Battle of Mt Longdon veteran

Tug1970

Posted on 6/1/2018, 01:30

Pte Ron Duffy 24177040 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment. Battle of Mt Longdon veteran.

This post is dedicated to the memory of Ron Duffy who sadly passed away in May 2016. I believe from what I have read Ron suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and fell victim to alcohol, no doubt another casualty of the Falklands War.

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Ron joined Depot Para in 1969, 344 Platoon but for reasons unknown failed selection. He then went to the KOSB (The King's Own Scottish Borderers) and after a few years was attached to 3 Para staying until 1978 returning back to the KOSB. By all accounts he couldn’t settle and in 1979 re-joined 3 Para and served with B Company 4 Platoon and fought at the Battle of Mt. Longdon.

Ron

I was lucky enough to have spotted this helmet on ebay, wrongly or shall I say poorly listed as ‘Steel Army Helmet’…….perhaps to the average person on the street it is exactly that.

The thing that immediately drew me to the helmet was not only that it was in fact a paratrooper helmet but from the limited photographs available on the online auction I could see or at least thought I could see a 2 banded para helmet cover, themselves becoming quite scarce.

I won the helmet exceptionally cheap and when I received it I was happy to see it was indeed a 2 banded cover, but I was more surprised to find out who the previous owner of the helmet was!
Of course this turned out to be Ron Duffy, this was confirmed by the seller who told me Ron’s sister had donated the helmet and all proceeds to go to the PRA (Parachute Regiment Association), a shame they didn’t list it as such!

Another unfortunate act was the defacing of the helmets markings in an attempt to cover the previous owners name………perhaps Ron’s sister had requested this or the seller did this, I can’t imagine Ron would have kept this helmet for all those years and then defaced his own name but besides that the marker used seems very fresh. Although this has been covered by marker pen you can make out B 153 DUFFY, B denoting B Coy.

The helmet is manufactured by CWL, dated 1972 and a size 7 5/8

DUFFY is written on the reverse side of this US elastic helmet band, reversed in this case to hide the cats eyes.

The Hessian scrim has been painted both Black and Brown.

Below is a list of 3 Para, B Company, 4 Platoon at the time of the Falklands War and the Battle of Mt Longdon.

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Some photographs of Ron Duffy's send off.

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The infamous RSM Laurie Ashbridge 3 PARA alongside the standard bearers

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RSM Laurie Ashbridge 3 PARA enjoys a cup of tea with Falkland Islanders at San Carlos 21 May 1982.

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In memory of Pte Ron Duffy 24177040 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment.

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Tug

La máquina verde

Posted on 6/1/2018, 18:52

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Dear Tug, welcome to the forum after so much time. As always there are cases where we can associate a piece of militaria with a personal story behind it. The case of this paratrooper Ron Duffy is no stranger to the suffering and pain that invades the soldier when doing his job in another of the terrible battles of this conflict.
The piece in question is spectacular since it is the last version of the helmet Before the experimental M76 with a quantity of material varied.
It's a pleasure to admire him here. Thanks for sharing and I send you a greeting.
LMV

Estimado Tug, bienvenido al foro luego de tanto tiempo. Como siempre se dan estos casos donde podemos asociar una pieza de militaria con una historia personal detrás. El caso de este paracaidista Ron Duffy no es ajeno al sufrimiento y dolor que invade al soldado al hacer su trabajo en otra de las batallas terribles de este conflicto.
La pieza en cuestión es espectacular ya que se trata de la última versión de casco Para antes del experimental M76 con una cantidad de material variado.
Es un placer poder admirarlo aquí. Gracias por compartirlo y te envio un saludo.
LMV

Tug1970

Posted on 7/1/2018, 01:08

Agree, it seems that time does not always heal these tormented souls, which ever side you fought.

Yes an interesting piece as you have pointed out, a mix of old and 'new'. I'm glad to have found this helmet and been able to associate it to Ron Duffy, by all accounts quite the soldier.

Tug

Hard Hat Diver

Posted on 10/1/2018, 14:01

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Hola Tug, como ya dijo LMV, bienvenido nuevamente al foro! muy buena presentación y excelente casco el que nos estas mostrando y mis felicitaciones por recuperar esta histórica pieza!
Lamento profundamente la perdida de este soldado. Mis condolencias.
Una pregunta de ignorante: la fuda DPM era original reglamentaria, o confeccionada artesanalmente por el soldado? Veo que tiene unas bandas como las posteriores al 82 para el MkVI.
Saludos

HHD

Hello Tug, as LMV said welcome again to the forum! Very good presentation and excelente para helmet, my congrats for recovered this historic piece!
Deeply regret the lost of this soldier, my condolences!
Just a question from my ignorance: the DPM helmet cover is reglamentary or make by the soldier? I can see elastic bands like the post 1982 for the MkVI helmet.
Thanks for sharing
Cheers

HHD

bob164

Posted on 11/1/2018, 07:11

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Hola HHD, la cubierta del casco DPM fue hecha para el casco del paracaidista del ejército británico y tenía 2 bandas elásticas. Las versiones de prueba originales tenían 1 banda elástica ancha para camuflaje o 2. Entraron en un problema general en 80/81 y curiosamente ha habido ejemplos de varios fabricantes que muestran fechas tan temprano como 1971. Estos primeros ejemplos también se ajustan a un MKIV casco de tortuga
Como estas cubiertas de casco eran limitadas, la mayoría de los usuarios del casco paracaidista o del casco MK11 Royal Artillery / Tankers usaron la capucha de combate tipo 68 DPM, que se fabricó en 2 tamaños, 1 y 2.

