Hello everybody, (Sorry in advance for the English mistakes) There are 3 items in my collection I have been trying to identify for months, with no solution to these puzzles. Let's see if anyone has an idea ! #1 This helmet was found in the northern part of the Falaise pocket. It looks like the remnants of the helmet flash on the front are a part of the 53rd Welsh Division insignia. But what about the green / yellow flashes on the sides ? Any idea what regiment it might refer to ? #2 Now, a bit trickier. This is a 1939 dated MKII helmet I got from a deceased British collector that lived in Germany, so it probably saw service in North-West Europe. The burlap cover (which seems to have been made from a bag, with scrim kept in place with bits of 1930's electrical wire) was tied stiff for all those years, but I decided to carefully loosen it up to check what was underneath. And there was a big blue dot on the front of the helmet. Any idea what unit used such markings ? The only similar markings I could find were the 4th Australian Infantry Battalion or the blue round piece of cloth used under the cap badge for the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry... #3 And finally, this is a Seaforth Highlanders Tam O Shanter, but there's something wrong with it... It looks like a 42nd Government Tartan, with the stag's head badge. The Seaforth Highlanders wore the Mackenzie tartan and stag's head badge, except the 5th Battalion which wore the 42nd Government Tartan with the wildcat badge of the Clan Sutherland. I don't know much about Scottish traditions, so I have no idea what's going on here. Could this be because of a transfer from a battalion to another ? Looking forward to reading your thoughts guys, thank you very much and have a nice day ! Clément, from France
First maybe 53rd Welsh Division. Green/yellow may be 53 Recce, but I'm always sceptical of painted helmets. Some limited evidence 53 Recce used them, but it is very, very limited. [EDIT] There have been many repaints being aged appearing on the market from unscrupulous dealers... beware.
The Tam O Shanter looks decidedly suspect. Modern reproduction(?) badge on a 'wrong'(?) tartan albeit on a genuine period(?) Tam O Shanter.....the whole lot looks too clean and fresh, especially the badge.
The Tam looks like a post War small version, at some point in the 50's they seemed to get a lot smaller and this has that look although its hard to tell for sure from the photo. Alistair
Hello, Thank you for your thoughts ! #1 : Thanks Swiper, yes I meant the 53rd division, not the 43rd (edited). I don't know what the 53 Recce flash looks like, do you have a picture ? This helmet was not messed with, as I had it pretty cheap and the colors are not actually this bright. I made them a bit more vibrant in photoshop so that they are more easy to identify. #3 : I took two quick pictures with my phone this morning (with and without flash) so that you can identify the Tam. It is a small size yes, but there are not markings with would identify it as WW2 or post-war, but I thought that the sewing patterns would help. Here are closer looks : I hope it helps ! Let me know if you need more pics for #1, #2 or #3... Thank you for your opinion ! Clément
