Foreign Service Helmet Chindit Column WW2

This Foreign Service Helmet (sometimes called a pith helmet) was used by a soldier of the 2nd Battalion in India and Burma during WW2. The helmet was used during WW2 when the battalion became a Chindit unit in 1943. The Chindit units were split into mobile columns and for the 2nd Battalion, it was split into 2 halves, one titled 65 and the other titled 84. 

The 65 column wore a red square patch and the 84 column wore a black square with their respective numbers embroidered onto the patch. The patch is sewn onto the pagri cloth that fits around the helmet. 

This helmet is dated 1914 and is likely to have been kept in storage until WW2 or used throughout the period between the wars. Due to the fragile nature of the material and the extreme environmental conditions in India and Burma, very few of these patches survive.