WW2 British, Home Front, ‘AFS’ (Auxiliary Fire Service), Zuckerman Helmet.

Was £95 now £85

This ‘Zuckerman’ was manufactured by PSC (Pressed Steel Company), dates to 194,1 with the application of AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service) to front with the addition of the number ‘5’ applied to the sides. The helmet is in good order apart from the ‘lace’ holding the liner in place which has almost rotted away, I am leaving ‘as is’ and will let the new owner decide on whether to replace the lace.
The AFS was in existence until August 1941 when superseded by the NFS (National Fire Service), unusual in the fact that AFS helmets are usually MkII’s, however, this may have been used as a stop gap or even used by a civilian volunteer with the AFS? Priced to reflect condition and unknown provenance.

Please refer to photographs as they form part of the item’s description. For more general information please refer to ‘Zuckerman Helmet History’ below:

ZUCKERMAN HELMET HISTORY:
The Zuckerman helmet, officially designated the Civilian Protective Helmet, was a designed for use by civil defence organisations and the general public. It was developed and designed by Solly Zuckerman, Derman Christopherson and Hugh Cairns. Zuckerman and Cairns first started looking into a design for a helmet to aid civil defence in mid-1940. Their aim was to provide a helmet that could deal with impact from falling and flying masonry and provide more coverage for the head and the neck areas.
After the War Office accepted their design, the Civilian Protective Helmet went into circulation in December 1940 and throughout 1941, the vast majority therefore being dated 1941. Helmets were made from pressed mild steel or manganese steel (known for its impact resistance) in two sizes only and sometimes marked with either M (medium) or L (large) on the inside of the brim. The design of the high dome was to allow the helmet to withstand impact and still protect the wearer. Many have two single holes opposite each other on the brim. The marking details the amount of resistance the helmet offered to ballistic impact (that being the lowest and therefore not for use as a frontline helmet). The helmet was available in several colours: white, black, grey and olive green. A helmet liner made of leather and webbing was attached to the helmet with string, lace or leather thong that was threaded through 16 pre-drilled slightly angled holes around the helmet to hold it in place. Small loops were incorporated on the helmet for attaching a chinstrap, but no official strap was issued though many used the Mk II helmet chinstrap. Consequently, helmets can be found with numerous chin strap variations.
Zuckerman helmets were issued to Civil Defence personnel such as Fire Guards, Street Fire Parties and factory workers. They were also on sale to the general public for 5 shillings and sixpence (5s 6d). When used by Fire Guards and Street Fire Party personnel, the helmets were marked accordingly with FG or SFP. Bands around the helmet (often in black) would denote seniority within the Fire Guard service.
The helmet was manufactured by a number of companies such as the Austin Motor Co. and Morris Motors.

Code: 267