Yeohelmetguy
Well-known member
Hello to all,
I am very excited to share with the Forum members the latest addition to my British Army dragoon helmet collection. I had the very good luck to acquire an extremely rare dragoon helmet (less than 30 of these helmets were made) attributed to an officer of the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY. This is a helmet that I have looked for over a period of some twenty plus years and one presented itself a couple of weeks ago… and the rest is history, it now resides in my collection.
The Northamptonshire Yeomanry has a history that can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars. Over the life span of its existence there were a number of disbanding of the regiment only then to be reconstituted again. For the purposes of this helmet the Northamptonshire Yeomanry was reconstituted circa 1900/1901 and taken into the newly formed Imperial Yeomanry in 1902 and titled the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY. The regiment had on its rolls 26 officers who took this helmet into wear with their modified full-dress uniform. This helmet was introduced at the same time the British Army was slowly transitioning away from full dress uniforms beginning about the time of the First Boer War and having all but disappeared several years prior to World War One, full dress being replaced by “Blue Patrols” and khaki service dress. There were less than 30 officers dragoon helmets produced for the regiment, the other ranks did not wear the dragoon helmet in full-dress, and none were ever produced.
The helmet, worn from 1902 to mid-1908, the years the Imperial Yeomanry was in existence, is silver plate with fitting being either gilt or gilding metal. The cornflower blue over white hanging horsehair plume was distinctive among both yeomanry and regular line cavalry regiments and was unique the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE (IMPERIAL) YEOMANRY. The title of the regiment was changed to the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE YEOMANRY in 1908 with the demise of the Imperial Yeomanry and the regiments that made it up transferred to the newly created “Territorial Force” and the helmet removed from wear.
Please enjoy the pictures of this extremely rare and unique helmets!
Cheers to all,
David
I am very excited to share with the Forum members the latest addition to my British Army dragoon helmet collection. I had the very good luck to acquire an extremely rare dragoon helmet (less than 30 of these helmets were made) attributed to an officer of the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY. This is a helmet that I have looked for over a period of some twenty plus years and one presented itself a couple of weeks ago… and the rest is history, it now resides in my collection.
The Northamptonshire Yeomanry has a history that can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars. Over the life span of its existence there were a number of disbanding of the regiment only then to be reconstituted again. For the purposes of this helmet the Northamptonshire Yeomanry was reconstituted circa 1900/1901 and taken into the newly formed Imperial Yeomanry in 1902 and titled the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY. The regiment had on its rolls 26 officers who took this helmet into wear with their modified full-dress uniform. This helmet was introduced at the same time the British Army was slowly transitioning away from full dress uniforms beginning about the time of the First Boer War and having all but disappeared several years prior to World War One, full dress being replaced by “Blue Patrols” and khaki service dress. There were less than 30 officers dragoon helmets produced for the regiment, the other ranks did not wear the dragoon helmet in full-dress, and none were ever produced.
The helmet, worn from 1902 to mid-1908, the years the Imperial Yeomanry was in existence, is silver plate with fitting being either gilt or gilding metal. The cornflower blue over white hanging horsehair plume was distinctive among both yeomanry and regular line cavalry regiments and was unique the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE (IMPERIAL) YEOMANRY. The title of the regiment was changed to the NORTHAMPTONSHIRE YEOMANRY in 1908 with the demise of the Imperial Yeomanry and the regiments that made it up transferred to the newly created “Territorial Force” and the helmet removed from wear.
Please enjoy the pictures of this extremely rare and unique helmets!
Cheers to all,
David