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My Latest Aquisition...


Norrie

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Is a 1944 dated British Despatch Riders helmet....all the way from the good old US of A...bought very cheaply from a smashing seller in the USA I've had a few dealings with. My daughter was coming home from LA for a wee holiday with the grandsons...and I thought it was too good a chance to refuse...so she brought it home for me..:)

 

My dad was a despatch Rider as part of his National Service from 1952-54...and wore exactly the same type helmet often while riding his Triumph 650cc bike...and while wearing a big massive (Empty) white holster....9_9

 

BTW...can anyone tell me what the wee "popper" on the side of the leather headstrap is for ?...my dad does'nt really remember:(

 

Just spoke with my dad...once he saw the photo, he remembered...its a popper to hold the goggle strap in place as sometimes they would be doing up to 150mph on the autobahn....and they could and did "ride" up and off the face.... he also said his and his co biker ( they travelled in pairs)  helmet was white, like the MP's...as they would have to stop traffic at cross roads to enable convoys to carry on....also...the empty holster was used to carry a rag for wiping the goggles, and also  to pad the holster out....Great wee story I had no knowledge of till a few minutes ago...:D

 

Wee update...I did some digging and found pictures of helmets with poppers on the end of the chinstrap...they are rather long actually...so, it looks like the popper is for tucking the strap away...so...called my dad again and told him...he says that him and his mates all chopped the extra length of strap off and sewed the piece with the popper onto the goggles strap....according to him...the goggles were more important at speed than a bit of leather strapping...:D

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Edited by Norrie
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HEYYYYYYYYYYYY....What a super find..Congratulations to YOU!

My Dad was a despatch rider during his early enrollment as a British Soldier..He rode a BSA 650? and loved every moment driving like hell to deliver messages from one HQ to another...I only wish that he had sent my Mum the helmet when he was 19 years old,  for me to treasure all my life as a Dear Memory he died in 1973 at 53...!...

Probably he wasn't allowed to, but here is his photo on it from about 1939...you are the only one to have seen this in over 60 + years....Take Care & Well Done on finding this....Desert Rat

Dad in the Army on His Motorbike...1939.jpg

Edited by Desert Rat
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Hiya...Superb photo...I have some somewhere of my dad in his (post war) gear on a Triumph 650cc bike...he talks fondly of his time on the bikes...and i think he misses it all...:D

 

Thankyou for sharing the photo...I feel priviledged to be amongst the first to see it...:D

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Thanks so Much Norrie for your kind words,

 

It always brings back sad memories of what they all went through during WW2....But they ALL done Their Very Best.

I bet your Dad had some fun on the Triumph....Yeh the good old days and not many cars on the road then,unlike today!

Best to You & Your Dear Dad and Family...IanB

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6 hours ago, Desert Rat said:

Thanks so Much Norrie for your kind words,

 

It always brings back sad memories of what they all went through during WW2....But they ALL done Their Very Best.

I bet your Dad had some fun on the Triumph....Yeh the good old days and not many cars on the road then,unlike today!

Best to You & Your Dear Dad and Family...IanB

Thanks @Desert Rat...he did most of his "time" in Germany, and loved shooting up and down the autobhans on that Triumph....and for a year or so, he was in the RAF Mountain Rescue team....mainly around Yorkshire.....he thoroughly enjoyed his national Service...he was an amateur boxer too, and won a couple of RAF championships....:D

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