My mixed bag collection (mostly British for a change)

[tubist73]

And now our gunner is ready to mount his horse nearer the front line. He is wearing the earliest pattern of Brodie helmet, the War Office pattern, issued in time for the Somme offensive just over 100 years ago.

This is a helmet I picked up recently here in France. It is sadly missing its liner but does have the original 2-part chin strap and quite a lot of the original apple-green paint finish. Some of it is visible on the outside of the shell, along with a later coating of rough sandy paint that offered better camouflage. He also has a long silver-tipped riding crop with a Royal Artillery design on the top.

[tubist73]

This helmet shows a lot of use, especially around the dented rim. It has the raw edge typical of the earliest helmets from 1916 and has never had a protective rim fitted at a later stage. I think it shows a lot of character and, as many people would say, if only it could talk!

The inside of the shell has much of the apple-green paint remaining. It also has the early small rectangular lugs that hold the two strips of chinstrap leather in place. Later Mk I helmets have larger square lugs and the chinstrap is connected to the liner straps, not the actual shell. The underside of the rim is stamped with the maker 'BS' and the batch number '47'.

This display is a tribute to the many thousands of men who served in the Royal Artillery throughout WW1. In many ways, this was one of the strongest branches of the British army by the end of the war.

Matthew

[Sevrin]

Beautiful collection!

The display forum is a pleasure because of the wide range of items spanning different eras & nations. Literally never know what you might see; it's always a treat to glimpse inside private collections the world over; whether large, small or in-between.

Enjoy browsing as much as collecting (almost) .


Again, great collection & thanks for preserving this history & sharing with us!

(Actually thanks to everyone over the years who has taken the time to display, photograph, caption & upload pics for all of us to view; it's an inspiration & learning experience.)

[Mark P]

Hello Matthew,
and thank you for sharing your superb collection. Love that early brodie. Your uniform display is very interesting and educational. Is your Bren gun able to be fired?

Best regards Mark

[tubist73]

Thanks, Sevrin, for the very kind words. And I couldn't agree more about all the collectors and experts out there who are happy to share their collections and knowledge. I also really enjoy looking at the displays of other people who are passionate to preserve and learn about these historical items.

Here is something a little off the beaten track - a Royal Marine on duty somewhere hot during the inter-war period. This is a mix of original RM items from different sources, collected over the last few years. The tropical tunic, trousers and belt are named and numbered to different men.

The pith helmet was bare when I got it - the brass RM badge and chinstrap have been added. I haven't yet found the ball to mount on top, and the modern gilded versions would look out of place. On active duty a RM would often wear the naval model of sun helmet, with a rounded front and rear, often with the ship's cap tally. The pith helmet shown here would have been more ceremonial (as they still are today), along with the white-topped peaked cap with red band (see the first few pages of the excellent 'Khaki Drill and Jungle Green' book by Brayley/Ingram for more examples).

[tubist73]

As is usually the case with this khaki drill clothing, the brass buttons are removable to help when washing regularly. The buttons all have the King's crown and RM anchor design. The last image is one of the stamps from inside the tunic, showing an inspection date of 9 January 1939. These service tunics were phased out from the beginning of the war.

A nice surprise was to find a tropical version of the marksmanship badge (crossed muskets) in one of the pockets of the tunic. It was never attached but I assume it had been awarded to the owner, who never had time to sew it on before the start of hostilities.

Matthew

[tubist73]

Thank you, Mark. The bren is fully deactivated as is required here in France. After the recent terrorist attacks deactivated guns, even historical items, have been restricted even further by new laws.

Matthew

[tubist73]

And to finish tonight, here is an example of a Kriegsmarine sailor during the summer months leading up to WW2. All of the various clothing items are named but to different owners - and all are incredibly small in size. The breast eagle is originally sewn to the white shirt.

Technically, this cotton drill shirt was not used much from the start of the war, just as the generic Kriegsmarine cap tally was introduced to replace the names of the ships. So we'll have to image this combination occurred during the change over period, as I don't have any named tallies in my collection. To me, this uniform epitomises the rebuilt Kriegsmarine of the interwar period. There is something very iconic about this uniform.

[tubist73]

And a closer shot of the upper uniform. The silk scarf is a well-worn original but, like most I have seen, did not have the white ribbon attached. Please excuse the poor replacement ribbon of the wrong size! The cap has a detachable white top and came as a group with two blue tops, named to a KM sailor inside. The original eagle and national cockade were damaged so I have replaced them with better originals for these pictures.

Matthew

[tubist73]

And now something unusual for me - a US soldier, in this case a doughboy from WW1. Specifically a sgt. of the 36th Infantry Division (Texas/Oklahoma). I don't have much US stuff from the First World War but I do have a pretty full set of equipment and a couple of uniforms, including this.

The jacket is dated early 1918 and the breeches 1917. Both came together but I have no proof they were ever worn together by the same soldier. Probably not, given the differences in condition. The boots are the same Slovakian WW2 issue mentioned above. I do not currently have any US footwear from this early period and these seem as close as I can get.

[tubist73]

The insignia is original to the service jacket. However, through some research it appears the divisional 'T/O' insignia of the 36th Division was only formally established and adopted in January 1919. That means this is likely to be a post-war walking out jacket - I assume soldiers would have had no specific shoulder insignia during their operations in 1918.

From the collar tabs this sgt. was assigned to unit headquarters.

[tubist73]

The final two shots show one of my US service gas masks. These are usually in pretty delicate and crusty condition (although surviving British SBR masks are much worse). This mask, however, came in relatively good condition, complete in its bag with many original accessories.

I managed to get the mask onto the mannequin for a quick 'action' shot, although the straps are too delicate to pull tight enough. This iconic image of the gasmask-wearing soldier stands out from many wartime photographs.

I have laid out the various elements of the gas mask equipment for the final shot. The mask and bag are nicely marked with matching numbers.

Matthew

[paul.j]

Displays

Amazing collection

[Etienne B.]

Great stuff...love dedication in this hobby

[tubist73]

Thanks, Paul and Etienne.

This next setup is a great example of why I enjoy this 'hobby' so much. I recently picked up a khaki drill tunic and shorts from a sergeant in the Gordon Highlanders. Neither is named but in one of the pockets was a berthing ticket for a transport from Bombay in the 1930s. It is named to a Company Quartermaster Sergeant Rourke.

The tunic carries 3 standard medal ribbons from the Great War, the first of which is the Mons Star, awarded for active service before 22 November 1914. Looking briefly through some online records it seems as if Rourke was a private in the 1st Battn Gordon Highlanders, seeing active service from the start of the war until he was captured in the battle of Le Cateau on 26 August 1914. (The 1st Gordons famously lost all but one of their companies in this battle, when the orders to retreat were not received.)

I haven't done any further research yet but it seems as if Rourke stayed in the army after the war and rose to the rank of C.Q.M.S. by the late 1920s or early 1930s. It is these individual stories that interest me the most - those that turn humdrum military items into part of someone's life story.

I'm trying to depict Rourke here as he might have looked on duty in India during the inter-war years.