Helmets for all ?

[Lachlan]

Hi folks

I have a couple of questions which have been rolling about in my skull cavity !

1) Would all/most British troops have received a steel helmet at some time during the course of the war, whether on WF active service, other theatre or if permanently on home or rear echelon service ?

2) This is a multi-part question (5 marks per part ) -

a) Was there a priority in issue of successive models of Brodie ? ie the 3 main variations - raw edge, rimmed/padded and rimmed/dougnut ?

b ) Were individuals' helmets only replaced when lost or too badly damaged ?

c) When a new model was available, were they issued to QM's and the older model withdrawn from soldiers ?

d) Could an individual soldier on the Western Front have conceivably worn the same helmet eg the raw edge 1916 helmet throughout the rest of the war ?

[Tim P]

To answer point 1, issue would have been gradual until it reached universal, with the most deserving being priority issue. when universal issue was achieved I dont know and it may have been post ww1 but I suspect that as we were able to supply the US with their needs for a time it seems reasonable to suspect that most commonwealth troops had received an issue.

issue of serviceable items irrespective of minor upgrades in quality could often be very indiscriminate indeed and remains so.

Serviceable is serviceable and as such, anything that needed refurbishment would be refurbished, anything that didnt wouldnt and once graded as unserviceable an item of equipment, helmet or otherwise would be scrapped.

A raw edge helmet is less likely to be seen as newer types superseded it but they would still have been evident I think.

[George Armstrong Custer]

The first major operation in which steel helmets were worn by the BEF was the Somme. This reference to the rate of issue prior to that is from Haig's diary:

Wednesday 24 May 1916

[....]

Issues of steel helmets up to 19th May

1st Army – 156,901

2nd Army- 193,175

3rd Army – 102,040

4th Army 173,117

Total: 625, 233

Still required to complete all units to approved scale: 131,000

This post gives an indication as to how steel helmets were either refurbished or recycled.

George

[Lachlan]

Thanks for that !

[Mk VII]

Initially units coming out of the line has to hand theirs over to the relieving unit. Eventually everyone within the artillery zone got one.