Wilson History and Research Center

The Wilson History and Research Center (WHRC), operating in Little Rock (Pulaski County) from 2008 to 2012, was an organization committed to the preservation of helmets and other historic headwear.

Founder Robert M. (Robby) Wilson Jr. was a lawyer and founding member of the Wilson Law Group in Little Rock. Wilson fostered a love for military headwear used across the world and aimed to collect individual samples of every iteration of military headgear produced during the twentieth century. He hoped that by understanding the nature of conflict, armor, and fashion, society would have a better understanding of what spurred young men to go to war.

The WHRC was founded in 2008 as a nonprofit organization. Items were collected not for their value or prestige, but for the interest that the piece generated. Historians could contact the center and obtain information on pieces. Containing around 17,000 items, the WHRC’s collection of military headgear was one of the largest in the world and included many artifacts of wars and militaries from across the globe.

The center became a leading authority and maintained a vibrant social media program, including a YouTube channel where Wilson uploaded videos of featured items. In 2012, the center published The American: The Life, Times, and War of Basil Antonelli by Daniel Roberts and Robby Wilson, which was funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign. In researching the book, Roberts and Wilson traveled through Italy with Basil Antonelli’s descendants exploring what it meant to be an American. Wilson intended the book to be the first in a series of published works chronicling unknown but dynamic stories.

The collection also notably received the helmet of Major Richard (Dick) Winters, who fought in World War II in the U.S. Army’s 101^st Airborne Division, most popularly known through the HBO series Band of Brothers. The helmet was donated by Robert Hoffman in 2011 in a state ceremony held by Governor Mike Beebe in which the governor recognized the value of the collection and spoke of its importance for history. The WHRC also loaned and donated items to other institutions. A memorial was dedicated to Wilson in Sainte-Mère-Église, France, for his donation of a J4 Piper Cub to the Airborne Museum in the town in the lead-up to the sixty-fifth anniversary of D-Day.

Wilson died after a two-year struggle with cancer in 2012, and the WHRC was dissolved. The items owned by the WHRC were donated to the International Museum of World War II Museum in Natick, Massachusetts (which closed in 2019), while those in the personal possession of Wilson were sold at auction by Hermann Historica.

For additional information:
“Major Richard ‘Dick’ Winters’ Helmet Has a New Home.” Military Trader. https://www.militarytrader.com/militaria-collectibles/major-richard-dick-winters-helmet-has-a-new-home (accessed March 1, 2024).

“Wilson History & Research Center.” Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057287214635 (accessed March 1, 2024).

Colten Long
University of Arkansas at Little Rock