An Cosantóir

| 27 one officer noted of the new helmet: From experience in field exercises it can be said that it Certain faults soon manifested themselves. In July 1928, is light and apparently affords a maximum of protection, but it is very difficult to wear. In practice the pads and the leather banding holding them have a tendency to work loose from the copper rivets designed to hold them in posi- tion. As a consequence the helmet slips easily from one side of the head to the other, and sometimes entirely off. The leather chin-strap is sufficiently broad, and would be quite comfortable but for the fact that the posts on which the strap-swiv- els engage are made of some soft white metal, and the retain- ing flanges on the post are quickly worn down. Once this has occurred the swivel only stays in position until a jolt sets the swivel free, when it and the strap fall down across the face. The helmet must then be taken off, and an at- tempt made to adjust the strap. Repetitions of such effort can be very annoying to a soldier on service. the helmets were cast from, which could dent if struck hard enough. The Vickers helmets remained in service throughout the 'Model 1916' Stahlhelm by attaching the chinstrap to the shell rather than the liner; the Germans had deemed this to be a design fault, which they recti- fied with the 'Model 1918'. The Irish soldier of 1928, however, found his own solution in an early example of non-issue kit being utilised, by procuring "one of them chats like an ass's bellyband that yeh cud get in Sandes fur a tanner in them days" (ie a privately produced heavy chinstrap available for a sixpence in Sandes Soldiers Home in the Curragh.) Another problem was the relatively mild steel that It should be noted that the Vickers helmet copied the 1930s and drew the attention of at least one German publication which, under the headline 'The Youngest Army in Europe', noted approvingly that "Ireland's Army wears the German Stahlhelm." By 1940 however, Ireland was a neutral in the Second World War then raging in Europe and the Vickers helmets were the subject of occasional adverse comment from Allied propagandists; their British manufac- ture notwithstanding. There was also the case of the RAF bomber crew that force-landed near the Curragh at night in May 1940 and were shocked to find themselves apparently surrounded by German troops! (The misunderstanding was quickly cleared up and the bomber allowed to fly home the following day.) Due mainly to the need to equip a rapidly expanding Defence Forces, the British helmet was adopted from the summer of 1940 and the Vickers helmets withdrawn from service. Some were painted white for issue to emergency services such as the Air Raids Precaution (ARP) service, while others were later stored in the 'Black Huts' on the edge of the Curragh Camp. Today, examples of the Vick- ers helmet are relatively rare and typically fetch prices in excess of €250. the Defence Forces library (DFTC), specialising in military history. He has written many books most notable: 'Hitler's Irishmen' (2008) and 'Our Struggle for Independence' (2009) 'Rebel Heart: George Lennon: Flying Column Commander' (2009) all by Mercier Press. He is a former artilleryman who completed several tours of duty with the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon. He lives in Portlaoise. www.mercierpress.ie/terenceoreilly Gnr Terence O'Reilly is currently a member of staff of www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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