This week on our eBay roundup we have a distinct lean towards helmets. Browsing through eBay this morning (12th of September 2022) for new listings, there’s not a lot by the way of variety. But, we managed to dig out some interesting and potentially cheap items for you to look at.
Home Guard Shoulder Titles & Rank Stripes
This first item I came across was a nice little grouping of WW2 insignia. The group comes with one Home Guard shoulder title in good used condition alongside a pair of single rank stripes for a lance corporal. All appear to have been removed from a tunic at some point.
Possibly the most famous lance corporal in the Home Guard is Lance Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army, so if you fancy setting up a kit and shouting “Don’t panic!” a lot, this is a great set for you.
Available in the UK from 223emi for a starting bid of £10.
1955-Dated Infantry Training Manual for “The Sub Machine Gun”
Slightly sticking with the Dad’s Army concept, in most episodes of Dad’s Army, there is some sort of training happening. This normally has some sort of comedic/tragic end; however, in practice the army produced large quantities of manuals for a wide range of reasons. They could vary from combat tactics through driving to radio use or medical training; they really did cover all subject areas.
This particular item is for a 1955-dated sub-machine gun. Some of the internal pages cover the Sterling SMG and other infantry weapons, how to use, dismantle and clean them and much more. An interesting piece to go alongside a deactivated Sterling.
This is currently up for auction by war-office in the UK with a starting bid of £10.
WW2 US Army M6 Periscope
The M6 periscope was fitted in the WW2 Sherman tanks, which makes it an iconic item. This example is in overall good condition and retains its original date plate. On the plate you can make out the manufacturer in the US, plus the date of 1943, placing this right in line to have been used on D-Day. Interestingly, the seller states that this was his father’s periscope, so you might be able to find out some of the provenance of the piece.
Currently available with an auction start price of £4.99 from the seller tillyfloss in the UK.
WW1 British Medal Trio Group
Next up we have a group of WW1 medals to a Christmas day casualty. This full size medal group is well engraved to a soldier of the Queen’s West Sussex Regiment. The soldier was wounded in 1914 and then spent the next 4 years in prisoner of war camps before sadly passing away on Christmas Day, 1918 at age 23.
This is an interesting one. When I started writing above, the starting price was only £0.99. However, it is now 20 minutes later and the current auction price is £77. The seller is helensparkle13 in the UK.
Courland Pocket Metal Detector Finds
Metal detecting is a hobby the world over, be that looking for lost coins in your garden, or seeking battlefield relics. This seller has spent time over in Latvia in the Courland pocket, searching for remnants of the fierce fighting there. He is offering a few of those items for sale here.
This group of pieces is available from a seller in Riga, Latvia for a start price of £10. The sellers username is wolf2005u.
1988 British Army Mk6 Helmet
Even modern helmets are becoming more and more collectable and the Mk6 is no different. This example is currently at a bargain price of £12 at auction and it retains its original DPM woodland camouflaged cover. Also of interest is the size. Finding the larger sizes is quite difficult, making this even more collectable as time goes on. The seller is in the UK and can be found under the username b.h.a.
South African WW2 Mk2 Helmet
There’s a lot of variations of the Mk2 helmet. The South African variation came about after they decided to begin manufacturing their own helmets from the British design. The one change, however, was the addition of 3 holes around the rear for a neck protector to be added. Although these neck covers are incredibly rare.
This helmet was most likely used in the North African campaign and retains its original tan paintwork and early liner. Another interesting addition is the chinstrap, which has been adapted with some extra padding. Overall this is a fantastic item that is still in Africa! The seller is in Johannesburg, South Africa and goes by the username actio-6286. Currently, the bidding is at £65.
Rankmarked WW2 British Warden’s Helmet
Finally on today’s eBay Roundup we have a Warden’s helmet in great condition. The interesting part of this helmet is the rank diamond. This is rarely found on helmets in general, making this an interesting variation. The liner is dated 1938 – correct for the pattern of liner – and the chinstrap is also in decent shape. The helmet has overall wear and tear but is a nice shell.
The current bidding on the helmet is at £80 in the UK from mitctr21. I will make an extra note here to say, this seller has 0 feedback. We all start at 0, so this in itself is not a bad sign, but it is always best to be prudent. This doesn’t take away from it being a lovely helmet.
That concludes our eBay Roundup for the 12th of September 2022. As always, with shopping online, be aware of rogue sellers, always check feedback and contact sellers with any questions. Any sensible seller will happily answer questions and reply within a couple of days.
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