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Writer's pictureGethin Thomas

"Quickies" 1 - Hard Hat

I am going to start a new occasional series of Blog Shorts. As my usual history pieces are quite involved and take a lot of time and research there are sometimes large gaps in between posts, so after a recent coincidence, I was inspired to do some "quickies".


I have mentioned wicker before (here) but hadn't realised how versatile it's uses were in the past. So here we are with something that looks like an upturned fruit basket.


A week ago I was browsing bits of news and up popped an interesting article about an American man named Edward W. Bullard who saved thousands of lives and prevented tens of thousands of severe injuries. It's the story of the hard hat, and only a few hours later I found myself in the Museum of Dartmoor Life on a day out to Okehampton in Devon. This upturned basket turned out to be a mid 19th century miners safety helmet. The wonder of coincidences like this always astound and fascinate me


Bullard was a U.S. Army veteran who crafted the world's most important piece of industrial protective equipment after returning from the carnage of World War I. Some 33 million Americans, about 10 percent of the national population, work hard-hat jobs today, according to Cam Mackey, president and CEO of the International Safety Equipment Association. Edward Bullard helped found the nonprofit trade association in 1933.


"Realizing the need for greater safety within the mines, Bullard designed a hard hat for miners inspired by the steel doughboy helmet he wore as a soldier," states a Bullard company biography. Bullard applied for a patent for his product in 1927, receiving approval in 1929. Americans purchase about 6 million new construction hard hats each year, according to industry sources.



One great irony is that Bullard, famous for Industrial safety equipment, was to die in 1963 after the life long smoker lost the battle with emphysema. It's well worth reading the full article on the link above.


UK head injury and workplace safety facts:

  • There were 348,453 UK admissions to hospital with acquired brain injury in

2016-17. That is 531 admissions per 100,000 of the population.

  • 20% of all injuries whether fatal and non-fatal in the UK since 2013 are head

related.

  • Of all non-fatal injuries reported under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and

Dangerous Occurrences Regulations for 2017-18, 13% are head related.

  • Head protection accounts for only 3% of PPE purchases, yet account for over

20% of injuries.

  • On average people spend £25-£30 on a pair of safety boots, but only £5-£8

on their safety helmet.

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