The Road Made of German Helmets

[@firstsequence7132]

They tried it with other models of German helmet but the spikes kept popping everyone’s tyres

[@Lando_P1]

10/10

[@stuckbarry4163]

Lol

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

don't give Khan ideas

[@viandengalacticspaceyards5135]

I'll add a spike-story here, from an old interview with a WW1 soldier: They hated the spikes; they would show the position before you popped up your head. So they all took them off, and later covered the helmet with a camo cloth. But then the emperor visited the front, so they were told they could have the cloth, but the spikes had to go back on. Only, they had lost them long ago, so they all carved spikes from potatoes and put the cloth over. And so the German emperor saluted a parade of troops, who all had potatoes on their heads.

[@FutureChaosTV]

Maybe that's were the Kartoffelkopf/potatoe head "insult" came from...? 😂

[@46FreddieMercury91]

That ww1 footage is closer to the battle of Waterloo than the present day

[@dp-sr1fd]

That makes one think.

[@AnimalisMD]

That's mind boggling.

[@dustylover100]

That's part of the reason why there was so much loss of life. Napoleonic tactics against modern weaponry. The US Civil War was the first where this took place.

[@spiritmatter1553]

🤯

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Here's another shocker, at least for Americans. The year 2025 will mark 80 years since the end of World War Two in 1945. And 1945 was 80 years after the end of the American Civil War in 1865, and there were still people living with first-hand memories of THAT war! 1945v !94

[@brianb2837]

There is a considerable amount of fascinating World War history that would go unnoticed or unknown if not for this channel bringing it to a wider audience. Well done Dr. Felton

[@jonbon8598]

This government parrot 🦜🦜 is scared to death of the khazar controllers, he knows if he goes anywhere near the truth, his career is over lol XXXXX

[@viandengalacticspaceyards5135]

Exactly what I think. High school almost bored my great interest in history out of me, yet at every moment and place in history there is an interesting and funny story to tell. Now they are boring the hell out of my daughter. I think we could well use some Felton-fans as teachers.

[@soulscanner66]

To be honest, I would have assumed a title like this was click bait if it came from anyone but Dr. Felton. With Dr, Felton, you know you're getting something truthful and well researched, whether it's about something important like war crimes or just a curious corner of history like this.

[@williamwilliam5066]

Teach Felton the difference between "amount" and "number" Waste of time nowadays, like, whatever.

[@fload46d]

As a former utility worker, I'll bet that was fun to dig up to do repairs.

[@rockhound4080]

I want to get ahold of someone there to get permission to search when they do work, but I'm in the states 😕

[@martinuhr6760]

indeed

[@lostpony4885]

Finding replacement paving helmets could be fun

[@MrMaselko]

What repairs? That road is too reinforced to need repairs.

[@Cody-pn9fy]

They are no longer there not much information of when they were removed but they are definitely gone now

[@VTPSTTU]

I'm not a civil engineer, but as a corrosion engineer, I see this idea as particularly stupid. You are right that if the helmets result in air pockets, the road could suffer subsidence as the helmets corrode, break, and no longer offer support over the air pockets. If they were to flatten the helmets so that no air pockets existed, the problem would be the opposite. As moisture reached the helmets and caused corrosion, the corrosion products would likely take more volume than the original steel had. That would cause expansion and likely cause cracking of surrounding concrete. Eventually, iron oxide might work as well as any other rock as a road base, but using nickel-steel in this role is a waste of good steel. Steel is great for reinforcing concrete, but steps need to be taken to reduce degradation of the steel. I'd want to see this good steel melted down and used in more appropriate ways.

[@mikandokken]

As a metallurgical and materials engineer, i agree. It is a waste of valuable resources. Roads are made to resist environmental and physical damage as long as possible. For England, there's always rain and moisture so those helmets were going to corrode and structural integrity of the road would break down.

[@LukeParker-rt1xp]

As a knobhead brick layer I agree that England is wet, steel rusts and air pockets are not what you want in a road. Is this definitely how they actually used the helmets? It seems a bit dumb and trust me, after 20 years in the building trade I know what a dumb idea looks like.

[@kirkmooneyham]

So many people have zero clue about the properties of steel alloys. To them, metal is metal. But yeah, I can imagine that not using the correct steel to reinforce the concrete would be a very bad idea.

[@thescatologistcopromancer3936]

As a medical device quality control trainer, I concur.

[@DonMason-cv6og]

​@@CharlesT83could have used stone. Readily available and last for millions of years maybe the burial was symbolic

[@tellyknessis6229]

And it's steel there today...

[@andycraddock7677]

😂

[@John.B.Jenkins]

As a Dad, I tip my hat to you sir. That was SOLID!

[@Lando_P1]

5 points for Gryffindor!

[@A0A4ful]

Time stands steel, as I savor the comment...😂

[@chriscarey1478]

Thank you sir. You made my day.😅

[@connycontainer9459]

No potholes since 1919.

[@at1970]

Where I live they must have used upturned helmets in the road. They are impervious to any fix.

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

Vorsprung durch helmets.

[@henrykszuplakszuplak6578]

Recycling at it's best

[@rwdyeriii]

Nope just steel pots since 1919

[@J.B.29]

​@@at1970Hi neighbor!😂

[@theblackprince1346]

I'm 31 years old and have lived in Croydon all my life. I've never heard of this story. Thank you for bringing this story to light Mark.

