"Never take off your pith helmet..."
The origin of the cork helmet comes from a conical straw (or woven from rattan or bark) hat popular in the countries of Southeast Asia (we know its Vietnamese version best). In Spanish and French, the Filipino word "salakot" ("salako" in French pronunciation) is still used to refer to this headdress.
French colonial troops of the mid-19th century
In fact, it was these wicker helmets that were adopted by the Spanish auxiliary units in the Philippines. Gradually, the salakot began to be worn by Spanish soldiers and officers, from whom the French took the idea in the 40s. In turn, the headdress was borrowed from the French by the British, and today most of the world's population associates the pith helmet with them, and not with the Spaniards, Filipinos, or the French themselves.
It must be said that in the 19th century there were a lot of legends about the destructiveness of the tropical sun for Europeans. No, it is clear that sunstroke is a dangerous thing, but it was believed that if you take off your pith helmet for even a minute, even at dawn, you will not avoid sunstroke! How did Kipling say it?
But the sun is the bane of all troubles!
Never take off your cork helmet
Or you'll go straight to hell, you idiot,
Like a fool, you will die at work.
You'll die at work...
"Never take off your pith helmet..."
This moment is well played out in Zoltan Korda's film "The Four Feathers" (1939). Captain Jack Durrance is deprived of his pith helmet for only a few minutes, and then - sunstroke, loss of consciousness, blindness... Our tourists, going to Egypt to splash around in the Red Sea, would be very surprised by such fear, but in the XNUMXth century, taking off a pith helmet in the heat was considered terrible carelessness! George Orwell wrote during the Second World War:
"When I was in Burma, I was assured that the Indian sun, even in the coolest weather, possessed a peculiar deadliness which could only be prevented by wearing a pith helmet. The 'natives', whose skulls were thicker, did not need these helmets, but for Europeans even a double felt hat was not a reliable protection"...
English governor in a ceremonial pith helmet with a plume
It must be said that a cork helmet does not protect from anything except the sun and rain: you can pierce it even with a pencil, so a sabre blow, a bullet or a piece of shrapnel would definitely cut a colonizer's career short at the most interesting point. But it does protect from the sun! Cork has practically zero thermal conductivity, and thanks to the liner, there is always an air gap between the dome and the head, and on the top of the helmet there is a valve for ventilation (some versions have ventilation holes in the dome). A bronze arrow (or a ball for artillerymen) could be attached to the valve if the helmet was worn with a dress uniform, and VIPs (for example, diplomats) could have a plume of ostrich feathers.
A cork helmet protects slightly worse from rain, but even under the heaviest downpour it will last for two hours, and tropical downpours usually do not last that long. But in the jungle it gives an additional bonus: it protects the head from hitting branches. There are basically two styles of cork helmet, conventionally "English" and "French".
English pith helmet with arrow and regimental emblem
The first is the most recognizable and is similar to the "internal service helmet" (or "British service helmet"), which is still sometimes worn by English police officers today. It came into being during the Anglo-Sikh wars in the 40s. The helmet was usually white, but soldiers quickly realized that they were a perfect target in a white helmet and began to smear it with mud. After that, "khaki" ("mud" in Urdu) helmets appeared. The regimental emblem was attached to the front of the dome, and the chin strap was sometimes made in the form of a chain. In the army of British India, it was fashionable to wear it fastening the strap not under the chin, but under the lower lip - this manner of wearing was used to recognize a seasoned serviceman! A "pugaree" - a thin turban made of a muslin scarf - was often wound around the dome.
Russian pith helmet
The second option was much more popular and was a cork hat with a small dome and wide brim. In addition to the French, similar helmets were worn by the Germans. Russians... There are examples of cork helmets from the Russian army, but they were not widely used. They were worn by sailors in the tropics, some units in Turkestan (Comrade Sukhov, if he began his service before the revolution, could well have worn one!), members of expeditions to Abyssinia and other African countries. However, cork helmets did not gain much popularity in the Russian army. They were used much more often by civilian travelers: the colonial style was in fashion, and, having gone to the dacha in Crimea, pale-faced St. Petersburgers often put on a cork helmet to look like a European on safari.
Igor Sikorsky in a pilot's pith helmet
But there was a category of Russian military personnel who greatly respected cork helmets! These were pilots. True, Russian flight helmets were not very similar to the English or French classics. They were devoid of brims and visors, and were trimmed with leather. Along with a leather jacket and gloves with gauntlets, the cork helmet became a part of the flight uniform.
Afrika Korps Helmet
During World War II, the Germans manufactured a batch of pith helmets for Rommel's Afrika Korps. However, it is not entirely clear whether they were supplied to the troops before the defeat of the Afrika Korps or not. In any case, the popularity of this headgear began to wane by World War II. Even the British in their colonial possessions were switching en masse to peaked caps - the myth of inevitable sunstroke had died out by that time, and the peaked cap was more common for the military.
Wolseley Helmet
However, the official British Army arsenal from 1902 to 1948 was the "Wolseley helmet", named after Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, a legendary Victorian military leader who fought in the most famous campaigns from the Crimean to the Second Boer War. Until 1948? Well, that depends... The pith helmet is still used as ceremonial headgear in the UK. For example, it is worn by the Royal Marines Band in uniform No. 1.
Royal Marine Band
In the US, cork helmets were used during World War II by the Marine Corps under the name "rigid fiber sun helmet". It was adopted in 1934 and is still used to a limited extent: American Marines wear it in shooting competitions. However, this helmet, while retaining the design of a cork helmet, is made not from cork, but from pressed fiber. Its special feature is its simplicity and technological effectiveness - the helmet is stamped from a single piece of material. There are several ventilation holes on the dome, and a false pugarie - a relief image of several folds - is made around the dome.
Vietnamese Pith Helmet
The Vietnamese army has probably kept the pith helmet in service longer than anyone else. At least ten years ago it was the standard headgear there. The style of the Vietnamese helmet most closely resembles the French one, but there is no pugaree, even if it is decorative. The navy helmet is white, the army helmet is green, and there are also camouflage versions.
A gift from Africa. Cork!
Overall, despite its considerable age, the cork helmet continues to be in service. This headgear cannot be called uncomfortable, but its stretchy historical fleur. The fleur of the cruel era of steam and electricity, exploration of the globe, great adventures and colonial conquests.
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