Ramblings of a helmet collector

I started collecting fire helmets about twenty years ago. It was just one of those things I fell into. One day I was chatting with the guys in the Fire Brigade Benevolent Fund and one of them mentioned that that they had a load of recently decommissioned helmets for sale as a fund raiser.

So I bought a couple, thinking my two young kids would love them. The did, for a few days and then they were buried in the toy box. But it sewed the seed, I spotted a MSA helmet in a junk shop and the seed germinated, I was now a Helmet collector.

Those first years I'd snap up any helmet that came my way, helmets from all over the world, China, Spain, Australia, everywhere, at the last count I had 135,

Now my collecting has calmed down a bit and become more focused, I'm also a lot more knowledgeable and discriminating. That said, I still get caught out by fakes occasionally.

Let me tell you the story of one. Many years ago I traded for a WWII British National Fire Brigade steel helmet. I was given it's history by the guy I traded with and did some research to confirm it, all seemed well.

A few months ago I started to pursue a specific helmet, another British WWII steel helmet and alongside of searching for one I did a lot of research into WWII steel helmets. Armed with this new knowledge I cast my eye over the ones I had.

A new look at my NFS helmet revealed that the shell itself was the right age but was a South African Desert Rat helmet, the head liner was from Britain and the badge, of course, a fake!

Anyone want to buy a nice NFS helmet? No! Ok, so I'm going to restore it to it's true original condition and try and sell it to a Military Helmet collector - and ye, I do happen to have a SA liner to put into it, but that's another story (and another fake).