[@D_scxnnect]

same here. really cool to hear/see!

[@paulkoza8652]

@@D_scxnnect The most sensible reply ever.

[@rodeleon2875]

croydon pa is a shithole. whats croydon england like?

[@nathantroutman2251]

Lol, now get digging. I need to know. Hahaha

[@D_scxnnect]

@@paulkoza8652 why thank you, sir. i do try

[@diegoferreiro9478]

Civil engineer here: I have no clue what they would try to do by using a layer of helmets, but there is a thing that I am sure: if the helmets were actually used to build the road, they are still there and my guess that they should not be deeper than two meters. During their service years roads are usually reexcavated, to repair potholes (and remove foul material) or ditches for adding utilities.These kind of practices usually do not go deeper than 1 meter, so if the helmets are there, probably no one has noticed yet. The only exception for a deeper work would be the addition of sewage, but if it was built on the first place there is no need to go so deep. Who knows? The best way to shed some light is to promote a survey campaign with a ground-penetrating radar, if local soil condition allows the GPR to scan at least 3 meters (the GPR reach is highly dependent on the soil nature). In case an abnormal layer would be detected (these kind of scans do not usually take place on stahlhelmet layers, so the resuly would be at least interesting for the GPR operator) then some local excavation could be done to confirm the cause of the anomaly.

[@robertcuny934]

Would there be minor differences in the magnetism reading of possibly gravity in the area paved with helmets vs. surrounding soil?

[@diegoferreiro9478]

@@robertcuny934 I am not 100% sure, but a steel layer that is at least a 1 mm thick (asuming crushed helmets) would have some impact on natural magnetism and it could be detected.

[@robertcuny934]

@@diegoferreiro9478 IIRC, I have heard some geologists on PBS shows in the USA comment that density variations or depressions can be detected my minor gravity variations. Regrettably, I do not recall the specific videos or who made the statements.

[@perrydowd9285]

I spent years in roadworks. I met a lot of English Engineers. I just learned to accept that The Poms can build a road out of anything, and will do at the least opportunity.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

Since the steel helmets are known to be there, wouldn't be best simply to do a few core sample drillings?

[@ScottLaverPhotography]

As a lorry driver going daily into Croydon I can confirm the Purley Way is indeed a well built road that everyday bares the strains of Kants Ulez non moving traffic jams stacked up on said road so these helmets could well be taking the strain to this day? My grandparents and great grandparents all born and bread in Croydon, my grandfather working at the airport until the opening of Gatwick I have never heard this story before. Great content as always 👍🏻👌🏻

[@tanker335]

If you're of the age to remember the Time/Life WW2 series of books from the mid 70's, volume one was titled 'Prelude to War'. The photo of the young German soldier in the thumbnail is the 2nd photo in the book before chapter one starts. He was trying to make his way home after the Armistice. I've never seen it colorized before but the black and white original captures his uncertainty and fatigue brilliantly. It's an exceptional photo.

[@GumbootZone]

I have that book, along with 6 or 7 others from that series.

[@tanker335]

@@GumbootZone I have one complete set and around 3/4's of a second set. My wife is a long time librarian here in the Kansas City area and they are a very common donation item. Usually from relatives of a deceased family member dealing with their home and possessions. Her branch and the others in the system have complete sets already and with the exception of cherry picking to replace lost (stolen) or damaged books, they will never be on a shelf. They are happy to take them but they immediately look to give them away. If a patron comes in and checks out a like subjected book or if they notice your reading history is heavy on WW2, they may offer you a full free set and loan you a cart to haul them to your car. I'm sure it's common practice everywhere so if you enjoy the library, pick their brains a bit about they might have. Regardless of the subject. Fictional stories are fair game too. They don't really need 17 copies of Moby Dick, P.S. I also have the complete Time-Life Old West series with the fake leather covers. Donated of course..😀

[@johnmorrison1672]

Hey... I had the complete set of those books. Used to come out once per month if I recall correctly. I got them in the mail. I don't even recall what became of them. Thanks for jogging my memory.

[@SiVlog1989]

This is just down the road from where I live. While the Covid-19 pandemic was ongoing in 2020, I had some unexpected spare time to explore the site of Croydon Airport. After closure in 1959, most of the site was obliterated by a housing estate called Rounshaw, but if you know where to look, you can see the very end of the last remaining part of the runway and one of the taxiways. It gives an idea of how expansive the site would have been

[@AtheistOrphan]

I thought Croydon Aerodrome only ever had grass runways? (Although it did have concrete hard standing in front of the terminal).

[@SiVlog1989]

@@AtheistOrphan it was initially grass, like most early airfields, but pictures I have seen towards the end of its life shows aircraft on tarmac

[@SiVlog1989]

@@AtheistOrphan certainly, the part that remains is definitely tarmac, the markings on the tarmac are visible

[@AndyJarman]

I worked in Croydon in the mid 80s. There was an air traffic control tower, I seem to remember a garden centre was built next to it. There were also Zeppelin mooring points clearly visible in the ground.

[@Hoplophile1]

Considering the collector's value of those M1916 helmets today, that might be the most expensive road construction ever.

