I just picked up these pieces in Portland, Oregon this afternoon. All were pretty cheap and I couldn’t pass up on them.

First is a Lee-Metford Bayonet and a 1930s ‘Bombay Bowler’ Sun Helmet.

The Bayonet is dated 1893 and has the cypher of Queen Victoria

The helmet is a more compact version of the Solar Topee worn by the British Army in India. These were popular with civilians, as well as officers who bought them as private purchase items. It has a nicer shape than the post war ‘Banana Republic’ ones. Additionally, postwar ones lack the brass buckle on the leather strap going across the crown.

Lastly, I picked up a bobby helmet because it was ridiculously cheap. It seems to be a hodgepodge, consisting of an incomplete US-made felt helmet and a British Metropolitan Police helmet plate with a George VI cypher (not sure of date, but somewhere between 1937 and 1952).

Click to enlarge the picture