Any ideas to what this is ?

[Mauser]

Hi Guys

An intresting item to which i have no idea what its purpose was, well insulated material and vent holes to top.

Fully marked up with manufacutre and war department ink stamps to inside.

Just can't find anything relating to its use.

Any ideas ?

Cheers

Mark

[Mauser]

2

2

[mietek]

Hat, as I remember made for Indian soldiers.

[ROBB]

military bargains uk used to sell these on ebay ,so they are probably Nepalese Tea cosies .Rob

[Andy Harris]

54 Pattern Arctic Colostomy Bag Insulator.

[Mauser]

54 Pattern Arctic Colostomy Bag Insulator.

Military bargains UK will be using that when he uploads another one , lol

I got it in a job lot with aload of pattern 37 gear,the only other one i have seen is the one which military bargainsuk was selling last year as a " rare hat made for commonwealth indian troops "

The mystery continues .........

[Marc Sherriff]

It is part of an Indian Army Soldiers headdress, but I can not remember what it is called, it forms the base of the Turban.

[Haplo]

They call it conical hats.
And it is ideed for the turban.
Here is a scan from Equipment of the ww2 tommy.
Page 92 and 93.

[hayleyp]

q

its one side of maddonas bra

[Mauser]

They call it conical hats.
And it is ideed for the turban.
Here is a scan from Equipment of the ww2 tommy.
Page 92 and 93.

Thanks guys, another mystery solved !

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mark, also these have been around for years in quantity, all original, mint, unissued.

Cheers, Ade.

[peter monahan]

Actually, it's called a "kulla" or "Kullah" in Urdu and is the base around which some, mostly Muslim, Indian Armyntroops wrapped their "lungi" (Turbans). They were quite common 2 decades ago, in unissued condition, so probably still not rare.

Peter

[Allan H.]

Actually, it's called a "kulla" or "Kullah" in Urdu and is the base around which some, mostly Muslim, Indian Armyntroops wrapped their "lungi" (Turbans). They were quite common 2 decades ago, in unissued condition, so probably still not rare.

Peter

I thought that only Sikhs wore turbans? I can't recall running into any Muslims wearing turbans anywhere in the middle east. Were Muslims serving under the crown required to wear turbans?
Allan

[peter monahan]

Up until the 1930's almost all troops in the British Indian Army wore turbans, with the exception of Gurkhas, Burma Rifles and a few others. During the '30's the trend to 'modern' headgear began and many wartime photos show berets, helmets or a mix. Sikhs obviously continued to wear turbans. BTW, Sikhs are not required to wear a turban per se but head coverings may not have any seams. Hence the handkerchief worn on top of their topknots by youing Sikh males, with the turban coming on when the hair gets longer, or perhaps as a mark of adulthood.

In WWII, as some of the photos posted suggest, turbans were still commonly worn by Muslim and Rajput troops as well as by Sikhs and elaborate lungis with gold braid and stiffened 'crests' on top continue to be the full dress headgear of much of the Indian Army - see shots of any awards ceremony or Republic Day parade. Ditto the Pak. Army. OTOH, I suspect they are now rare in the field except in Sikh units of the IA and perhaps in some of the Pak. Army police/para-military units recruited and serving in the Frontier districts.

BTW, how the turban was wrapped was an infallible mark of the ethnicity and religion or IA troops (what the British called 'classes') and British officers who wore the turban pre-'47 would be told "Oh, yes, your batman was a (Rajput, Punjabi Mussalman...)" based on how they'd learned to tie the lungi. I'd say, without checking my sources, that 1/2 to 1/3rd of the old British IA used kullahs to wrap their turbans round.

Probably more than you needed to know! :7)

Peter

[Allan H.]

Peter,
I appreciate the information very much. Ethnic behaviors and traditions have always interested me. The more you understand other cultures, the less likely you are to inadvertantly insult them.
Allan