Brian Wolfe

Hi 1812 Overture Thanks for the warning, I'll make room in the freezer to store the bodies. ? Regards Brian

If anyone saw my collection and wanted to rob me they would probably write me a cheque out of pity and leave. ? Seriously there is little sense in posting any photos of where I store my collection as the medals are all in shallow drawer units that I build in my shop. I counted the drawers once and there was over 300 of them. What the Hell were you thinking; my wife often asks. Regards Brian

Oh, well no matter we are all "well aged" here on the GMIC, good vintages each and every one. Regards Brian

Hi Peter, I do hope you meant to write your "aged brain" and not "aged brian". ? Regards An aged Brian.?

I find it interesting how "regulations" were not always adhered to in use. At lot had to do with the personal preferences of the individual officers. Basically the introduction of the 1854 hilt (no folding section) did not mean that all officers either purchased a new sword or had the old one fitted with the new regulation hilt. I think the Gothic style is the British Infantry sword most often encountered. With the number of different rank insignia, branch of service and Monarch's ciphers found on these sword's hilts it can become a whole collecting theme onto itself. I have found infantry hilts fitted with cavalry blades; as long as the hilt and scabbard "looked" to fit the current regulations there seemed to be no official discouragement. I recall when I started collecting all of this was quite frustrating, we only had one or two books to draw information from and, of course, no Internet and therefore no forums to look to for advice and information. Regards Brian

If it were mine I would spend the time and money (?) to restore this interesting sword. Another possibility might be that this was ordered "shorter" to be used as a levy or "walking out sword". Levies were official events such as balls and Royal functions. A walking out sword would be a sword use worn when not of duty and yet still in uniform and out in public. Either way I would certainly restore this sword. Just be sure not to use a steel wire wheel. better left "under-cleaned" than ruin it by removing more metal or leaving scratches in the surface. On the topic of Sergeant's swords, the Sergeant's swords of the George IV era would most likely have pipe backed blades and not fullered. The Pattern 1854 is found with the pipe backed blades while officer's swords had the new Wilkinson Pattern (P.1854) fullered blade. Since Sergeants were issued swords I am assuming it was a matter of using up the old pipe backs as it would make financial sense since there would have been a lot of them in existence in warehouses that could not be used on officer's swords. It's been a while since we had a sword post, thanks for posting this intriguing topic. Regards Brian

I doubt this as, taking some measurement from my examples, if this had been ground down the distance from the fuller to the tip would be about 2 inches. The example shown here has a proportionate distance from the end of the fuller to the tip which would indicate that the blade is as manufactured. IMHO, of course. Regards Brian

It is not a sergeant's sword as they were without engraving on the blade what-so-ever. There is a possibility for the short length and that is in the practice of rank purchase during this time period. A young man with "means" could purchase a entry level officer's rank and at times this could well result in the fine young officer and gentleman being of a shorter than average height compared with other officers. While it would appear that "regulations" were hard and fast rules when you read Robson and other experts work they are giving the reader what the regulations said but not necessarily what was always practised in the field. You can imagine a shorter than average young fellow with the regulation length blade looking quite odd so a shorter blade would make sense. There are examples of Royal Navy swords being shorter than regulation as these shorter bladed swords were worn by midshipmen who were often quite young. I would add that your sword is most interesting and well worth a place in your collection; had it come my way it would surely reside in my collection. Well done. Regards Brian

Well from what I've seen being gay and happily married (same sex) is about as difficult as being straight and happily married. So, either way, good luck with whatever your choice. Regards Brian

Peter, your opinion is worth at least a gold tuppence; right on target. This is a fantasy term created by not only dealers but family members of the soldier well after he, or she, had gone to Valhalla. It's right up there with Ninja swords and unicorn horns. Of course that discounts that the original owner simply had a hate on for everyone regardless of national affiliation. They are interesting in that it shows what one soldier thought important and relevant and took the time to collect them. Ah, collectors "Bless 'em all, the long the short and the tall". Regards Brian

Hi ccj, Thanks for your comments. Funny how, for me at least, coffee has become a habit more than a conscience choice. It's the old, "Well if you having one (coffee) pour me as well". When I get together with my son-in-law, a former Brit, it's tea all the way. Thanks again. Regards Brian

Since I posted this I have made some changes that works better for me. The original stands hold the sword and scabbard vertically and it was difficult to photograph. I made new stands that hold both the swords and scabbards at an angle to make taking the photos a lot easier. I used wooden blocks to hold the supports as once cropped they didn't show anyway so even though I like the first ones as being all Plexiglas these new ones work so much better. The photos show the stands, the stands with the sword and scabbard ready to photograph and the sword and scabbard once they have been cropped. With a little playing around with Photo Shop it is possible to remove the part of the stand that shows up in the sword and scabbard. Regards Brian

Thanks for your reply Patrick, just in case some might not know what the Belgian WW1 Medal you were referencing looks like I have included one here. I understand that the small crown on the ribbon denoted the recipient was a volunteer.

Many thanks JustinG, I have modified these a bit since this post and should add those pictures. Regards Brian

Thank you for sharing your story, it was most interesting and greatly appreciated, it makes this blog well worth the time to post. Regards Brian