Wanted: MK II Helmets

Searching for MK II helmets. I am particularly interested in MK II camos, MK II tropicals, MK II with covers, MK II with nets and MK II with unit decals.

Please contact me if you have any interesting original MK IIs for sale.

Please contact me if you have any interesting original MK II helmets for sale.

Did you see this one on ebay? Fairly rare lid I would say...

http://cgi.ebay.ca/WW2-Canadian-Kangaroos-Helmet-Legendary-Regiment-/190456614872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c58194fd8

Personally, I woulnd't touch that one with a ten foot pole. The seller also sold a painted Regina Rifle Mk III some time ago that I am convinced was made up (although looking very good), as I had sold the very helmet minus the painted badge a few months before at a gunshow in Edmonton.

Wouldn't the crew of armoured personal carriers have been wearing armoured helmets, not Mk II?s

Geoff

Agreed. That helmet is not worth having in a collection of authentic material.

GCR817 wrote:Personally, I woulnd't touch that one with a ten foot pole. The seller also sold a painted Regina Rifle Mk III some time ago that I am convinced was made up (although looking very good), as I had sold the very helmet minus the painted badge a few months before at a gunshow in Edmonton.

Wouldn't the crew of armoured personal carriers have been wearing armoured helmets, not Mk II?s

Geoff

I'm not disagreeing with you Geoff, but try finding a photograph which clearly shows what type of headgear the crew of a Kangaroo wore. Does anyone have a copy if this book?

Ramsden, Kenneth R. -- The Canadian Kangaroos in World War II : the story of 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment, Canada's foreign-born secret regiment. -- Cavan, Ont. : Ramsden-Cavan Pub., 1998. -- 203 p.

You make a good point Adam. I can't say with any certainty what stule of helmets they wore. It seems to me however, that an armoured helmet would make sense. I've seen photos of SLI(MG) members wearing the steel RAC helmet when crewing the Bren Gun carriers.

Geoff

GCR817 wrote:You make a good point Adam. I can't say with any certainty what stule of helmets they wore. It seems to me however, that an armoured helmet would make sense. I've seen photos of SLI(MG) members wearing the steel RAC helmet when crewing the Bren Gun carriers.

Geoff

In regard to Universal Carrier crews, I've seen photographs showing them wearing RAC helmets, MK II helmets and even berets. I will see if I can locate some interesting Kangaroo photographs later today.

Here are some interesting Universal Carrier photographs:

A Mk.I* carrier in service in Italy with the Hastings & Prince Edward Regiment. The driver is not wearing a helmet and the other crew members are wearing MK IIs.




A wartime 'publicity' shot of an adapted MkI* in the service of a Canadian Motor Machine Gun Battalion. The crew is wearing a mixture of helmets.

Geoff:

Based on the handful of nice photographs I've been able to find so far, quite a few of the British and Canadian Kangaroo crews wore berets.



Canadian Crew of a Kangaroo used by The Fort Garry Horse tank regiment as an armoured ambulance, Holten, Netherlands, April 1945. (L-R): Troopers Joe Fine and Bob Wright, Corporal Frank Aikens. (Photographer: Dan Guravich; Library and Archives Canada a133165)

Unfortunately Ramsden's book is short on images, especially images of the crews when on operations. There are no photos in the book to establish the type of head gear used in the vehicles.
There may be something at http://www.1cacr.org/index.html, under the Galleries. When I went through the images, there were no clear shots showing the 1 CACR crews.
Bill Miller, perhaps the expert on the 1 CACR, commented on this helmet when it was offered a little over a year ago.
http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6493&highlight=CACR+helmet

GCR817 wrote:Personally, I woulnd't touch that one with a ten foot pole. The seller also sold a painted Regina Rifle Mk III some time ago that I am convinced was made up (although looking very good), as I had sold the very helmet minus the painted badge a few months before at a gunshow in Edmonton.

Wouldn't the crew of armoured personal carriers have been wearing armoured helmets, not Mk II?s

Geoff

Yeah, your right...I did not notice that Fraser was selling this one. Best to keep your distance from it.

Thanks for your input Bill and it's nice to know this helmet was listed for sale once before.

Bill Miller mentioned a very interesting 1CACR item on the British Badge Forum:

"Here is a photo of the bag (man purse) I mentioned earlier. Given to Trooper John Ewing. The initials of the person who made it (friend?Girlfriend?) are on the back. It is about the size of a beret when laid flat. 9-10 inches in diameter. lined with a khaki material. Well made, but an odd thing for a Trooper to carry..."

Here is another camo lid...it's a civil defence helmet though. Looks like it has potential to be original.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320603142802&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Since I know how to copy the pics from ebay, would anyone mind if I post the pics of these helmets being discussed? For reference purposes of course.

Hi Dale, It may be worth while to have the images as a reference. With due credit of course.

Ok, here we go then...

-First is the "Kangaroo" helmet at http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190456614872&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Picture credits to ebay member vespalambretta99:










-The "Air Crew" helmet at http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320603142802&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Picture credits to ebay member tagsalemaps:

Dale:

Since there is quite a bit of discussion about the helmets vespalambretta99 is selling, I think we should include all of them (both WWI and WW II). Would you please post pictures of his other current ebay auction:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/WW1-CEF-Engineers-Brodie-Complete-Original-Untouched-/190456756722?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c581b79f2#ht_681wt_1141

Thank you.

vespalambretta99 sold the above 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles brodie on ebay a few weeks ago for $900.

Here you go. This one actually looks ok to me but I'm far from an expert on painted lids...

From the ebay listing http://cgi.ebay.ca/WW1-CEF-Engineers-Brodie-Complete-Original-Untouched-/190456756722?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c581b79f2#ht_681wt_1141

Picture credits to ebay member vespalambretta99:

Ebay seller byngs-boys has listed a false auction in order to educate buyers about the condition of WW I brodies after almost 100 years:

CANADA / CEF Don't Wear the Dunce Cap - Real Helmet
See What Authentic CEF Brodie Helmets Look Like

http://cgi.ebay.com/CANADA-CEF-Dont-Wear-Dunce-Cap-Real-Helmet-/140467191257?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b47f3dd9#ht_500wt_1156

Bill Miller has added some information to the string on the B&CMBF. It is a different helmet from the comparison between images of the two different times the 1 CACR helmet has been offered. They should both be evaluated with a very critical eye.

If it was authentic, I would have thought the Kangaroo helmet would have went for a lot more than it did.