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OT: Canadian Seaforth Highander MkII helmet ID'd

Hambone

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I picked up a helmet, quite reasonably priced ($90) that no one was bidding on (ID'd as an "American WW1 helmet"). It is a MkII, Canadian CL/C make, 1941 date, with a unit flash painted on the left side. It has a camoflage paint scheme done over a wide mesh net. The service number in the rim from the pics appeared to be K 54070. Before getting it I inquired about the service number at a Commonwealth Badge site:
http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7251
I got good help and it was ID'd to a Pte. Pike of the Seaforth Highlanders. Amazingly, when I got it, sure enough, the name "Pte. W.D. Pike" was also in the rim in the same writing as the service no., "K 54070". You can barely see the name on the left side.
 
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The Seaforth Highlanders were a hard fighting regiment with the Canadian 1st Div. and fought through Sicily and Italy. Pte. Pike is ID'd in the unit history as being wounded three times in combat. The regimental history lists K54070 as Pte. Pike, W.D. Served with the Seaforth's 30 Apr 1943 through 4 Apr 1944. He was wounded three times while with the unit, the third wound while patrolling at Crecchio against the German 755th Regt. ended his service with the Seaforth's and he was sent home. History of wound dates and where:

K54070 Pte. PIKE, W.D. Service with Seaforths 30.Apr.43 - 4.Apr.44

Wounded: 5 Aug. 43 - July 1943 in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. The beach landing was relatively uneventful but the Seaforths would soon see hard battles as they fought veteran German units for hilltop town after hilltop town through Valguarnera, Leonforte, Nissoria, Agira and Reegalbuto, to Adrano.

Wounded: 17 Dec. 43 - From December 6 to 22 the 1st Division advanced only 6 km from the Moro River to the edge of a small town named Ortona. Wounded while attacking through an olive grove while riding/dismounting from Sherman tanks.

Wounded: 4 Apr. 44 - Crecchio area of Italy in Ortona area doing patrolling. Enemy - German 755th Regt., 334th Division.
From Ortona the Seaforths continued to move north fighting through the Liri Valley and breaking through the Hitler Line, the Germans' second defensive line. This was the hardest fought battle for the Seaforths of the entire Italian campaign. At one point on the afternoon of 23 May 1944, the Seaforths, having taken the line, repelled a German counter attack, and when the Germans pulled off only eight soldiers remained, commanded by C Company Sergeant Major J.M. Duddle
 

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As an aside, it was said by some that the regimental badge on the helmet was incorrect as it had the crown and cypher above the stag's head and the EM/OR issue badge did not have these. I found and bought the regimental history which indicates that the flash painted on the helmet is indeed the correct one and the issue badge was incorrect/not the one the Seaforth's wanted. Thus the benefit of solid period reference research. ;) Note:

"Officially, the regimental cap badge is described in General Order No. 111 of 1923 as: "In silver, a stag's head, with the letter 'L' and a coronet, set between the antlers, the whole resting on a scroll bearing the Gaelic motto 'CUIDICH'N RIGH'." . . . The hat badge supplied to the unit before and during the war did not conform to that worn by the affiliated regiment, and despite unending correspondence over a decade, the Seaforths were unable to have the badge they wanted issued to them. Consequently, the Seaforths had their badges privately manufactured to ensure its conformity with the "imperial" Seaforths."
- Footnote 19, page 52, "The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada 1919/1965" by R.H. Roy

So, Pte. Pike and his mates painted the correct regimental badge on their helmets, which conformed to their General Order 111, which they wanted. The issue stag's head badge deviated from their orders and was the one they did not want.
 
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BTW, Peter, JM, Snafu, my apologies if this should be in Off Topic discussions. You can move it there if it is. He was wounded three times by German Militaria however :behindsofa:
 
helmet

I'm sure no one will mind. I remember when you picked it up and posted it on g.b. Very nice!!!!
the canadian stuff is way undervalued. As is canada's role in the war...:biggrin1:
 
The Canucks fought hard and had a distinguished combat record. I'm reading a very good detailed book about the Seaforths fighting in Italy and it's pretty impressive. The fellow that owned this lid was wounded twice and went back fighting until his third wound sent him home. That says alot.
 
Hello Hambone,

That is a great helmet and one with real research, thanks for taking the time to post it.
:thumbsup:


You know that I like items with a story (not some BS but real warstories) so I surely don't mind to have this thread in this section of the forum.


Cheers,
Peter
 
I received the service records of Pte. William Donaldson Pike, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, K54070 today. They are attached. Interesting stuff from a brave young man. Pte. Pike was the ripe old age of 21 yrs, 4 mos. and had been wounded three times in some of the war's toughest combat in Italy at the time of his medical discharge on April 23, 1945. He was 6 feet tall, with brown hair and blue eyes and a woodworker who had not finished high school. Pte. Pike had a bit of a problem with rules and regulations as he was disciplined several times and liked to go AWOL. Out for a beer and ladies perhaps? What's an 18-19 year old fellow to do?

Pte. Pike returned to the Seaforths for combat duty after his first two wounds, with his third and last wound ending his combat career. He ended up rehabilitating in Shaughnessy Military Hospital in Vancouver Canada and went AWOL from there as well. Looks like he went AWOL from every hospital where he treated.

Note: Guys, I have a fantastic researcher in Canada who can find service records for a reasonable fee. PM me for his contact info if you have a need.
 

