Original British WWI Texture Painted Mk 1 Brodie Helmet by Thomas Firth & Sons Ltd of Sheffield - Complete

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely example of the scarce WWI British MkI Brodie helmet, which was also the same type that was issued to American forces in the beginning of the US involvement during The Great War. The shell features great textured paint that was a very popular paint scheme used by all armies that fought during WWI. This example dates to Pre-June 1917, as there is no rubber ring under the wool pad of the liner.

At the outbreak of World War I, none of the combatants provided steel helmets to their troops. Soldiers of most nations went into battle wearing cloth, felt, or leather headgear that offered no protection from modern weapons.

A significant partial exception to this lack was the German pickelhelm. Like other army helmets of 1914, it was made out of leather; but it also had a significant subset of steel inserts that offered some head protection. This includes the top spike, originally used to stop strikes from an enemy hand-held saber.

The huge number of fatal head wounds that modern artillery weapons inflicted upon the French Army led them to introduce the first modern steel helmets in the summer of 1915. The first French helmets were bowl-shaped steel "skullcaps" worn under the cloth caps. These rudimentary helmets were soon replaced by the Model 1915 Adrian helmet, designed by August-Louis Adrian. The idea was later adopted by most other combatant nations.

The heat stamp on the underside of the rim is FS 56A, for manufacture by Thomas Firth & Sons Ltd of Sheffield. This along with the split pins on the chinstrap bales indicate this as a British made helmet.

The liner is also in quite nice shape, with a very good oil cloth liner, and the top felt pad is present but not the rubber “donut” underneath, as this was not added until June 1917. The chin strap is intact and does not have any major cracks or tears. The leather is however somewhat stained and delicate, so definitely handle with care.

This is a wonderful example of a mid war produced British MkI Brodie Helmet. Comes more than ready for display.