Tommy helmet with story

[Jean-Loup]

This helmet was given to my dad by the owner of a hotel in Brussels when the hotel closed down. The owner claimed that the helmet was left at the hotel as a souvenir by a canadian soldier named Thomas after the party that occured at the hotel on may 8th 1945. The hotel owner also claimed that the same canadian soldier had already come to the hotel after WW1 in 1918, when he was only 16 or 17. Supposedly, when the guy left the helmet behind in 1945, he said that he would come and pick it up again when he would be back in Brussels for WW3!
Anyways, thats the story; how true it is, who knows...

Here is a description of the hotel I found in a travelers guide:

"In a bohemian neighborhood, this hotel in an 1892 town house is perfect if you prefer atmosphere over comfort and has received favorable press and TV notices around the world. Most rooms are large but spartan, some being furnished with hospital beds and with plumbing from 80 years ago; the front rooms have small balconies. Breakfast is served in an Art Nouveau/Art Deco room eclectically decorated with a zebra skin brought from the <st1 ="">Belgian Congo</st1> by the owner's great uncle,a Canadian World War II steel helmet,railway signal lamps, copper pots, and a Buddhist prayer wheel. Monks from the Dalai Lama's entourage once stayed here and left mystical symbols in one room. Alas, owner Paul Pauwels usually enforces a midnight curfew."<o =""></o>

[Jean-Loup]

The helmet has been period repainted in green, the brush strokes are visible. The only non original part is the screw inside. The bold has been replaced. I guess hotel clients fiddled with the helmet over the years, and the original screw got lost...
I also have to say that the chinstrap on this helmet is one of the most pathetic chinstraps I hae ever seen. Something I would expect to see on a thrid world military helmet, not a WW2 brit helmet.