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Last six pages of records. Understanding the abbreviations:

AA Sect. 15(1) - Army Act Sect. 15(1) ("absent without leave")
AA Sect. 40 - Army Act. Sect. 40 ("act, conduct, disorder, or neglect, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline")
AWL - Absent Without Leave
CGU - Canadian General Hospital
CARO - Canadian Army Routine Order
CIRU - Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (replacement pool for units)
DD - Disciplinary Duty
DIRU - Division Infantry Reinforcement Unit
Forf pay - Forfeiture of pay
FP - Field Punishment
SHofC - Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
SOS - Struck off strength (removed from unit)
TOS - Taken on Strength (added to unit)
X3 - All ranks evacuated on medical grounds behind Regimental Aid Posts
X4 - Unposted reinforcements in the theatre of war belonging to the unit or corps
X8 - All non-effective held at Base Reinforcement Units whose return to the UK has been authorized

Canadian Military Abbreviations - http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/022/022-909.011-e.html#a

"Roman Way" - Roman Way Convalescent Hospital (Colchester UK, common destination for soldiers making the transition between standard hospital care and a rehabilitative hospital that prepared them for a return to Army duty.)
 

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Just shows

This is a great example of how only $90 can lead to hours of fun research....
It is these types of pieces that show you campaigns and units you never really understood.

What a great journey...this should be on History Detectives. Great research as usual. Most of us have items with names like this but never get around to the research. Hopefully this will inspire.....:hail:
 
Thanks Jack. I've got a couple more of these to post in coming weeks. I finally ID'd the owner of a Canadian 3rd Div. BD I've had about 20 years. Found that he and his younger brother served with the same unit, hit the beach at Normandy, and just ordered a book where his story is featured in a chapter on WW2.
 
:thumbsup:


And also like jack944 already said, intresting items don't need to be expensive; some of the cheapest objects in my collection are also the most intresting once, to me that is.


P
 
Awesome!!!!

The majority of today's Canadian Service personnel would easily recognize the name Ortona and many civilians would recognize it as one of Canada's most significant battles of WWII, right up there with Dieppe, D-Day, the Falaise Gap and the Liberation of Holland.

Ortona, despite being a relatively small town became renowned for the vicious fighting and was nicknamed "Little Stalingrad", defended by German troops (90th Panzer Grenadiers) and elite Fallshirmjagers (1st Division). The streets became so dangerous that the Canadians started 'rat holing' through the walls to go building to building versus travelling through the streets. The Canadians would often set off charges blowing a hole in the wall with Germans in the next room, then they would throw in a few grenades and sometimes even a bren-gun hoping it would catch on automatic fire which in turn would fill the room with shrapnel and lead. I remember reading one article that stated the US Army developed this room to room technique in Iraq, the author was clearly not aware that the tactic was developed 60 years earlier by the Canadian Forces. Despite their innovation, the Canadians still suffered 2,605 casualties (two of which were Private Pikes wounds).

Nevertheless the battle was won and became known as one of the first major independent Canadian victories of the war. The fighting was comparable to the Battle of Berlin in its intensity and I have watched about a dozen documentaries discussing the battle. We even have a painting of the Battle of Ortona hanging in our Officers Mess and I have personally made a pilgrimage to Ortona, the Moro Valley and the Commonwealth Cemeteries in the surrounding area.

The battle was also significant to me as I was born in Edmonton. Fighting in the Battle was also the Loyal Edmonton Regiment (my father was a reservist with the Loyal Eddies when he was 16-18). I remember reading an article back in the 1990's where surviving German and Canadian Vets who fought against each other on Christmas Day at Ortona, got together on the 50th Anniversary and had a Christmas Dinner together.

The Moro Valley was also no piece of cake. It was there that Capt Paul Triquet won the first Canadian Victoria Cross in Italy. The Victoria Cross is the highest honour/medal that a solider within the Commonwealth could be presented and to this day is the highest award for bravery within the Canadian Forces

Below are two websites. One has several pictures of Ortona and the Moro Valley. The second site is actually a radio broadcast from 1943, where you can hear the shelling of the artillery barrage in the background.

http://wwii.ca

http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/9854/

If you don't want that helmet I am sure the Canadian Military Museaum in Ottawa would be more than willing to accept it and to find it a great home.
 
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Thanks Agentcq, good info. It was really interesting for me to read up on Ortona and the Seaforths in Italy. The Loyal Edmontons were right there in the thick of it as well. I found and bought the regimental history of the Seaforths (hence the info on the "incorrect" flash on the helmet actually being correct) and was able to place Pte. Pike in the areas and battles of his woundings by date. He apparently missed the actual city fighting in Ortona, having been wounded on the outskirts of town. Alot of collectors aren't aware of the impressive fighting contributions of Canada in WW2. I don't know that allied units fought any better than what the Germans fielded in Ortona and the surrounding area. Very impressive and noteworthy combat performance by the Canucks.
Cheers,
Hambone
 
Same camo pattern sprayed in the same manner on another combat helmet of a unit that fought in Italy, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) :
 

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Very cool - especially the Ortona connection. There was some very tough fighting against the FJ's there. The PPCLI's and Royal Edmonton Unit (where I grew up) had some tough battles there over Christmas. I remember reading magazine articles back in the 1990's and the Vets on both sides would sometimes meet and have an annual Christmas dinner.
 
Tks Acq. His last wound, his third and last, getting him a ticket home, was outside Ortona on the advance there. That may have saved his life. That's how his helmet made it home with him in the original WW2 condition. He died a couple years before I picked it up. Interestingly, I've found that my named and original Mk.II Commonwealth helmets were owned by wounded guys sent home. Or, in the case of the South African helmet, a kid who was sent home because he was underage.
 

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