WW1 British War Office Pattern Helmet With Original Hessian Camouflage Trench Cover

An exceptionally rare British War Office pattern helmet with its original hessian sacking trench cover still in place. We have recently been fortunate enough to acquire some rarely seen WW1 pieces from a quite exceptionally advanced collection this item being one of those that was acquired by the vendor many years ago.
The two piece hessian cover has a distinctive join with an alternating seam for more strength . Applied to the entirety of the helmet & under its rim the edges have then been rolled & chainstitched all the way round to tighten it onto the helmet. When one examines the age & wear to the cover with natural damage in places it is quite evident that this has been in place for many years . The original early apple green paint finish can be seen to the dome of the helmet with a later more brown khaki rough finish applied over this & to the rims underside .
The helmets early manufacture is evidenced by its construction with thin brass wire chinstrap bales & the first pattern of Brodies patent liner. These chinstrap bales were made larger on the later standardised model which had to accommodate thicker leather therefore rendering these earlier bales impractical. The liner system on these first models incorporated a padded cap consisting of two layers of cotton fabric intended to assist as a type of temporary bandage which would stem blood loss upon the removal of the shell if a head injury was sustained. The leather prong & buckle chinstrap is relatively flexible & correctly affixed to the helmet.
A superb time capsule piece in every sense of the expression & a rare opportunity to own such an example.

Code: 11559