WWI Canadian 3rd Division Helmet?

[Romagne1918]

Could this be a WWI Canadian 3rd Division grey painted helmet? I understand this division adopted that color for their Brodies?

[JMB1943]

Rom. 1918,

That is a good-looking helmet.

Any signs of heat number or maker initials on the underside of the brim?

Regards,

JMB

[aef1917]

CEF 3rd Division helmets are usually a slightly darker, more bluish grey.  They also typically have a stenciled unit insignia in green, blue or red on the front.

[Romagne1918]

On 06/10/2023 at 18:05, JMB1943 said:

Rom. 1918,

That is a good-looking helmet.

Any signs of heat number or maker initials on the underside of the brim?

Regards,

JMB

Hello there. Yes, I can see the HS and some digits (which I cannot make out) stamped under the rim.

[JMB1943]

Rom. 1918,

Thanks for that information.

HS = Hadfield & Co Ltd.

Robert Hadfield was the eminent metallurgist who originated the idea of the inclusion of about 12-15% manganese in the steel for the helmets. This allowed the steel to be cold-pressed, thus simplifying and speeding-up the manufacturing process.

The numerals indicate which particular heat number (i.e. batch) of the given furnace produced the steel from which the helmet was made, for QC purposes.

HS was possibly the single largest maker of the helmet shells; the highest heat number that I have recorded for them is 702.

Regards,

JMB

[Romagne1918]

Do you think this makes it more, or less, likely this was painted by a member of the 3rd Canadian Division in WWI? The paint is a bluish grey.

[JMB1943]

Certainly the British-made Brodie helmets would have been provided to the Canadian divisions.

I don’t really have the expertise to comment on the paint colour authoritatively, but I would say that the paint has been on there for many years and paint does generally fade to a lighter shade over time.

Regards,

JMB

[Romagne1918]

A great many thanks to you.