-Vietnamese Leaf Hat
As previously noted the conical hat – known as the “nón lá” or leaf hat – was in fact widely used in the Vietnam and neighboring regions throughout the 19th century by farmers and soldiers (including bandits) alike.
What is unique about the Vietnamese nón lá is that it has its own origin, based on a legend to the growing of rice in the region. This tells of a giant woman from the sky who protected humanity from a deluge of rain, and she wore a hat made of four round shaped leaves to protect her from the rain – and that inspired farmers to stitch together their own style of helmet. This has evolved over the centuries and various styles have become common in the different parts of Vietnam. Continue reading
The Origin of the French Model 1931
One great irony of the era of imperialism and European colonial empires is that the French reached their colonial zenith as a republic. In fact an overseas empire was seen as a way of restoring the prestige of France following the humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. As we’ve noted in past articles the French utilized their own style of “colonial” pattern helmet. Continue reading
The Conical Hat of Asia
As we previously have noted in our study of the Conical Asian Hat of the Hong Kong Police, this unique version of the sun helmet – known as the “rice hat,” “paddy hat,” or even pejoratively as the “coolie hat” – was one that had been primarily used by civilians. However, in many cases the line between “civilian” and “military” is blurred, especially in times of insurrections and uprisings. In these cases the conical hat, used as much by so-called peasants in the fields, became a headgear of war.
It was also, as the above photo suggests, a form of true military headgear – with the French and British relying on the conical straw hat for use by indigenous troops in South East Asia and China. The above photo shows French Marine Infantry volunteers in French Indo-China circa 1935. Continue reading