First World War Welsh battle knife

[Voltigeur]

Good day gents. For your information,from a private collection.
Jo


World War I Welsh battle knife privately provided by Lord Howard De Waldin, second in command and commander of the 9th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers from November 1916 to December 1917. This unique battle knife was issued to trench raiding parties and Lewis machine gunners. The knife is based on the ancient Welsh Cledd sword and was designed and patented by Felix Joubert in 1917. It has an 18 inch leaf shaped blade nearly 3 inches wide at its widest point. The pommel is pointed so that it could be used as a skull-crusher. The guard is circular and could be folded flat against the blade when not in use; a feature that allowed the knife to be patented. The blade is engraved “Dros Urddas Cymru” (For the Honor of Wales) and a maker’s mark of an entwined “JO” (Joubert). The scabbard has the cap badge of the Machine Gun Corps attached to the front. This knife belonged to Welsh Machine Gun Corps Lieutenant F. Overbate and includes his Lieutenant shoulder ranks and ID tag reading, “Lt. Overbate, F, Wes M.G.C.”

[soldier1]

Merci beaucoup Jo. Tres interesante. A wicked weapon when used I'm sure.

[ianh67military]

My father in law found one of these when he was a kid (he's about 80 now) in a relatives shed in the Welsh valleys. After using it as a play "sword" he remembers managing to break it and getting a monster telling off.
Wonder how much it would be worth these days?

Ian H

[41st]

Well north of £1000 going on recent auction results. A good copy is £300 to £400.

[Roy]

Lots of good copies of these around. Without a careful analysis it can be quite hard to tell a good one from bad.

Thanks for sharing,

Roy

[41st]

Roy,
Not really. I have two copies and have been lucky enough to handle a couple of genuine examples. The genuine ones are much lighter & there are big differences in the binding on the handle & the wrapping on the scabbard. Happy to provide the detail in a pm.
Hwyl,
Kevin

[Roy]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for that. Yes some details would be great.

Cheers,

Roy