[@WalkSkyWalker]

It was partly due to the construction that the collector’s value is so high

[@darkjudge8786]

The price of collectors versions would be £1 if all those helmets has been kept though.

[@jessbakerjess]

@@darkjudge8786 could go down there with a pick axe :)

[@matthewlok3020]

I have a strong feeling that this stretch of road is very likely to be dug up like crazy

[@Nakai_the_Wanderer]

Their value would be severely reduced due to the ammount being on sale though.

[@brienmauer8134]

Here's to Dr. Felton!! He's paving the way to a better understanding of history! He is a cobblestone in the road of knowledge! He knows history like a streetwalker knows asphalt!

[@senianns9522]

Did you ever visit the Purley Way open air swimming baths? That was some place in the 60's!

[@Archangelm127]

Does "streetwalker" mean the same thing in the UK that it means here in the USA? If so, I have questions as to your phrasing...

[@MrPatrick1414]

Wow some German helmets are now worth close to 10K. Heading to Purley Way with my pick and shovel 🤣🤣

[@frankleespeaking9519]

Rarity drives up the price… so it’s BECAUSE of the destruction of these helmets that genuine examples are hard to find

[@opinionsvary]

That would be inevitable with the NWO State synthesis though super national corporations using the 4th branch (estate) for cultural control. The Leftist uprise to popularist power at all costs of sanity has made acidemic interest in how Hitler was able to create religion, race & assimilate other Nations to doing his will taking on his philosophy. Still wondering what the guy said that was so captivating it turned the world mad for socialist fascism that the Left continues to use as their axium of power. Leftist ideologies made popularist just like Adolf Hitler exploited the Germanic peoples collective emotions. Was it all hysteria? That's the academic question when contrasted with American politics.

[@ericscottstevens]

Usually the smallest size WWI German helmets command the most money. Rare due to little heads who fought on battlefield. These helmets in the video in England were most likely never issued without the webbing. M18 painted variants are highly faked immediately after the war.

[@SoundBlasterAWE64Gold]

If you want a military helmet, you can get a Yugoslav People's Army Stahlhelm-inspired helmet for like $10.

[@darrenlee9237]

Oooh. Interesting. Whereabouts does one procure them from?

[@marcanderson8669]

The helmets were not flattened. They were laid in rows upside down, filled with finely crushed concrete (recovered from dismantled fortifications) and rolled into the ground as a base to lay the road over. Originally, the finished road was left as gravel for a number of years. The reason for that was tarmac contains a lot of oil which was still in short supply. What oil that was available was needed for industries and other roading repairs, roofing etc mostly around London where most bombing occured.

[@duudsuufd]

In the pictures the helmets are not upside down.

[@marcanderson8669]

@@duudsuufd That's because what you're looking at is a simulation. That's not the actual road where the helmets were used.

[@jeffpiatt3879]

What you have said makes the most sense. Look up "grass paving." The helmets would be similar in function to the geotec matts used for "grass paving." The mats are usuall plastic shapped into a net that is an inch or two thick with either round or hexagon shapped "holes". These matts are layed down and gravel is place in the holes and everything compacted. I have built these for fire truck access for apartments. The upside down helmets filled with gravel would closely emulate this, excepth that the helmets would have no physical connection with each other, like the openings in the matt does.

[@GanymedeXD]

@@marcanderson8669What kind of ‘simulation’ … it was ‘an’ actual helmet road in authentic looking film material, no ‘a simulation’. It was historical footage demonstrating the recycling of German steel helmets.

[@ColumbiaB]

@@GanymedeXD - Go back to the video, at 5:00 ff. Felton states that he thinks the footage is not of the actual construction of the road, but instead that the scene was filmed at the “captured-gun park,” and “staged" for the newsreel camera. If you think Felton’s interpretation of this material is mistaken, you should state so directly, and give a good reason for that conclusion.

[@chrisblore6385]

If anything has to do with the great wars. Mark will find it and make a great and interesting episode out of it.. Well done once again…

[@MistaFadora]

As a helmet collector, I’m devastated.

[@GanymedeXD]

Come on … then you know … millions were recycled … a collector is usually happy about it as value comes with rarity!

[@JeremiahPTTN]

I imagine that if the helmets were shoved into the ground base layers without being flattened the shape could have a really positive impact on minimizing settling of the road. Meaning the weight of the concrete causing it to slowly sink deeper into the ground. The helmets probably do a lot to minimize that settling but at the same time the rusting of the metal over time could have interesting long term effects. Metal rusting tends to expand which could add some forces to the concrete. Really can’t say anything for sure but it’s quite interesting to consider.

[@notyrpapa]

I agree - a flattened helmet doesn’t make much sense, but a curved helmet would be a good base if if was well and truly compressed into the mud. Think of the similar concept today with parking surfaces made from concave plastic mesh - it’s effectively the same shape, but inverted. Would resist lateral movement of the surface.

