Ant1942 Posted April 13, 2019 Share #1 Posted April 13, 2019 Hi everyone, I just bought a 8th AF grouping that belonged to a Gordon Leroy Lee who was a navigator in the 390th BG. besides some information that came with the grouping including a tailor made ike, it also came with his crusher cap that I presume is English made. Can anyone tell me or direct me to a maker called Wimbledon. The crusher is roughly a 7 to a 7 1/8th, and is a pretty neat one to add to the collection, but I have never heard of the company that made this personally. While its may be hard to read I know it says Wimbledon "Flight" All Wool Comfort Cap. Any help would be greatly appreciated in finding out any info about how rare the maker is, how common that hat brand was in England etc. Plus if anyone else has one that's like this i'd love to see. Also shout out to pararaftanr2 for the ANB h-1 headset, looks excellent on the head mannequin and thanks again for digging a pair out that you could part with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 13, 2019 Share #2 Posted April 13, 2019 Great looking cap The ones I have say made in England etc.I have a couple enlisted visors marked as made there one is to a GLider pilot who was a Segeant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted April 13, 2019 Thanks for the compliment doyler, I’m quite fond of it too, definitely semi crushable. I’m thinking it’s English because Lee was in the 390th BG from 43-45 as a navigator. Never heard of the crusher company and it looks English made but again I don’t really know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 13, 2019 Share #4 Posted April 13, 2019 Some of the english made officers caps have a more light OD or tan center braid.Im not sure this was a common trait with all or not. I have a small 390th Group with A2 from a B17 pilot that was an evader.He got out of Switzerland after being shot dow.Have a A2 to another 390th pilot.Both were same Squadron (568th) Have enlisted gunners POW group as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKNYC71 Posted April 14, 2019 Share #5 Posted April 14, 2019 I have been studying and collecting crushers and US Army Officer visors for many years, While this is a nice cap, it is definitely not English made, it is a US made cap. Wimbledon brand, was one of a multitude of brand ‘soft’ US Army Officer visors that were produced during the war in the states. Bancroft, Knox, Dobbs, and Society brands were the most known because they produced the largest quantities, but there were many more brands out there which produced lesser quantities, Wimbledon being one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted April 14, 2019 I have been studying and collecting crushers and US Army Officer visors for many years, While this is a nice cap, it is definitely not English made, it is a US made cap. Wimbledon brand, was one of a multitude of brand ‘soft’ US Army Officer visors that were produced during the war in the states. Bancroft, Knox, Dobbs, and Society brands were the most known because they produced the largest quantities, but there were many more brands out there which produced lesser quantities, Wimbledon being one of them. Thank you so much for the insight, do you have a link where I can see the visor brands? Also are wimbledon's desirable on the collections scale for "soft" crusher style caps? Im genuinely interested in hearing whatever insight you can provide about wimbledon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted April 14, 2019 Some of the english made officers caps have a more light OD or tan center braid.Im not sure this was a common trait with all or not. I have a small 390th Group with A2 from a B17 pilot that was an evader.He got out of Switzerland after being shot dow.Have a A2 to another 390th pilot.Both were same Squadron (568th) Have enlisted gunners POW group as well. I'd love to see that stuff doyler, I always had an interest in the Air Corps stuff but recently I decided to dive into collecting it. I am mainly a armor and PTO army nut but I have a healthy respect for what the guys up in the sky did (sometimes it gets overshadowed by the ground war though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 14, 2019 Share #8 Posted April 14, 2019 I'd love to see that stuff doyler, I always had an interest in the Air Corps stuff but recently I decided to dive into collecting it. I am mainly a armor and PTO army nut but I have a healthy respect for what the guys up in the sky did (sometimes it gets overshadowed by the ground war though) Agree.Same for Italy/MTO units.Often over looked and forgotten Here is an old post on one Jacket.Its a bit rough but it survived http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/96722-a2-jacket-568th-bs390th-bg/?hl=lobo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share #9 Posted April 14, 2019 That's an awesome A2 Doyler, I wouldn't care if its roughed up, has a really cool story behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 14, 2019 Share #10 Posted April 14, 2019 That's an awesome A2 Doyler, I wouldn't care if its roughed up, has a really cool story behind it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted April 14, 2019 Share #11 Posted April 14, 2019 Thank you so much for the insight, do you have a link where I can see the visor brands? Also are wimbledon's desirable on the collections scale for "soft" crusher style caps? Im genuinely interested in hearing whatever insight you can provide about wimbledon. I don't think the site "crushercap.com" exists anymore. English made caps are labeled as such and are often made with different materials that make them stand out. I'd agree yours is US made by a smaller cap maker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share #12 Posted April 15, 2019 I don't think the site "crushercap.com" exists anymore. English made caps are labeled as such and are often made with different materials that make them stand out. I'd agree yours is US made by a smaller cap maker. Thanks for the insight into this, I really wasn't expecting to find out lots about it but I definitely have a better knowledge of the cap now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted April 15, 2019 Share #13 Posted April 15, 2019 Take a look arond here, lots of crusher caps posted. Here's an English made one I posted: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/223266-ww2-named-english-made-army-officers-visor-cap/?hl=%2Benglish+%2Bcap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share #14 Posted April 15, 2019 thats a nice cap for sure, really nice. I always like Officer caps/crushers in general Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 15, 2019 Share #15 Posted April 15, 2019 Here is a topic where one is posted.Its an enlisted. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/20562-glider-pilot-ssgt-andersen/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant1942 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share #16 Posted April 15, 2019 Oh nice a J Collett is definitely a nice find and one i've heard of. I saw one for sale a year back but didn't get it, definitely should have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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