White foreign service helmet

Posts : 600 Join date : 2013-09-18 Location : West Country

I am currently building a 1:72 diorama of isandlwana. I have a quick question about the white service hemets used by the British troops. What colour should I use, I read somewhere that the helmets were dulled with dyes improvised from tea, coffee or boiled bark. any advice would be great. Many thanks.

Subject: Re: White foreign service helmet Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:16 pm

waterloo50 wrote:: I am currently building a 1:72 diorama of isandlwana. I have a quick question about the white service hemets used by the British troops. What colour should I use, I read somewhere that the helmets were dulled with dyes improvised from tea, coffee or boiled bark. any advice would be great. Many thanks.

Hi Waterloo, yes that's correct, they used to dull the helmet's in the fashion you mentioned.

Posts : 1086 Join date : 2012-05-12 Location : NYC

littlehand wrote:: Hi Waterloo, yes that's correct, they used to dull the helmet's in the fashion you mentioned.

They took the badges off too...so nothing was shiny.

Posts : 2308 Join date : 2010-07-02 Age : 42

But kept their redcoats on. Did they stain their webbing?

Posts : 1086 Join date : 2012-05-12 Location : NYC

impi wrote:: But kept their redcoats on. Did they stain their webbing?

That's logical but I'm not sure about that. I have read this was the last campaign that the British Army went in to a major fight before the switch to khaki...and also the last time the regiment carried its battle standards (the company colours) with it, although I've never been clear whether other regiments still brought theirs on campaign.

Posts : 1861 Join date : 2009-03-25

The Boer war saw the change in uniform colour.

Subject: White Foreign Service Helmet Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:10 pm

I'm not so sure about that 24th , they were wearing Khaki in Afghanistan 79-80 ! , and fairly certain in India as well at that time . Happy to be corrected .
90th

Guest

Laings Nek Very Happy

Subject: Re: White foreign service helmet Sun Nov 03, 2013 11:26 pm

The last time a scarlet tunic was worn, was at the Battle of Gennis in the Sudan on 30 December 1885.

Subject: Re: White foreign service helmet Sun Nov 03, 2013 11:28 pm

Impi,

impi wrote:: Did they stain their webbing?

They would have been far ahead of their time if they had worn webbing in 1879! The first issue of equipment made from webbing was 1908 Pattern.

90th,

Following up on your answer to 24th; a number of units wore khaki in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, it was certainly commonplace during the 2nd Afghan War.

6pdr.

6pdr wrote:: ...the last time the regiment carried its battle standards (the company colours) with it, although I've never been clear whether other regiments still brought theirs on campaign.

I hope you meant Regimental Colours rather than company colours? As Xhosa has pointed out at Laing's Nek on 28th January 1881 the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment carried their Colours into action against the Boers. The South Staff's had their Colours with them in 1882 during the occupation of a still hostile Alexandria.

JY

Guest

Further..

Lieut Baillie, who carried..
the Regimental colours was mortally
wounded. Peel who carried the Queens
colour, turned to assist him and, on
being told, " never mind me, save the
colours," took both colours but fell in-
to a hole. a sergeant came to his rescue
and carried both colours for some distance
before, Lieut Peel came up and regained
them.this was the last time the colours
were carried by a British Regiment. as
JY says.. agree

Transvaal war of independence 1880-81
G.R.Duxbury.
cheers xhosa

Subject: Re: White foreign service helmet Sun Nov 03, 2013 11:33 pm

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Subject: Re: White foreign service helmet Sun Nov 03, 2013 11:41 pm

Littlehand,

Littlehand wrote:: The last time a scarlet tunic was worn, was at the Battle of Gennis in the Sudan on 30 December 1885.

Evidence has revealed that at the Battle of Hlophekhulu, 2nd July 1888, that troops from the following units fought in scarlet: the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons; 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers & 1st Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment.

Hlophekhulu is also remembered for another reason, as it was last time that a senior member of the Zulu Royal House, Prince Shingana kaMpande fought against the British.

JY

Subject: Re: White foreign service helmet Sun Nov 03, 2013 11:46 pm

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Guest

littlehand,JY. the colour party,
Roy is a given,he always looks
the same, but who fourth left?
i'm reluctantly off to bed, just
into the second day of a
massive head cold, so i'm not
inclined to search at the mo..
i'm currently ' washing my
spears in snot '.

xhosa

Subject: Re: White foreign service helmet Mon Nov 04, 2013 5:33 pm

Les,

It is Sergeant 25th Brigade/56 Edward Wilson, 1st Battalion, 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment.

JY

Guest

thanks JY. xhosa