[@mnrkepeters5366]

The rustng: deprived from oxygen, deterioration by oxidation probably takes as long as the time road renovation is due. (30y for hotmix) The reenforcement: as the helmets are in the subbase layer, the pressure has already dissipated considerably through the layers above. The principle is that the pressure eventually exerted on the curved helmet indeed tries to “flatten” it. Giving way to lateral forces. But due to the adjecent helmets these forces are counteracted, resulting in tension the concave steel. This generates a large stiffened area over all the helmets. Probably the subgrade had poor bearing capacity. Thanks to these helmets the layers above (graded rubble and asphalt) could be built with the usual cost effective materials The helmet under pressure can be compared with an arched bridge (360degree arche that is) The abutements however are the adjacent helmets. And under the brisge is a void obviously I’m a uni professor civil works Etc. I’m going to play this video in class at the start of the academic year in a few weeks. Thanks a lot for the find!

[@orbtastic]

My early 20th Century road building is a bit rusty but I did study it at some point. It's more likely that they used them as hardcore/rubble before laying tarmac over the top. Concrete roads do exist but they are very noisy and can end up being more expensive and labour intensive. They also take longer to build due to the curing. You can see videos on here of road being poured from 1920 and it doesn't look particularly difficult, tipper truck just spooning it off onto the road and a few labourers spreading it before the roller comes along. Ironically enough there's large stretches of it on the M25 around the junction to Croydon and it's excessively noisy and bumpy. In fact the first time I went over it I thought I'd burst a tyre and stopped. The company I worked for built a large stretch of motorway and the client specified concrete rather than the usual top layer because it was cheaper but they ended up building more houses and all the occupants went ape because of how noisy it was and the client ended up having to pay out for baffling and noise reduction measures. An ex of mine used to live right next to a section of the M1 that was concrete and it was stupidly noisy. She also lived right next door to a train track but that's another story.

[@mariellouise1]

Maybe akin to “beating swords into ploughshares”!

[@ericwright1840]

Somebody would probably complain about plowing up the ground/environment to make farmland.

[@SP-bt9mp]

The black and white photos makes it look like a road made from skulls 💀

[@notmenotme614]

1:03 The RAF was founded in 1918 from the Royal Flying Corps. There’s a rumour that the RAF blue uniform was made from surplus “Prussian blue” cloth and the colour has stuck ever since.

[@mikeainsworth4504]

Though in common mythology, it’s almost certainly incorrect (another version being that the cloth was originally produced for the Imperial Russian Cavalry). There is no documentary evidence to support the rumour. However, if it were true the cloth would have probably been used for the original 1918 RAF full dress uniform which was a much paler shade of blue than the current blue-grey colour. This pale blue uniform was very unpopular; John Slessor (a later MRAF) described it as ‘a nasty pale blue with a lot of gold over it, which bought irresistibly to mind a vision of the gentlemen who stands outside the cinema’. The colour was withdrawn in 1919 and replaced with the blue-grey which is still worn.

[@samparkerSAM]

This was very similar to how Bannerman Castle was reputedly built... with civil war musket barrels being used as re-bar for concrete around the Bannerman Island. LOTS of german M1916 were stored their, and sold as surplus

[@lawrencelewis2592]

I used to see Bannerman's every time I went to NYC on the train from Poughkeepsie.

[@samparkerSAM]

@lawrencelewis2592 I think about Bannerman a lot... I sell antiques, in particular civil war era muskets.

[@Bob-tn5xn]

My dad worked there in the late 50's with the corp of engineers and in fact yes they used rifle barrels for rebar

[@samparkerSAM]

@Bob-tn5xn I live near the Army Corp of Engineers Station in New Orleans. They have a Union Navy Iron Clad buried in the mud along the Mississippi River Bank. They sank it in the early 1950s, and it was covered with silt and other boats... similar in a way. However, the barrels in concrete have always fascinated me. I know, at least a couple of us would love to have them as artifacts. Perhaps they could be sold in pieces like pepperoni thin, and the proceeds could help fund a clean-up of Bannerman Island.

[@Roscoe_B]

Ammo for older military surplus rifles still sold under the Bannerman name.

[@benred9833]

Another Civil Engineer here: My guess is that once compacted (but still largely intact), this was a pragmatic approach to create a 'raft' over soft ground to support subsequent layers of roading sub-base then asphalt or concrete pavement, with the additional function of spreading the loads more evenly to mitigate differential settlement. A modern-day equivalent would be the use of geo-textile layers to provide much the same, albeit much more effective as the helmets are not linked together. The helmets would rust out eventually, but by then ground settlement would have been substantially reduced. I would doubt they were used in direct contact with concrete as a kind of re-bar. Although I can imagine a scenario where they may have been used as firmer base to pour concrete on top of. However, I'd be interested to hear from a concrete specialist as to whether that would be a pragmatic idea with rusting steel supporting a concrete slab (as opposed to embedded within the slab).

[@danrooc]

Hi. Yet another Civil Engeneer here (SWM): I think this might have not been about the road, but about the pragmatic way for the helmets disposal. Unlike geotextiles, the helmets wouln't provide any tensile resistence (if needed) but at least wouldn't harm to the road stability in the short term, and may even improve it's bearing capacity, as you point out. Possibly someone decided to get rid of them under the road to be buit as a cheaper way of disposal compared to digging a large pit or haul them to a smelting facility. Whatever the truth is, it's another interesting research by Dr. Felton.