Hello HHD, the DPM helmet cover was purpose made for the British Army Parachutist helmet and had 2 elastic bands. The original trial versions had either 1 wide elastic band for camouflage or 2. They came into general issue in 80/81 and interestingly there have been examples made by various manufacturers that show dates as early as 1971. These early examples also fit over a MKIV turtle helmet.
As these helmet covers were limited, most users of the Parachutist helmet or MK11 Royal Artillery helmet/Tankers helmet used the 68 pattern DPM combat jacket hood which was made in 2 sizes, 1 and 2.

Hola, Bob

[IMG]http://i66.tinypic.com/16kuv7s.jpg[/IMG]

Hard Hat Diver

Posted on 11/1/2018, 13:27

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Thanks Bob, very ilustrative!

HHD

Tug1970

Posted on 13/1/2018, 14:34

QUOTE (bob164 @ 1/11/2018, 07:11 AM)

Hello HHD, the DPM helmet cover was purpose made for the British Army Parachutist helmet and had 2 elastic bands. The original trial versions had either 1 wide elastic band for camouflage or 2. They came into general issue in 80/81 and interestingly there have been examples made by various manufacturers that show dates as early as 1971. These early examples also fit over a MKIV turtle helmet.
As these helmet covers were limited, most users of the Parachutist helmet or MK11 Royal Artillery helmet/Tankers helmet used the 68 pattern DPM combat jacket hood which was made in 2 sizes, 1 and 2.
Hola, Bob

Thanks Bob, good response.......bit busy here!! I haven't removed the cover on the helmet so not sure of the date or contract number. Who knows, maybe the helmet itself went down South but I'd imagine the cover/camo is a later addition.
Tug

jimmytx3

Posted on 5/5/2018, 16:09

Hi, the helmet must have belonged to Ron at some stage if his family say it is his, but I don't believe it was his Falklands helmet, as I knew Ron, he was a stickler for kit, he was immaculate in his dress, if he was issued with something he wore it, when we went on runs in the army he wore his issue shorts, pumps and T shirt, also he would have been issued with the new para fibreglass helmet, then he would have worn it, he did everything to the book, he was very regimented, he did nothing that would cause him to be picked up by either the OC or CSM, Ron was sort of example in his dress, immaculate in turn out, also the helmet he wore for the would have his actual Company number of 30, this will have been checked by the platoon Sgt Ian McKay, his OC and CSM, as we were on 'Spearhead' at the time, and our kit was constantly checked to make sure everything had been marked correctly and we had everything that was listed on the spearhead list.

La máquina verde

Posted on 6/5/2018, 20:47

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Dear Jimmy, welcome to the forum, thank you very much for your comments. It is for all of us a fortune to have war veterans in this community since one of the fundamental pillars of this forum is to pay a respectful tribute to the real protagonists through the preservation and dissemination of the militaria of the conflict.
When you want you can introduce yourself in society in the section Introducing new members.
From already thank you very much.
A greeting.
The Green Machine

Estimado Jimmy, bienvenido al foro, muchísimas gracias por tus comentarios. Es para todos nosotros una fortuna contar con veteranos de guerra en esta comunidad ya que uno de los pilares fundamentales de este foro es rendir un respetuoso homenaje a los verdaderos protagonistas a traves de la conservación y divulgación de la militaria del conflicto.
Cuando quieras puedes presentarte en sociedad en la sección Presentación de nuevos miembros.
Desde ya muchas gracias.
Un saludo.
La Máquina Verde.

Tug1970

Posted on 7/5/2018, 18:59

Thanks for the background Jimmy. No I didn't imagine this was a Falklands helmet, only that it once belonged to Ron Duffy and knowing of his recent passing at the time I thought I'd put together the thread as a small tribute to Ron. Seemed a shame the helmet and its identity would more than likely have been lost to time! I had a mate who served in 2 Para, he always insisted "if it's not issue, I don't want it"!!

Best regards,
Tug

jimmytx3

Posted on 9/5/2018, 07:45

Hi Tug, he truly was a one-off, as you probably saw from the photos of his funeral, I've never known anyone like Ron and I would also treasure that helmet, it is a little bit of history of a unique man, with the heart of a lion, and his loyalty to his friends was unquestioned.
Take care, bye for now Jimmy
9v7_NDDw_G

10 replies since 6/1/2018, 01:30 1015 views