by Commissioned Officer's . The grip is covered in shagreen and the ‘three-bar hilt’ is formed with a quillon and a simple knucklebow with two sweeping bars joining it. Pattern 1908 cavalry sword. British 1845 infantry officer sword. The overall length of the sword is 37 inches. This change to the hilt is sometimes referred to as the '1854 pattern', but it was not technically a 'pattern' and the change seems to have happened at the end of the 1850s generally. Robson, Brian: Swords of the British Army, The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914, Revised Edition 1996, National Army Museum, Gothic Hilted British Infantry Swords (1822, 1827, 1845, 1854 and 1892 Patterns), 1897 pattern British infantry officer's sword, "The 1822 Pattern Royal Welch Fusiliers variant", "Infantry Officer's Sword Royal Welsh Fusiliers 1822 Pattern | York Museums Trust", "1822 Pattern Senior East India Company Officer's Pipeback Sword", "1822/45P British Infantry General Staff Officers Sword", The 1845 'Wilkinson' type blade, by Matt Easton, British Infantry Officers' Swords of the 1890s and the 1895 Infantry Sword Exercise, by Matt Easton, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library, Identifying British Infantry Officers’ Swords, by Matthew Forde, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gothic_hilted_British_infantry_swords_(1822,_1827,_1845,_1854_and_1892_patterns)&oldid=1003168399, Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 January 2021, at 18:56. British Infantry Officer's Sword (1897 Pattern) British Infantry and Royal Marines Corps - Officers sword (1897 pattern) in accordance with the British MOD specifications. This new blade was also carried over onto cavalry, engineers and artillery officer's swords in 1845 and to naval officer's swords in 1846. As with the blade there were variances historically in the hilt particularly the deviations with shape of the lion. [1] The weapon and its variants had a very long service life. During the period of the 1845 blades use on infantry officers' swords, from 1845 to 1892, it has been observed that blades tended to get straighter. Most surviving examples are 32.5 to 34.5 inches (830 to 880 mm). The wooden grip was covered in shark skin, known as shagreen, to give a textured surface for a secure grip, and this was wrapped with brass, copper or silver twist-wire in the recesses of the ribbed grip. The blade is single-edged and of the pipe-back style—flat with a reinforcing ‘pipe’ or rod to the rear. One can find early examples with straighter blades and later examples with more curved blades. This Pattern would stay in service for infantry officers until 1892 and saw service throughout the Empire. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. 1461-MOD. The gothic hilted swords were a family of swords carried by officers and some NCOs of the British Army between 1822 and the present day. Although the pipe/rod reinforcing at the back edge of the blade was intended to add rigidity for the thrust and strength/mass for the cut, the blade was rather flexible and light at the centre of percussion when made in the infantry sword size. Infantry Officer’s Sword Unlike the other sword patterns of 1796, the 37-inch Infantry Officer’s Sword was never loved, seldom respected, and often cursed by its wielders. This cross-section was then translated to the new narrower 1822 infantry officers' sword. Some sergeants' swords feature a brass grip instead of the usual shark skin grip. British Jacobs Sword Bayonet c 1860 £ 1,650.00; British Percussion Pistol c 1864 by R Garden - Scinde Horse £ 4,650.00; British Swinburn Double Barralled Smoothbore Carbine £ 2,850.00; British 1860 Jacobs Rifle by Swinburn & Son £ 4,950.00; Persian 18th century Tabar War Axe £ 865.00; English Mortuary Sword with Hounslow Blade £ 4,850.00; Household Cavalry Parade … Whether the story is a legend passed down or recorded history, the story starts with the man who uses the sword. Some sergeants' swords featured a quill-point rather than the spear-point found on officers' swords. Although infantry sergeants' and cavalry troopers' swords were issued by the army, officers were expected to purchase their own equipment. The inner portion of the guard is usually hinged and will fold up against the blade in order to alleviate wear on the officers’ tunics. This was also the case before this 1857 Pattern was introduced as the officers of the Royal Engineers had been using the standard line infantry’s sword patterns. This style of blade seems to have been the innovation of the maker Prosser of Charing Cross, London, and first appeared on 1796 light cavalry style blades from around 1810–1815. In use, it, like other thrust-based cavalry swords, is best … Nevertheless, it saw considerable combat use though its showy, elegant appearance made it far better suited to parties and