Whenever we
are searching there can come a time when, after several hours in the heat, bugs
and having only found minor items that we might give up when a signal appears on
the detector. Especially when the signal is only faint to start with and we have
little idea what might be there. It's only detecting a rusty steel object after
all!
Luckily in this case the perseverance paid off when the tell tale outline of an
American M1 helmet started to appear.
The item here and below was found in May 2005 in Italy. It's fragile condition
meant that major work was needed to save it from disintegrating completely.
Above and
below; The M1 helmet after initial cleaning and then coating in a protective
clear lacquer.
The shell had a long string still attached to the remains of the fixed bales.
This was perhaps a spare shoe string? We're not sure. What was clear was that
the remains of the camouflage netting were still visible, the helmet having
apparently been painted with the netting still attached (what a lazy GI)!!
After the protective coating had been applied the helmet has lost some of it's
original "character". However, as there were many small fractures of
the steel this had to be done to prevent the helmet falling to pieces.
Our curiousity was aroused by what appeared to be a yellow cross that went across the entire shell. The protective lacquer made this marking go more red. Having talked with other helmet enthusiasts the reason for the "strange colour" became obvious.
This helmet had originally also been painted with a cross of airborne gas detection paint, this would have originally looked been a shade of yellow. Surely enough the application of a chemical based cleaner had caused a reaction to the anti gas paint, turning it red! So, perhaps a warning to fellow diggers to avoid chemical cleaning treatments if they suspect original anti gas paint is present on the helmet shell!!