1908 pattern trooper's sword by SB&N Ltd, British (c 1915)

Title	1908 pattern trooper's sword by SB&N Ltd
Nationality	British
Period	c 1915

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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 on this example is marked WSC for Wilkinson Sword Company, the blade SB&N LTD. There is a 1915 and a 1934 issue stamp on the base of the blade, together with a 1912 and a 1916 stamp on the scabbard. The throat of the scabbard is marked M (possibly for Middlesex Yeomanry), together with 11 and 13, possibly for Hussar units. The 11 and 13 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, mainly in the form of abrasive marks to the surface of the scabbard, especially on the spine and the obverse, and also old pitting to the last 20 inches or so of the blade, getting worse towards the point, though nothing that couldn't be cleaned off, should this be desired. There is some dark staining from old pitting on the inside of the bowl guard and some minor bruising to the knuckle bow, together with some deeper areas of pitting to the pommel. This sword has not been dismantled for cleaning. Generally speaking, it is in pretty good shape for its age.

If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.

[Edged Weapons : Swords : British : 20th Century]

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