[@Rustythemouse]

Not to close to the main helmet story but in Hungary WW2 at our village road there was a moment when 1 German soldier shot 1 Romanian from the Church tower. The Romanian soldier died instantly and his helmet* was ridden with some holes. *That was left in the village some of the villagers kept it in a window like a weird ornament after many years. My grandpa told me there are 2 graves in the Cemetery almost forgotten at the side, there was a German (perhaps not the upper one) and a Romanian soldier buried to each other. The German had the cross as "Deutschen Soldat" sign but the Romanian grave lost it's markings only the signs of a grave were there clearly. As you can imagine a simple ground made grave without a cross. Years went passed after Grandpa had died and the German's cross disappeared, the soldier were exhumated and bringed his leftovers to Budapest main German cemetery. I was wondered why the Romanian Grave still there but the current Cemetery owner have no info about the grave at all. Some groundworks was made almost destroying all signs of the graves were there at all. As a Hungarian kid first I think the Romanian soldier "could be a bad man" or something like a child's opinion about the big world and never wondered about his story. However when I was in my 20's I tried to locate the grave's area and still I always left some flowers there for his memorandum. About the flowers, I only can say Grandpa is not too far from the Romanian Soldiers grave in the cemetery so after years I have realized how such a mistake it was to think that soldier as a bad man even without any sense about him.

[@jerryjeromehawkins1712]

Thanks for sharing, Rusty. Yes, it's amazing how as we grow older, we view things so much differently than we did in our childhood.

[@williamgibson8910]

⁠

[@williamgibson8910]

Would it be far better to forget and not speak of these tragedies and repeat them ? I think not…maybe man kind could learn to live with itself better…

[@dewaldsteyn1306]

Wow thanks for your interesting story!

[@guyh.4553]

As a prior service Army Civil Engineer, I can attest to utilizing materials that would normally not be used traditionally. Its reported in a Engineer Reconnaissance Report. That said, Dr. Felton was 100% correct when he was talking about the air cavity if the crown of the helmet is on top. There would have to be ways of compressing the helmet down into the substrate so no air pockets could exist, which is why they were using the tracked caterpillar. They could be compressed into either a gravel layer or a sand layer. Then of course, earth fill or another layer of gravel would go on top & tamped down. At that time, I would guess that asphalt was not readily available & concrete could have been used but due to the time, 1920s, a gravel road was likely constructed.

[@CAP198462]

From Stahlhelm to straßenhelm

[@andycraddock7677]

Clever!

[@DonMason-cv6og]

From steel helmet to street helmet

[@bob-gk5jn]

🤣

[@Archangelm127]

You win the Internet for today, friend. ❤

[@TheSteelcry]

From Stahlhelm to Stratham

[@Patrick_Cooper]

At least we don't have roads made from old hand grenades.

[@billh230]

Talk about blown tires....

[@Placer1267]

Are you sure?

[@DinJaevel]

Or land mines. 🤔

[@douglasmontgomery2063]

Tol get a sense of how that would turn out, simply look at ANY Midwestern American road after winter.

[@Cody-pn9fy]

I think that's what they use today to get the pot hole effect

[@christianworthinton8000]

As kids after WW2 my Dad and his friends bought German helmets for a penny. They then played Soldiers on the streets of England.

[@keithwilson1408]

I was born in Carshalton, have been up and down purely way many times. Amazing bit of history. My grandmother used to talk about the v1 landing in Croydon high street in ww2. Great research.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

Ever go to The Hope? One of my favourite pubs.

[@CliveReddin]

I had an uncle who told me an anti-aircraft shell didn't explode and it landed on the front steps of that man's house. It buried itself in the concrete steps. Rather than report it, he patched the hole with some more concrete. I looked and sure enough, you could see the difference in the concrete. One day someone will be in for a rather rude awakening.

[@evanjones9296]

Mark, I wish I could buy your books with you reading them in audio. Thank you for all the knowledge!

[@HarshmanHills]

he does have 3 on audible

[@govinda102000]

@@HarshmanHills And I'm sure he would recommend a reading list.

[@lawrenceturner1018]

I live in Purley at the junction with the Purley Way, and had no idea about this. Thank you for enlightening me.

[@wezite1983]

I remember hearing about this. They actually flattened the helmets, not wedge them into the ground. Even if the helmets have disintegrated, the road would be fine. However I think they actually re-dug the road and used hardcore for foundation.

[@GanymedeXD]

They did not flatten them … they upside down filled em concrete!

[@shearwave7885]

Good morning to me! Didn’t see you dropped this yesterday so starting out a good day! Coffee and war history!

[@gleamersmotorcyclepainting9498]

Here in the US, helmets were fondly nicknamed "pots." With that in mind, using the helmets in the roadway as a filling would give an appropriate meaning to the failed road under structure, "pothole."

[@GanymedeXD]

In Germany they recycled them more appropriate making kitchen utensils like pots of them … especially after WW2

[@bobkrohn8053]

I remember years ago hearing a similar story. The Country of Ireland had adopted the German WWI Helmets. I believe they actually manufactured a version of their own. At some time they became obsolete. The story I got was that these were used as fill for an airport they were constructing. Any others hear this? (Dr Felton????)

[@larsrons7937]

That's interesting. I hope we get to hear more about that. Thanks for sharing

[@andjkh]

That little dramatic jump scare music in the end was a nice touch.

[@namelesscynic1616]

A case of 'I have this sound effect, and I WILL use it! "

[@Dragon.7722]

"❤ by Mark Felton" - he knew.

