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This is the classic and final design for the British cavalry, still in use by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery on parade occasions (eg Queen's Birthday Salute). After the Peninsula War, it was realised that very few men survived a thrust through the body and this information heavily influenced the decision to go for a thrusting sword in 1908. Inasmuch as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the US adopted the same model of sword, only with a straight double-edged blade and a wood-lined canvas scabbard. The scabbard and blade on this example are marked Enfield and issue dated 1915. The throat of the scabbard is variously marked for J & D Batteries, Royal Horse Artillery and 7H for the 7th Hussars. All these marks have been cancelled through, following each successive issue and the final withdrawal from service when they were sold off, in this case, to the Ethiopian government - in the 1930s, I suspect, or later. I know this because I have acquired nine of these, all bought in Addis Ababa in 1982 by a British diplomat. This is one of the better examples and has been carefully hand cleaned. However, I have left the grips alone - if you wanted to clean the muck out, ammonia and liquid soap applied with a toothbrush would do the trick. The sword has had some fairly severe service wear and tear, viz the bent scabbard ring and some denting, especially at the top of the scabbard. There is some file work at the back of the inside of the guard, where regimental marks may have been removed. There is some old pitting and scarring to the last 15 or so inches of the blade, mostly cleaned out. This sword has not been dismantled for cleaning. Generally speaking, it is in pretty good shape for its age. |
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