Geoff Duke motorcycle racing helmet
Date made: mid 20th century
Description: A 'pudding basin' racing helmet worn by Geoff Duke. Made by Lewis, the helmet features Duke's red Lancashire rose, also a scrutineering (?) mark (red rectangle). Extensive crash damage. Signature of Geoff Duke on one side.
Photographic evidence showing the red rectangle suggests this helmet was worn around 1956. It is certainly in photographs taken in 1955 and early 1956. It seems to no longer have been in use by 1957 and a major slide which Duke suffered at the Ulster Grand Prix in August 1956 could account for the damage.
Geoff Duke won six Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) races and six World Championships in the 1950s, riding for Norton and later Gilera. Duke was named Sportsman of the Year in 1951, and awarded an OBE in 1953.
Materials: cotton, leather, linen, metal: iron, copper alloy, paint: other, wood: composite
Object name: helmet
Collection: Costume & Textiles Collection
ID Number: 2019-0013
Subject tags : #TT&MOTORSPORT