[@k.r.baylor8825]

It woke me up!

[@cornbread8246]

I learn so much from this channel. I know so little about WW II when I fool myself into thinking I’m a WW II historian. Phd. Felton is a real historian

[@michaelmazowiecki9195]

Croydon Airport was built on the chalk dip slope of the North Downs. The ground is thus very well drained as chalk is pervious. My school in the 1960s used the playing fields of Purley Way, opposite the former airport. We used to imagine Chamberlain landing and declaring peace in our time, as well as the Battle of Britain fighter squadrons of 11 Group based there.

[@AnthonyLee-u1z]

That roadway is bulletproof .

[@johnbobson1557]

How fascinating! I remember Purley Way as a young scooter rider in the 60's as the address of Lambretta UK!

[@nickcastings1568]

6:37 I wonder if the Germans ever bombed Purley way in the Second World War, the residents would have had kittens finding German helmets around their area!

[@CyBirr]

06:42 Reports now of metal detector and shovel equipped amateur historians rushing to Purley Way... #FeltonCommands

[@twowheelsintokyo7039]

When I was a kid, there were ads in comic books selling WW2 helmets for a dollar or two. Popular Mechanics magazine had a long article on how to use surplus WW1 helmets at home and on the farm, as things like bird feeders, mixing bowls, or protection for fence posts.

[@oldtop4682]

I have to think that if this were true that the local government would have more information/proof. That road has likely been redone several times over the years, so someone should have found the metal or the remains of it. Cool find Doctor Mark!

[@GanymedeXD]

Not necessarily if the old foundation was done pretty deep …

[@Cachoeira1986]

Working as a civil engineer in southern Germany I was lucky to hear that road workers found a rusty german Luftwaffe Flakhelfer helmet in 2017. Sooner or later the english road will have to be maintained and certainly than there will be a good opportunity to get more insights regarding the helmets, that would be worth now a lot.

[@pfdrtom]

I wonder if Croydon's local war historian and author (Business Secrets of the Pharaohs) Mark Corrigan knows about this?

[@SierraNovemberKilo]

Amazing. Sadly, the Croydon native I knew who would have taken great delight in researching this for you died a number of years ago. I sm nevertheless delighted by your uncovering this information. Well done.

[@derin111]

I grew up very near the Purley Way and my first job, after leaving school in 1981, was at Croydon Airport (awful job!). I must have driven up and down the Purley Way literally hundreds of times without having any idea about this! 😮😮😮

[@bobbiescrisps9208]

Apparently under the M27 near Southampton I’ve been told there are millions of glass transistors used as foundation under the motorway when it was built. There was a Mullard electronics factory in Southampton that manufactured Valves and transistors, the rejected or over manufacture of certain types became expensive to dump

[@michaeljohnryan7801]

What a bizarre story, never knew this, great work as ever 👏

[@abdulrazaqibrahim950]

As a civil engineer,I think these helmets have contributed greatly to the road's resistance to heavy loads because the crescent shapes have very high resistance and endurance, especially if they are covered with a layer of concrete as in this case.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

This reminds me of what happened to a lot of surrendered Confederate rifles and muskets. After the Civil War the US Army had no use for them (They had MORE than enough soon to be obsolete muzzle-loaders of their own!) so those that weren't souvenired by Union Army soldiers were frequently used as roadfill just like those German helmets were. It's an interesting thing but the majority of Confederate weapons in collections and museums here in the US were found in the North in later years and not the South and all brought home by Union veterans.

[@hovanti]

Look up "Bannerman's Castle;" it was a structure on an island on the Hudson River, still there, but in ruins and off-limits. For the better part of the 20th century, it housed literally tons of Civil War artifacts, many sold in a retail store in NYC. There was a story in the 1950s of a group that visited there, finding the concrete pier where they tied up their boat reinforced with musket barrels. The account can be still found, I think, in the "Dixie Gun Works" blackpowder supplies catalog.

[@twoheart7813]

There was a large restaurant in Eastern part of Michigan years ago that had its walls and ceiling lined with Civil war muskets of all kinds. During a restoration after a fire, 50's or 60's?, they found that some of the muskets that survived the fire were still loaded.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@twoheart7813 I'm not surprised. When I got into muzzle-loading 50 years ago one of the "how-to" books I read on the subject of old muskets said NEVER assume that old piece you find is empty, a suprising amount were put away loaded and the knowledge of the fact was forgotten over the years.

[@Archangelm127]

I seem to recall that at least one US Army road was corduroyed in Confederate rifles as a flex more than anything else. I don't have any source for it though.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@Archangelm127 That's OK, I can't remember where I read about Confederate rifles being used as roadfill either. I THINK it may have been in a "Civil War Times" magazine article, one of those "After the war, then what?" type of articles. Whereever I read it I certainly never forgot it.

[@michaeleastes1705]

Another interesting and obscure topic from this contributor. BTW, I have a large helmet collection, and my favorite is a fully restored 1916 pattern German one.

[@GumbootZone]

I would like to see a feature on the "Trench Of Bayonets" down near Verdun. Supposedly a trench collapsed with a line of soldiers in it ready to go, and all that remained was their rifles with attached bayonets poking out of the ground in a long line.

