Miners in the lead mines of north Wales also seem to have worn wide brimmed
glazed hats, and in one photo taken underground at Halkyn in 1896 a man can be
seen wearing a linen cap underneath. This presumably kept dirt out of the
hair, useful when washing facilities were few. When the Halkyn mines were worked
in a big way in the 1930s, the men were issued with a wide brimmed helmet of
compressed fibre, called the Cromwell, without any attachment for a cap lamp.
Men who worked underground in both lead and coal mines often kept the lamp at
waist level because this showed up obstacles on the floor better.
Another factor in the popularity or helmets with wide brims may have been the
standard British army helmet, developed in the First World War. This had a
wide brim to give better protection against shell splinters from above, which
were a major cause of injury. According to correspondence in 'The Times' about
this a few months ago, the Germans would use captured British helmets whenever
they could because they gave better protection than their own brimless
variety. The US army adopted the British helmet, which was still in use when they
entered the Second World War in 1941.
C J Williams
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