British helmet MKII & Australian bayonet M1907

[Olivier V.]

Hi everyone,

I am Olivier, 28 from Antwerp, Belgium and i just got confirmation my account got accepted so i can finally post, recently started collecting militaria and got this forum recommended by a friend although i had enjoyed it earlier as a guest when researching certain things.
I hope your combined expierence can enhance my knowledge of the items i study and enable me to return the favour eventually should the opportunity arise.
Through forums like WAF and other sites i have allready learned alot about my items but im hoping light can be shed on a few things still and to correct anything i might have misinterpreted.

The first commonwealth item i picked up a while ago is a British helmet (thumbs are clickable).

Some red and white paint (?) seems to remain around 4 o clock or would this be just rubbed off from some other object that came in contact with it...

Although most corrosion is around the rim and not to bad i think, one area is more heavily affected and im curious if there is anything i could/should do to minimize it, or rather leave it and just store it dry and safe?

The shell interior is in good shape, produced by RO & CO in february 1940, the MO indicates the steel batch number iirc.Mark III chinstrap lugs from 1940 aswell.

Mark II chinstrap.

It seems a very faded remnant of some kind of mark is on the fabric, would this be the kind of spot for it?

The liner is produced by TTC (Teddy toy company) but what the "2" stands for i'm not sure ( Mark II liner i presume ).It also has an acceptance mark and a Mark I bolt and Simmonds nut.

Besides the corrosion issues i like it and will look nice alongside the next item that i will show a few pics of.

I got this Australian M1907 bayonet on the same event at another dealer that luckily remembered after inquiry he had an Aussie one in his boxes besides the 2 British on display.

Acceptance mark ( broad arrow ), Bend test proof ( X ) and Orange manufacture stamp.On the other side is the model stamp ( done twice it seems ) and production date of october 1943.

Australia stamp on wood and OA on metal parts.I'm curious what the fine golden lines are and golden coloured spots on the metal.

Scabbard produced by Mangrovite belting company in 1942, to the right of the Mangrovite mark is probably a name scratched into the leather, since the rest of this part of the leather is almost pristine being protected by the elevated part on this side of the scabbard ( last scratching is a "N" but rest is less clear).
Above the Mangrovite '42 mark, on the other side of the elevated part is a broad arrow with i think a letter D under it wich i presume indicates department of defense approval mark?
Also again the golden lines and spots on metal parts im curious about.

Finally i would like to ask if Mangrovite also made the frogs to go with the scabbards and if so only fabric (canvas?) ones or also leather.I'd like one to go with the scabbard but am uncertain if i should try to find a Mangrovite one or did they use imported British ones alot to?

Any additional info and/or corrections would be appreciated, thanks for having a look!

Greets, Olivier

[2ndAIF]

Hi Olivier, Nice bayonet and helmet mate... It looks like you have put a bit of time into your research, well done.

What I can add to it is... The word Australia stamped into the handle means this bayonet was sent to Canada after the war as repatriations, most probably unissued.
You can use a British frog on the bayonet If you like as Australians were issued British made webbing at the start of the war in North Africa, so It would be correct...


Hope this helps.

[Olivier V.]

Hey 2ndAIF,

Thanks for your kind words, i love finding out the history of an item after i bring it home, although im learning i should do it the other way around and research more 1st... luckily i havent had any bad experiences so far.

I had seen it mentioned somewhere before the stamp had to do with export, wasnt sure though so thanks for confirming that.The handles seem very rough to be unissued or would they have always been so, or just roughly treated maybe after export.
Thank you for the info on the frog also, you wouldnt happen to know what the golden spots and lines are on the metal?

Greets, Olivier

[Lone Pine]

Gyday Oliver.
Fact is that we didn't make hemp web field gear in Australia untill 1942 on, and some Australian made gear is quite hard to get, bayonet frogs being one of them. Because we had very few mills here that could produce hemp web material we imported large amounts of British and to a larger extent Canadian made webbing to fill the gaps. So you could even use a Canadian frog if you wanted to. I was even given a Canadian made RAAF blue coloured belt, by an infantryman veteran who served in the Pacific. He had blancoed the outside green, but it was still airforce blue on the inside. The Q- store people in those desperate times didn't really give a RA wether it was blue green or purple, as long as it was servicable. Iv'e seen photo's of our blokes in the Pacific wearing old leather Light Horse leggings.
Regards Bruce

[Olivier V.]

Hi Bruce,

it seems i have an even broader choice on frogs then i anticipated, ill just keep my eye peeled for any Australian ones that cross my path but not pass on any nice British or Canadian ones then.Didnt know Australian web gear didnt appear untill '42 so thanks for that info aswell, nice to know i shouldnt look for things that shouldnt be there.
I can imagine people back then had bigger things on their mind then my current mission to try and match items i put on display rather then to practical use, cant blame them...

Thanks again for your time and info, greets Olivier