parades. They were primarily infantry swords, although they were also regulation pattern for some other officers such as surgeons and staff officers. The first attempt at a uniform pattern sword was the British Infantry Officer’s “5 Ball” Spadroon, with usually a 32.5 inch (825 mm) blade, introduced in the 1780’s. Circa 1777-1780 (American Revolutionary War era) British Infantry Officer's Sword: £600. This steel hilt is still the regulation pattern for Foot Guards officers to the present day, although with the 1892 thrusting blade rather than the 1845 sabre blade which they had featured until 1892. It was during the Sudan campaign when a young Winston Churchill sheathed his (cavalry) sword before the charge and used his then shockingly modern Mauser Broomhandle semiautomatic pistol). The hilt is very British / Prussian, while the blade has markings most closely resembling those of Italy in the early 17C, for example Respice Finem of Milan circa 1620. It had a more robust edge, was a little heavier, had more mass in the centre of percussion and the symmetrical spear-point is much better at penetrating. Accompanying this was a new Sword Exercise system of 1895, promoted by Colonel Fox of the Army Gymnasia and devised by Maestro Masiello of Florence. After all American and French pattern military swords can be just as complex as British Commonwealth ones, but cost a fraction of the price. This retained the gilt brass ‘Gothic’ style hilt of the 1822 and 1845 Patterns but now introduced a straight, thrust-centric blade with blunt edges, only being sharp towards the final third. Wilkinson were still making infantry officers' swords with folding inner guards until 1859 as standard and do not seem to have switched to universally solid guards until 1860. The British 1796 Heavy Cavalry Trooper's Sword was a direct copy of the Austrian pallasch sword pattern of 1769 for heavy cavalry (it later received an iron scabbard (1775), in which form it was adopted by the British). The 1822 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword was a radical departure from previous designs with its half basket hilt becoming the standard format for British infantry swords until the end of the nineteenth century. There was no folding flap. The British infantry officer had carried a regulation sword which had not officially changed in design since 1845 - article on the 1845 pattern blade.. You can read more articles here, buy an historical item here or connect with me on Instagram where I run @antique_steel. However, in 1892 proponents of the theory that thrust should be used exclusively over cutting for swords prevailed and the cut and thrust blade was replaced by a straight dedicated thrusting blade with a thick, fullered, dumbbell section and a very acute narrow tapered point. The 1796 Pattern British Infantry Officers Sword was carried by officers of the line infantry in the British Army between 1796 and the time of its official replacement with the gothic hilted sword in 1822. This was a slightly curved cut-and-thrust blade, generally of the same length of the previous pattern, however the new blade featured a single, wide fuller and a flat back, rather than the pipe back, with a symmetrical spear-point rather than the quill-point. It is a good question. When compared with the 1822 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword, the main difference concerns the absence of a folding guard and change from pipe back to single-fullered “Wilkinson” blade. The regulation allowed for some variation, so some blades were straighter or more curved, a little longer or shorter, a bit wider or narrower, or simply heavier or lighter. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. Payment: We accept Paypal & Credits for payment, we require immediate payment upon checkout. The grip was shagreen with copper or brass wire unless the officer was of higher rank, in which case ivory was used (see photo). Lastly, officers could in fact purchase a blade of their own choosing if they cared to, so long as it looked more or less regulation when worn in the scabbard. The last variant of the this sword was contracted in 1796. The East India Company used a variant of the 1822 and 1845 sword with the lion rampant holding a crown replacing the cypher of the monarch on the guard.