[@joergschulze5899]

I visited the memorial in Verdun in the 80s when that particular spot was not under cover yet, even so some of the bayonets were still left poking out of the ground. I remember finding it a chilling thought that the bodies of the soldiers were still under these bayonets.

[@Lockieez]

Always amazes me the obscure stories you find Dr. Felton!

[@TheOfficial007]

Probably could find the answer with a unit of ground penetrating radar. Not sure how well it can handle concrete but I think it should be able to provide a picture underneath what was the end result of road builders work.

[@rcrawford42]

Sounds like a job for Time Team!

[@bushwackcreek]

Actually, I've seen even inverted beer bottles set as footings for houses in swampy soil. The helmets, set upright and intact into a swampy or clay soil would maintain their "buoyancy" and float the overlain road surface. If German helmets were of Nickel Steel, they would be resistant to rust (stainless steel) and last for centuries.

[@AP-yd1wz]

I'm not a civil engineer nor an expert of road construction. As a mechanical engineer, I cannot think of one good technical reason to use steel helmets to build a road.

[@christopherkucia1071]

Availability….

[@AP-yd1wz]

@@christopherkucia1071 I find it hard to believe post WWI time UK had difficulties sorting basic materials to build a simple stretch of road and used steel helmets instead of gravel or other very basic ballast materials. If you mean that they just had this load of steel helmets just sitting there and decided to use them, it's far from a logical decision. Makes not much sense technically or economically, at least as far as I can think of.

[@rjlchristie]

Limited capacities in available landfills? Still, I would have thought re smelting far more sensible.

[@AP-yd1wz]

@@rjlchristie I don't think it was about availability at landfills. We are talking about the 1920s, when things were reused anyways, and steel smelting was everywhere in Europe. As you said, the most logical thing would have been to smelt the helmets. No reason not to smelt them really... no need to sort anything (I think Mr. Felton mentioned they were bare shells, all straps already removed), very good steel. Save for political or propagandist reasons, I still see no good technical or economic reason to dump steel helmets into a road build.

[@themightyironoak]

Because it's Metal Af that's why

[@pseudonym745]

I never left a Mark Felton video un-astounded. As always, thank you for your amazing work! Greetings from Germany! 😅

[@misolgit69]

I've seen a still photograph claiming to show a small industrial unit employing locals IIRC 'somewhere' around the Franco Belgian border during the advance across Europe post Normandy set up using a hydraulic press to convert German helmets into canteen mess trays I suspect the process wasn't quite so simple, but it fostered military/civilian relationships and gave people a chance to feed their families

[@Robberduckdk]

It was fairly common for helmets being turned into cooking pots in medieval europe.

[@657449]

Your topics never disappoint. Thank you.

[@mrhamburger6936]

When I was at first grade many years ago one of the kids in the class he had a world war 1 German helmet is father or grandfather brought home

[@irish3335]

Great video Dr Felton, always a great nugget of WWI or WWII history to share! Just when you think all the stories have been told you surprise us with another!

[@TheJobtate]

I'm a US Navy Seabee who has built roads and I imagine they used these helmets as part of a base layer and laid over them an aggregate of some kind...crushed gravel? Either way, this was a woefully bad plan. Those helmets would have to eventually rust and disintegrate, leaving a profoundly unsound base layer with zero compaction and endless pot holes and frost heaves.

[@alexanderhanooman]

Great work Dr Felton... you're saving lives...trust me.

[@michaelmiller641]

Gives new meaning to the term 'Mettalled Road"

[@davidlockwood6088]

I have 2 Model1916 helmets. One I found in a dump in upstate New York when I was young, the other was found by a friend of mine half buried in the bank of the Severn River, in Annapolis, Maryland.

[@sambowz9077]

There is a fence in St Louis that is made of Springfield rifle barrels.

[@bogtrottername7001]

Tell us where it is !

[@sambowz9077]

@@bogtrottername7001 Grant's cabin. The fence that sits across from the president's cabin was fashioned from 2,563 rifle barrels as a Civil War memorial.

[@silverdrillpickle7596]

@@sambowz9077 Learn something every day! 🫡

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

I haven't seen it but I've been told the iron fence around the Anheuser-Busch brewery (the original one) in St. Louis has posts made of surplus Civil War Parrott cannon barrels! If someone can confrim or deny that I'd love to hear it!

[@ericalbany]

There is also a fence in the Georgetown district of Washington DC made from unused Mexican War era gun barrels- I walked past it often in the 1970's and at the bottom of some you could poke a finger into rust holes in the tubes.

[@AnimalisMD]

As always, I'm fascinated by the interesting subjects Dr. Felton shares with us. Stories like this makes History come alive.

[@lexington476]

How did you find out about this little obscure tidbit of road construction? Was this listed in some book or website?

[@deanbuss1678]

Thanks!

[@bowenzhou5264]

.. classic Felton topic 👍

[@n.v.1258]

My goodness, where do you find all these intriguing history facts. I'm always amazed when watching your videos.

[@BRUH-yd5yo]

Love these army supplies repurposed videos

[@GypsyHunter232UK]

Another excellent presentation from Dr Mark Felton..

[@camg6400]

OMG THAT JUMP SCARE AT 6:50 WAS UNNECESSARY! I WAS IN BED MARK!

