My Pickelhaube

E

Ed Hanson

New member
Hello from a new member! My name is Ed Hanson and my grandfather was in World War I in the 332nd Ambulance Company, Third Army. He brought back trunks of German militaria which his children played with in the 20's and 30's and also left most of the items with his sister in Ohio. I was his only grandchild that took an interest in his war experiences and was disappointed that all of his souveniors had been lost. Or so I thought! We always visited him and my grandmother on Sunday and, when I was 14 years old in 1965, he handed me a paper bag and said "This is for you". He had been at his sisters' house in Ohio and had found a steel ersatz Prussian enlisted pickelhaube in the attic! For years I would attend gun shows and see dealers with the black leather style of pickelhaube. When I told them that I had a steel one they usually said "Sure, kid". Years later I sent a picture of the helmet to the Smithsonian and was surprised when they told me that it was a scarce variation. At first, the Prussian cockade was missing as well as the leather and the helmet had numerous dents. I met and old dealer from Louisiana who had the parts I needed and with a little TLC and a replacement liner that my wife patterned after an original I was able to restore it to a nice looking example which would make my grandfather proud! I hope you find this story interesting. I also have my grandfathers' helmet, Pershing jacket, basic training book from Camp Lee, Va and some post cards from France. My e-mail address is [email protected].
 
Welcome aboard Mr Ed!

An excellant story is always good and so much the better if you can post some pics! It's great that you are able to have something to remember your Grandpa by. Thanks for sharing.
 
To Mr Wyliecoyote,

Thanks for your response to my comments. Unfortunately, I am fairly computer illiterate! However, I will see if my daughter or her husband can help me post some pictures of my pickelhaube on the website.

Thanks,
Ed Hanson (Mr Ed)
[email protected]
 
Hey Mr. Ed,
Great story, the steel helmets are not very common, but they do turn up from time to time, yours is even better as you ave some famly history to go with it, I too would like to see some photos, if you have photos on your computer, you could e-mail them to me (or any one of several other members) and I would be willing to post them for you.
Welcome to the nut house as Otto would say. rsrsrs
Gus
 
welcome .I am also interested in seeing the haube that goes with this story . It is nice that you got it as these stories usually end with the item not appearing.
Mark
 
Thanks for more input concerning my pickelhaube. I can tell that this website is going to be alot of fun! My daughter and her husband are very good with computers and I will definitely get them to post some pictures. After my grandfather gave the helmet to me it sparked an interest in German militaria. Over the years I have owned and sold many medals, daggers and other helmets. I have a few items left, but as all of you probably know, the prices of all militaria (and everything collectible) has really taken off in the last few years, so I tend to keep more and sell less these days! Be patient! As soon as I can con my daughter over here I will post the pictures. As a matter of fact, I think I'll call her now!
 
Gustaf said:
Hey Mr. Ed,
Great story, the steel helmets are not very common, but they do turn up from time to time, yours is even better as you ave some famly history to go with it, I too would like to see some photos, if you have photos on your computer, you could e-mail them to me (or any one of several other members) and I would be willing to post them for you.
Welcome to the nut house as Otto would say. rsrsrs
Gus
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Hey Gustaf!
I just sent 4 images of my helmet. I tried to send more but it didn't work. Thanks for your help!
Mr Ed
 
Hey Mr. ED,
Great helmet, Joe, Tony or Brian could probably tell you the company that made this helmet from the photo, it is even better with the history of your grandfather added to it, there are very few trophey helmets that are still "in the family".
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By the way, I am not an alien where I live, I suspect you have a few aliens living near you. how is the weather, my mother has some lemons near Yuma, and they were luckily picked before the frost, but they had not been sorted, so the increase in price will almost pay for the damage to the trees. Not a great way to make money, but better than the citrus that is still on the trees and ruined, and also better than the fruit that had been sorted and sold for the pre-frost price increse.
Best wishes
Gus
 
Great story Ed.

Gus has many helmets but unfortunatly, they are Hockey helmets that he has to wear when he leaves the house. He has a wonderful wife (which is a mystery to us all) that cares for him.

Welcome to the crazy club.

Paul
 
Hey Lazyblade, Maggie thinks you are trying to butter her up for something. But I agree with you, she is wonderful and I often wonder how I ended up with her, but that is an opening to another story. Why don't you go AWOL and get to SOS for the party? We could dress you in a uniform and stand you on the table with the other dummy and the MPs (or in your case, SP) would not be able to find you.
Keep safe and come home soon.
Gus and Maggie
 
Great job posting my photos on the website! I still have a steel disc that was with the original liner as well as the original steel rivets. I will check the disc to see if it has a makers name. As a naieve 14 year old I removed the original liner because it was rotten and shriveled into a ball. The things you do when you don't know better! As for the weather out here-it has been unusually cold and windy this winter.

No luck with the disc. However, the rear inside brim is marked "B.I.A. VII". Manion's International Auctions said it stands for "Supply Depot No. 7".

Ed
 
Welcome Ed:
Nice helmet. I have one exactly the same with the feldgrau paint and brass fittings. If you look closely, you will see that these were turned on a lathe. You can see the spin marks under the paint. They have a "bowler hat" profile to them with the rolled brim. My liner which is original is a natural tan colour. Brian
 
I am really glad to hear so many positive comments about my pickelhaube! It has always been my prize possession! I only wish more of my grandfathers' collection had survived. My father said that he had a couple of trunks of Imperial militaria and several lockers with uniforms and other stuff including officers' pickelhauben with the long spikes and the chinscale type chinstraps. These things were at his sisters' house and no one knows where they disappeared to. She died a few years ago at the age of 99. When I was a kid he used to tell me about picking up the wounded and dead on the battlefield. The ambulances were chain driven and he said the chains would always snap and most of the time they were pulled by mules. He also said that he watched the aerial dogfights from the trenches. Before the war he had lost the second finger on his left hand when he cut it at a bakery and it became infected. So, he was probably ineligible for the infantry and was placed in the ambulance corps. He was originally from Ashtabula, Ohio and eventually settled in Erie, Pa and retired after 44 years on the New York Central railroad.

Ed
 
b.loree said:
Welcome Ed:
Nice helmet. I have one exactly the same with the feldgrau paint and brass fittings. If you look closely, you will see that these were turned on a lathe. You can see the spin marks under the paint. They have a "bowler hat" profile to them with the rolled brim. My liner which is original is a natural tan colour. Brian
Click to expand...

Hey Brian,
The turning on a lathe process for this type of helmet has been discussed before, but I find it hard to believe that such an expensive process would be used to make such a helmet, I would be more inclined to believe that the form and die were turned on a lathe, leaving the marks that are then pressed into the helmet. I have not had the chance to handle this type of helmet, so my comments are based on economics rather than familiarity with this type of helmet.
Best wishes
Gus
 
Gustaf said:
The turning on a lathe process for this type of helmet has been discussed before, but I find it hard to believe that such an expensive process would be used to make such a helmet, I would be more inclined to believe that the form and die were turned on a lathe, leaving the marks that are then pressed into the helmet.
Click to expand...

I agree. I used to think lathe too; it was you that convinced me otherwise Gus. I changed the description on mine to reflect that some time ago. T

Link>> http://www.kaisersbunker.com/feldgrau/helmets/fgh06.htm
 
Thanks Tony, My brain function, of late, has not bee the best, and I could not remember if I had presented that view before, and I had not been back to that page of your site.
Best wishes
Gus
 
I believe the lathe shibboleth originated with J. A. Bowman, that sage of misinformation, in Volume 2 of The Pickelhaube.
 
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