rarmour Posted 23 May , 2020 Share Posted 23 May , 2020 My late Grandfather served in Iraq and Egypt in the RAF between the 2 World wars. I wonder if this is a pith helmet case. Its non magnetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgt-maj Posted 23 May , 2020 Share Posted 23 May , 2020 (edited) No. Pith Helmets would be stored in a canvas bag which had a draw string at the opening. Also, if you have a look at the back of the helmet, it's squared off. Your tin is the wrong shape. Edited 23 May , 2020 by sgt-maj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 24 May , 2020 Share Posted 24 May , 2020 Disagree with the sgt major. I have three "sun helmets" that were each obtained in their original tin plate hat boxes. (and several more that were not) Most of the helmets are cork covered in fabric rather than pith, I have one that is all fabric and a WW2 RAAF example that uses pith as the core. My point is that solar helmets were often protected by a tin plate, light sheet metal hat box like the example above. Where the boxes government issue or a private purchase item (for officers) ? I do not know, I suspect so. I should add all three of mine are slightly different designs and also different to the one above. For the period it was normal to protect hats with hat boxes. THis was normal until after WW2. Hat boxes are most frequently made from cardboard and often covered over with a decorative paper to give better protection from moths and other insects. The light tinplate boxes just give that one step better protection against insects, which is always a problem in the tropics. Cheers Ross Fibreboard hat box for a German Picklehaube. 1902-1914 Australian Army Intelligence Corps, Captain Stokes, latter a Major and military censor for 2 Mil District through WW1 - acquired with his uniform from his wife's estate Badged to the Royal Australian Engineers with the metal badge used from 1919 to 1942. Helmet has had multiple coats of sandshoe whitener in its life giving it a painted appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rarmour Posted 24 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 24 May , 2020 Thank you for those replies. I should have included the dimensions which may rule it out as a helmet box. It’s 6 1/2 inches high and 11 inches diameter. Can you put a name to the hats my grandfather on the right is wearing please? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddell Posted 24 May , 2020 Share Posted 24 May , 2020 28 minutes ago, rarmour said: Thank you for those replies. I should have included the dimensions which may rule it out as a helmet box. It’s 6 1/2 inches high and 11 inches diameter. Can you put a name to the hats my grandfather on the right is wearing please? Thanks. I believe it is a Wolseley helmet. See here- http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/the-wolseley-helmet-in-pictures Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 24 May , 2020 Share Posted 24 May , 2020 They are indeed Wolseley pattern sun helmets and are probably cloth covered cork. Just like the 3 helmets in my post above Cheers Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rarmour Posted 24 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 24 May , 2020 Can you please confirm the dimensions of a wolseley helmet to see if it would fit in the box. Thank you for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave66 Posted 24 May , 2020 Share Posted 24 May , 2020 There are dimensions here.... https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30100280 looks like your tin would be too small I’m afraid. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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