Tag Archives: Wolseley

The Canadian Royal Horse Artillery

RCHA2The Canadian military is most remembered for its heroic actions in Italy and Western Europe during the Second World War, but it was still active in every theater of war. More than 1.1 million Canadians served in the Army, Navy and Air Force and its entry into the conflict was the nation’s first independent declaration of war.

During the North African, Middle Eastern and Sicilian campaigns the Canadian army was outfitted in a tropical uniform. Among the more “anachronistic” looking of these was the uniform worn by units of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.

Continue reading →

Wolseleys of the Caribbean

Barbados-Police1

A Constable of the Royal Barbados Police Force Circa 1960

The “sun never set on the British Empire” the saying went, and it is also true that the sun shined brightly on the British colonies in the Caribbean. Even as the Wolseley helmet faded from use as true “military” headdress it lived on in British colonies and post-colonies in the Caribbean and South America. Continue reading →

Sun Helmet of the British Machine Gun Corps (MGC)

MGC (1)

(Collection of Robert G. Segel)

The machine gun played a major role in the First World War, and it could be argued that one of the reasons the war on the Western Front turned into a stalemate was that the rapid fire machine gun made a maneuver virtually impossible. The machine gun was thus responsible for the trench warfare that ensued as soldiers “dug in” as each side blasted away at one another.

Ironically perhaps the same gun that created this situation was considered to be the solution. The British Army formed the Machine Gun Crops (MGC) in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns. Continue reading →

Regimental Identity and the 20th Century Khaki Helmet

cml-dsc09430

Plain Wolesley helmet, dated 1913 and marked with the Canadian C/Arrow property mark.

When, in 1911, the Department of Militia & Defence (M&D) ordered the transition from the white Universal helmet to the white Wolseley pattern helmet they permitted existing pugarees to continue to be worn. This satisfied the need for regimental identities for most orders of dress. However, the 1904 introduction of drab Service Dress called for either a khaki cover to the helmet or a khaki helmet left the Militia with little opportunity for regimental expression. Continue reading →

The Sun Helmets of the Portuguese Royal Navy, 1894-1910

Portugal1

Officers of the Portuguese Gunship “Diu” photographed in Goa (Portuguese India) circa 1900. Both wear peaked caps with white covers.

By the end of the 19th Century, officers of the Portuguese “Armada Real” (Royal Navy) were in great need of some sort of tropical headdress. Unlike other ranks, which were supplied with large brim straw hats for tropical climates, officers had nothing to wear but their peaked caps, made hotter and heavier by the regulation white covers. Continue reading →

Canadian Universal Pattern Helmet

A Royal Canadian Artillery Universal Pattern Helmet Circa 1905.

A Royal Canadian Artillery Universal Pattern Helmet Circa 1905.

Shortly after the adoption of the Home Service Helmet in 1878 by the British War Office, the Canadian Department of Militia and Defence (M&D) followed suit. However, within a few years this pattern, which included blue helmets for Infantry and the various Corps, Green for Light Infantry and a short-lived dark Green for Rifle regiments, M&D did a volte face and ordered the white ‘Foreign Service’ pattern helmet for general use. Continue reading →

Haile Selassie I and the Wolseley Helmet

Haile-Selassie1

Ethiopia, or Abyssina as it was unknown until modern times, was unique in Africa in that it was the oldest Christian nation on the continent but also in the fact that until 1936 had been – along with Liberia – the only nation to retain its independence. The Ethiopian military, which looked to modernize following internal struggles that began during the First World War and continued into the 1920s.

With the aid of Swiss, Belgian and Swedish volunteers the army modernized and this included adopting European style uniforms and headgear, notably Wolseley helmets – likely original British surplus and later British supplied versions. What is notable about the use of these helmets is that it actually continued until Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in 1974. Continue reading →