Well, that'll give me something to look forward to Steve.  I understand about being busy with outside stuff.  It's that time of year for sure.  Take care and God Bless!

Lots of pristine Schlueter helmets out there! 

I found out that it is a very rare RAF CIB  No. 27 squadron  with the painted mascot  " Nellie "  which was founded in WW1, then became famous during WW2  during the China, Burma, India and Malay theatre and is still in existence today.  I discovered that during the British Homefront the women short of materials began making the famous "Nellie"  from scraps calling it the Make Do toys for children.   It is a size 38 to 40 and it is for sale- though I would not wear it because it is becoming fragile

Many thanks. Nice photos  

Yes I removed the arms as well. I simply took a small knife and scissors and cut almost everything out, then took the garden hose to it to wash it off.

I just don't know where to go with this.  It is a toughie for sure!  The unfortunate thing with the damage on this is there is no easy way to repair it without altering the original appearance of the cap or replacing significant amounts of original material.  If I were going to attempt any repair, I would try to stitch the separation closed…tacking it first and then carefully stitching the separation from the inside or outside if I was unable to easily access the interior.  My concern is that looking at the condition of the cap I am worried that any stitch would simply pull through what appears to be rather dry-rotted looking material and this is an area where the stitching really needs to be tight to achieve the proper look thus exacerbating the problem.   If this cap is something extremely special in your collection (i.e. family piece or id'd/part of a grouping etc.) I'd leave it just as it is.  If not, I would consider leaving it as a place holder until something  better comes along.   I am in no way disparaging this hat...it is what it is and it has survived to this day!  I am just letting you know my opinion as someone who has repaired numerous visor caps over the years.  

Alamo City Militaria Expo Knights of Columbus Mikulski Hall 509 Schertz Parkway Schertz Texas 78154   https://www.acmemilexpo.com/show-info.html   General Admission - $5.00 Kids 12 and under - FREE   Free Parking!   Food and Drink available on site. ATM available on site.

By far "Johnny Got His Gun" (1938).    Highly recommend reading.    Wade

West Coast? Philadelphia, PA has a Market St.

Thanks for the information! 😀 I'm currently doing some research trying to see if I can find who this mystery service man was!! 🧐🤔 Lol