History
The curved, Gothic-hilted 1821 and 1845 Pattern infantry swords, although elegant, had been widely criticized as fighting swords. In common with British cavalry swords of the era, they were compromised cut-and-thrust swords and as a consequence were not ideal for either task.
In 1892, a new, straight, blade was introduced, mated to the existing Gothic hilt. Presaging the introduction of the 1908 Pattern cavalry sword, the curved blade was abandoned in favour of a straight, stiff blade optimized for the thrust. Credit for the design has been given to Colonel G.M. Fox, Chief Inspector of Physical Training at the Board of Education, who was also influential in the design of the Pattern 1908 cavalry sword.
In 1895, a new pierced steel hilt pattern was introduced, replacing the earlier Gothic hilt with a three-quarter basket hilt. The new Pattern was short-lived due to the edge of the guard fraying uniforms, and in 1897 the final pattern was settled on, being simply the 1895 Pattern with the inner edge of the guard turned down, and the piercings becoming smaller.
The 1897 Pattern has remained unchanged to the present day.
By the time of its introduction, the sword was of limited use on the battlefield against rapid-firing rifles, machine guns and long-range artillery. However, the new sword was regarded, when needed, as a very effective fighting weapon. Reports from the Sudan, where it was used in close-quarters fighting during the Reconquest of the Sudan 1896-99, were positive.
Bernard Montgomery advanced with his 1897 Pattern drawn during a counteroffensive in the First World War. The actual sword he carried is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum, London.
The sword remains in production for ceremonial use, manufactured by Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie of Solingen, Germany. In 2005, WKC purchased the tooling from Wilkinson Sword when that company shut its sword factory in London.
Read more about this topic: 1897 Pattern British Infantry Officer's Sword
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of any nation follows an undulatory course. In the trough of the wave we find more or less complete anarchy; but the crest is not more or less complete Utopia, but only, at best, a tolerably humane, partially free and fairly just society that invariably carries within itself the seeds of its own decadence.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.”
—Willa Cather (1876–1947)