[@MarkFeltonProductions]

Twiddles waxed moustache whilst grinning.

[@camg6400]

@@MarkFeltonProductions This is why you are my favorite historian

[@derrickwillie4449]

As an engineer the structure of the helmet along with the volume of helmets to distribute weight would be able to support significant weight.

[@grandmufftwerkin9037]

Next up: A helmet made of roads.

[@LegoRex-z3v]

😂

[@buckrogers2828]

Way too many potholes to do that with

[@GordonFalt]

Christopher Walkens!

[@marianmoses9604]

Lol 😂 at that dramatic blast of music at the end to punctuate Mark’s final observation. 😆

[@robert-trading-as-Bob69]

So Purley Way is a metalled road using metal.

[@dustyfarmer]

My grandfather in Sydney, Australia used S.M.L.E .303 H heavy barrels & 450/577 Martini Henry barrels wired together as concrete reinforcing for a driveway ramp in the 1950's.

[@waltie1able]

The French. the Wilson character, and the Versailles Treaty gave Hitler all the ammunition he needed for WWII.

[@marklittle8805]

Wilson didn't want to punish the Germans but the Brits and moreso the French wanted to put the screws to them

[@longiusaescius2537]

And FDR let our sailors die

[@badmen1550]

👏🤝👏

[@mattg432]

@@marklittle8805 Wilson did what Poles and Czech demanded from him. Italians, too.

[@RyanKeogh-b7r]

On a completely unrelated note, I am going to Britain and renting an excavator, as well as a ski mask.

[@larsrons7937]

As long as you don't rent a chainsaw and an icehockey mask.

[@GanymedeXD]

What for … adding more unsold rusty scrap metal to ebay?

[@leddielive]

We have a beautiful canon on display at Ely Cathedral Cambridgeshire that was captured from the Russians during the Crimean war 1853-1856. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.🇬🇧

[@MarkFeltonProductions]

I have seen it when visiting Ely.

[@faithlesshound5621]

Another war trophy worth seeing is the 16th century Portuguese cannon on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. It was cast with a Spanish coat of arms when Portugal was under Spanish rule, was sent out a century later to the Portuguese colonies and ended up in the hands of the King of Arakan, from whom it acquired an inscription in Burmese. It was captured during the third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. Six such cannon were exhibited on The Meadows during the Edinburgh Fair of 1886, after which they were moved to the Calton Hill. Five of them were removed during WWII, supposedly to be melted down, but who knows what happened to them? Masses of cast iron railings removed for that purpose were just thrown into the sea at the end of the war.

[@FredScuttle456]

@@MarkFeltonProductions I've read there's a city where captured German artillery guns had their barrels planted along the road and made into lamp posts. I'm sorry, I can't remember which city or provide a reference. Perhaps one day you'll encounter this tale, verify it and make a video about it.

[@ethanlittle776]

I live local to this and never knew. There is also a man made hill in nearby south Norwood country park made from the rubble left from the blitz

[@aramisortsbottcher8201]

At first I thought they were used like cobble stones :D

[@B2091]

Nice find! I’ve been around that area many times. It’s steeped in history. There’s an early 1900’s Channel factory behind Croydon airport that’s now a Channel distribution centre. A German mail plane crashed into the factory in the 1920s or 30’s. A electrician was running cables in the early 2000’s and had to smash a wall in and discovered the long forgotten wreck of the plane still there. Today it can be seen inside the building through a little viewing window. Apparently the pilot haunts the building and the night security Knick named the ghost “Fritz”.

The sweet ironic revenge: is that even a rusty German helmet is nowadays more popular and worth more than any allied medal

[@benwilson6145]

How's that revenge?

[@CliveReddin]

Like to try a Victoria Cross on for size?

[@GanymedeXD]

They are not worth much … to be worth something they need to be excellent condition helmets… all the metal detecting ground recoveries are sold for hardly anything as just rusty remains …

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

Fantastic history as usual from this channel. I have used Purly Way many times

[@TroyDowVanZandt]

Interesting. I'm surprised they didn't use German helmets to replace good intentions on the road to hell.

[@edwardsadler7515]

I was astounded to see this title! I remember being in my father's car travelling along Purley Way in the early '60s. He announced to us that the road was built on 10,000 German army helmets and nobody believed him! Sorry Dad....

[@casperslaststandme5991]

So thats what they mean when they say a metalled road surface lol

[@dammad8584]

As always " the best of the best".. history is all around us...thank you Mark Felton

[@Shay-bp7yt]

Do a video of Eamonn DeValara and hitler.

[@Tracertme]

I spent many years driving up and down the Purley way and never knew that. 😂❤

[@richardtheeighth4431]

It's fascinating to hear public officials putting their heads together to build a road in Croydon that was made from German helmets.

[@chromiumphotography5138]

Seems quite a sound idea in comparison to the bonkers ideas they come up with a hundred years or so later.

[@ekim000]

I've been watching your videos and reading your books for years and for some odd reason this one stands out. What an absolutely bizarre thing to do with war spoils. The scrap metal value in today's money would be staggering.

[@huskyhooligans999]

Airborne 💪

[@flimsyjimnz]

Love the Hitchcock 'sting' at the end!

[@larsrons7937]

I was half asleep and had a shock. And was suddenly very awake. 😄