[4]. Later in the 19th century, it was noted in many articles on British military swords (including the lecture of John Latham of Wilkinson swordmakers in 1862) that these brass guards were vulnerable to hard blows from strong cutting swords such as Indian tulwars. Here is the first in a series on the history of British Army regulation pattern swords. Staff officers throughout most of the period carried a brass hilted sword like the normal line infantry officers' sword, but with the crossed baton staff symbol in place of the royal cipher. Some are very similar to the subsequent 1796 Pattern. We have selected a few of our swords that have all been wielded by what we consider ‘legendary men’. This was married to the 1892 thrusting blade to create an entirely new sword. The half basket guard gave better protection to the hand than its predecessor, the 1796 pattern, however the brass could be fragile on some examples, as illustrated by many surviving examples having damage or repairs. The standard scabbard was made from black leather with gilded brass mountings. The pictured sword has a typically non-typical blade but, overall, it serves as a decent enough illustration. The gothic hilted swords were a family of swords carried by officers and some NCOs of the British Army between 1822 and the present day. The Legend Behind the Sword What makes a sword great is sometimes the story behind it. The grip was covered with the now familiar shagreen and the backstrap fully chequered. The blade was that of the 1822 pattern sword (changing, along with the line infantry, to a fullered blade in 1845). In November 2005, WKC purchased the majority of the Wilkinson Sword Ltd. production in London. In 1895 the backstrap became fully chequered. The steel guards were often less well rendered than that of the brass hilts. Original sharp examples and replicas perform well in cutting tests, easily equalling other backsword and sabre types. In 1803, the Army acknowledged this situation officially and adopted a sabre for those flank companies, one that resembled the well-liked sword being used by the light cavalry. For most of its length it had a dumbbell cross-section and a deep central fuller. Sometimes the inner shell guard is hinged or even removed entirely. Do you collect antique British infantry swords, antique British cavalry swords, antique British naval swords or British Royal Airforce swords? In 1845 the pipe-backed blade was replaced with a fullered one (pictured to the right), which was in turn replaced in 1892 by an entirely thrust-centric blade with a dumbbell cross-section. They were primarily infantry swords, although they were also regulation pattern for some other officers such as surgeons and staff officers.The term “Gothic Hilt” derives from a perceived similarity between the curved bars of the guard and … WW1 British 1897 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword – made by Wilkinson and numbered (49371) and would have been made between 1914-1917. The blade is of the pipe-backed style. This is not to be confused with its very similar colleague the 1821 Pattern for the light cavalry: look to the etching on the blade for depictions of cannons, winged lightning bolts and other motifs pertaining to the artillery to confirm its identity. Thank you for reading. This is British Infantry 1897 Officer's Sword with Sam brown leather Scabbard carried . Therefore, there is no actual '1854 pattern' other than the Foot Guards sword (details below). features Silver plated on hilt . 'Piquet' or dress weight examples were made with much narrower blades and correspondingly smaller hilts. The 1822 dress regulations mandated the introduction of a new sword, to replace the 1803 flank officer's sabre and the spadroon bladed 1796 line infantry officer's sword. The UK's largest choice of historical and practical swords, Federschwerts, Synthetic Nylon Sparring Swords, Padded Swords and more traditional Wooden Wasters. However, the regulation that ushered it in only focused upon describing what the sword’s blade should look like, stating that it should be at least one inch wide at the shoulder, 32 inches long and capable of cutting and thrusting. The inside section of the guard folded on a hinge towards the blade, to allow the sword to rest easily against the wearer's side when worn. The 1908 Pattern Cavalry Trooper's Sword (and the 1912 Pattern, the equivalent for officers) was the last service sword issued to the cavalry of the British Army.It has been called the most effective cavalry sword ever designed, although its introduction occurred as swords finally became obsolete as military weapons. The grip is made of grey shagreen with brass wire wrappings. The 1845 sword enjoyed a long service life and was used successfully in colonial wars all over the world, often winning the praise of British soldiers who used it to defend their lives. The monarch’s royal cypher can be found above the floral motifs. Formed from nickel-plated steel, the guard of the three-quarter basket hilt is pierced and etched with a scroll pattern that incorporates the royal cypher of the current sovereign.
Buckeye Bernese Mountain Dog Club, Overstock Stores Near Me, Zamaldelica Express Seeds, Calories In Pork Chop Boneless, Bamboo Silica Oil, Is Miconazole Powder Over The Counter, Lake Skegemog Perch Fishing, Gfta-3 Sounds In Sentences, Ryobi Brushless Impact Wrench, Pronoms Relatifs Composés Cap Sur Le Fle,