British Edwardian 1898 Pattern Infantry Staff Sergeant's Sword, Dated 1903 by Mole
Single-fullered straight blade with spear point, Steel hilt with pierced decoration including crown and royal cypher of King Edward VII. Steel backstrap with chequered thumb rest and integral pommel, black shagreen grip bound with wire, brown leather washer. Brown leather field scabbard with white metal throat piece. Blade 32½ inches in length, the sword 38¾ inches overall.
The blade is stamped on one side with two crown inspection marks with ‘W’ for Wilkinson, and ‘2 03’, indicating the manufacture date February 1903, as well as ’04. It is stamped on the other side with a Broad Arrow indicating War Department property, another crown inspection mark with ‘W’ and an ‘X’ indicating that the blade passed a manufacturer’s bending test. The outside of the hilt is stamped near with washer with the maker’s mark ‘MOLE’.
British Army sergeants continued to carry swords as a sign of rank even after they were withdrawn from the basic infantryman. Unlike officers, who purchased and owned their own swords, sergeants were issued their swords from regimental stores like a musket or bayonet, and the swords remained government property. Regiments only needed a small stock of sergeants’ swords and would only have disposed of them when obsolete or broken, so the sergeant’s models are rarer than the officer’s today.
A new design of infantry officer’s sword was finalised in 1897, and a near-identical version was introduced for sergeants in the same year, the 1897 Pattern. The blade of this version was criticised as being too light and not stiff enough, and was quickly replaced by this, the 1898 Pattern, a slightly beefier version. This example is technically the ‘Pattern 1898 Mark I’ which was introduced in 1902 – this was not a new design, just switching to the crown and cypher of King Edward VII after the death of Queen Victoria.
The plain blade has a few spots of light patination and some old polishing marks. The tip of the blade is chipped about 2mm short. No damage to the blade’s edge, which is unsharpened. The wire binding of the grip is all present and tight, the shagreen of the grip has only light handling wear. The sword appears to have been repeened, probably maintenance done during its service life – sergeant’s swords were kept functional as long as possible and parts were replaced as needed. The leather of the scabbard is very good with only very minor surface denting and scuffing.
