While we typically write about the history, use and even the evolution of military sun helmets and other tropical headdress, I felt it necessary to address another aspect of sun/pith helmets. Recently, First Lady of the United States Melania Trump was called out for simply choosing to wear a pith helmet as a part of a “safari” inspired outfit.
While the sun/pith helmet remains the iconic headdress of the colonial empires established by the European powers in the second half of the 19th century it wasn’t the only headgear favored by those colonial forces. Indigenous colonial forces utilized a variety of headdress of course, while slouch hats were increasingly favored by various units beginning in the 1880s. One of the more notable variations was the German slouch hat, which largely used in German South West Africa. Continue reading
Figure 1. Top left, an Ellwood & Sons ‘Air Chamber’ military sun helmet, patented 1851, following traditional Indian designs it has a light weight cork construction, is cloth covered and has an ‘air pipe’ comb allowing air to freely circulate in the dome. Top right, a ‘Custodian’ police helmet by Christys & Co ltd (1952), uses almost identical construction methods; a version of this basic design was introduced in 1863 and was the only Custodian type for at least 10 years. Bottom left, a development of the sun helmet; a Christys & Co Ltd, late 1800s Colonial Pattern Sun Helmet. Bottom center, the attached Christys label. Bottom right, a near identically constructed police helmet, again by Christys, offered to the police as an alternative ‘Custodian’ style in the mid 1870s.
The Ellwood and Sons’ “Roman” Air Tube design was among the first British-made sun helmets. Its design came about largely as a result of Great Britain’s expanding empire in India and parts of Africa. It was in many ways an answer to locally made helmets, which were increasingly necessary due to the tropical heat of the subcontinent.
By the time of the Indian Mutiny, which began in 1857, the British had already had a presence in India for well more than 200 years yet it wasn’t until the 1840s – coinciding with the effects of the end of the Little Ice Age in Europe – that serious consideration was given to making uniforms and headdress more comfortable for wear in hot weather.
The helmet as bought.
The helmet described in this article had been on offer on a certain internet auction platform at the UK for at least two years, headlined as “Vintage Pith Helmet World War 1 WW1 British Army First Please see photo” – The seller´s hint to see the photo first made sense: Many collectors probably have clicked to open the page and closed it immediately after having seen a helmet, filled with yellow foam – besides being offered at a price that was anything but a bargain. Continue reading
The use of a sun helmet in the Austro-Hungarian army dates back to the Crete expedition of 1897-98 when a quantity of helmets were specially ordered from a company in Vienna. The need for a sun helmet arose again when Austro-Hungarian troops were sent to Palestine in 1915 to aid the Turkish army. With temperatures up to 120ºF in the summer, these 3,000 troops needed a tropical helmet to replace their wool field caps.
Two Austrian companies were contracted to make helmets, but many other hat makers also stepped up to provide “private purchase helmets.” Continue reading
Back in 2012 this reporter offered a brief history that involved “knights, secret societies and a castle destroyed in an explosion.” At the time I admitted it had the making of a Da Vinci Code setup but was far less exciting – if not somewhat interesting to collectors. Now the time has come for a sequel, one that at least might make more sense than Dan Brown’s Inferno, a book/movie that still makes little to any sense!
This story revolves around knights and their Egyptian temple, but more importantly could help explain why at least one of the fraternal groups of the late 19th century adopted white helmets that were similar in design to the helmets worn by the various military forces of the day. Continue reading