Unique metal mask, leather wallet and pictures of World War One training camp in Sheffield unearthed

David Ryste, aged 42, who lives in Bamle in the Telemark region of Norway, mainly collects World War Two memorabilia but was intrigued when he was offered a metal mask and a leather wallet with pictures inside dating back to the First World War, so did some research.

The photographs show the Redmires training camp that was set up by the City of Sheffield Battalion to train in trench warfare. Traces of the old training trenches can be seen on the moors and have been researched by archaeologists of the University of Sheffield.

Huts that were set up in the camp near Redmires Reservoir were later used by Lodge Moor isolation hospital and also housed thousands of Italian and German prisoners of war during World War Two.

David, who works in a taxi company office, said: “I have a friend that is dealing with war memorabilia and I am a collector. Sometimes I buy things from him.

“He has another friend who is a dealer with a lot of English antiquities. When he gets something war related, he asks my friend to buy it and he did and he sold it to me.

“I didn’t know where in England it was from, it was bought from an estate. I got very fascinated by that mask. The only place you can find it talked about is a book from the 1920s. It was an experimental mask that was not used in the war but it was tested out. It’s a prototype.”

‘I found that Redmires was this training camp in the First World War’

The book that he found says that the mask made from steel plate has eye slits cut into it and meant to fit under a soldier’s cap. It was devised by John Berkeley of Newcastle.

Once he had finishing researching the mask, David turned his attention to the leather wallet that came with it but it was only last week, when he was looking again at the six photos inside it, that he noticed they said ‘Redmires 1914’ on the back.

“I thought ‘ what’s Redmires?’. I hadn’t read about it. I started to Google it and found that Redmires was this training camp in the First World War for English soldiers.

“I contacted Sheffield Museums and spoke to Clara Morgan. She made a tweet about the photos, then people got really excited about them. Somebody asked me to share them in other groups.”

One of the groups to get excited was S10 & Surrounding Areas Over The Years on Facebook. Member Louise Robinson said they are loving the story and interest it is raising in the history of Redmires.

David said he got interested in World War Two memorabilia after listening to his grandfather talking about the war and how local people fought the Germans.

He added: “I’ve been to England several times. I play bowls and I was one of the first in Norway playing bowls. I’ve never been to Sheffield, there’s nothing that connects me to Sheffield at all.”

Well, not until now, David!