Irish MKII Home Defence Police Helmet

This is a British made MKII helmet, which was supplied to the Republic of Ireland, which received over 60,000 helmets by the United Kingdom during WW2. A large number where issued to the Irish Civil Defence, which mirrored its British counterparts. The Irish Civil Defence helmets where overpainted to the reflect the branch of service. Red for fire, blue for rescue, white for casualty service and green for air raid wardens and Police. The inside of the shell still retains its British civil defence black finish, the liner is dated 1944 and is size stamped 7.1/4. Between 1940 to 1945 Some Irish Police helmet where stencilled with the the world "Police" instead of Garda. This was due to the amount of interned German and allied aircrews which did not understand the word Garda, especially concerning German internees. Both allied and German internees where given free licence to roam the local towns and villages providing they signed a declaration of behaviour.

Code: 69410