Well I was digging out some helmets today which I have not looked at for some years now, came across one I got many years ago directly from the New Zealand veteran himself. He had it sitting upside down for years after the war in his garage where he did all the repairs to his car himself.
Anyway it was full to the top with nuts bolts and washers which we had to find another container for so I could buy it along with several other very nice WW1 items he had.
When I got it home, I had to wipe a lot of dirt and grim off the white liner and was impressed with how well it had survived. The remains of the chinstrap was found in amongst all the nuts & bolts etc.
but// and their is always a but, the real discovery was what was written inside the helmet as I wiped out the grim ,dust and crap which had accumulated over time from the new purpose for which the helmet had been used since WW1.
Written inside the helmet in period indelivle pencil is;
Gefrt. ?ilhe??n
M.W.Komp
6?
I.Zug
Werfer ?
This is written in 5 lines exactly as I have explained here. There is also a stamp in the metal "BD 484"
This camo is a great example of a 1918 type camo which is slightly thinner in nature and has a couple of paint-runs because of the type of paint used and speed with which the painter had to work.
Have asked ebony to post some images for me and hope you all enjoy,
Chris
Anyway it was full to the top with nuts bolts and washers which we had to find another container for so I could buy it along with several other very nice WW1 items he had.
When I got it home, I had to wipe a lot of dirt and grim off the white liner and was impressed with how well it had survived. The remains of the chinstrap was found in amongst all the nuts & bolts etc.
but// and their is always a but, the real discovery was what was written inside the helmet as I wiped out the grim ,dust and crap which had accumulated over time from the new purpose for which the helmet had been used since WW1.
Written inside the helmet in period indelivle pencil is;
Gefrt. ?ilhe??n
M.W.Komp
6?
I.Zug
Werfer ?
This is written in 5 lines exactly as I have explained here. There is also a stamp in the metal "BD 484"
This camo is a great example of a 1918 type camo which is slightly thinner in nature and has a couple of paint-runs because of the type of paint used and speed with which the painter had to work.
Have asked ebony to post some images for me and hope you all enjoy,
Chris
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