Lance

[mac mcconnell]

Picked up a lance to day at Auction in Newark there were 2 but a bit of a bidding war started which meant I only got the one but I am still very happy IT has markings PALLMALL,LONDON AND WILKINSON one word on each face but no unit markings.

Rgs Mac

[Roy]

Hi Mac,

Sound great. I'm into anything by Wilkinson (see my website), so please let's see some photos?

All the best, Roy.

[mac mcconnell]

New to the site Roy and not to good on Computers but will have a bash.

[Roy]

Hi Mac,

Thanks for that. A nice find. I have a friend who has a couple of these although I have never had one has yet.

I have seen this rectangular etching panel before. It's nice that these still turn up.

Well done!

Roy.

[Hussar100]

Originally Posted by mac mcconnell

Picked up a lance to day at Auction in Newark there were 2 but a bit of a bidding war started which meant I only got the one but I am still very happy IT has markings PALLMALL,LONDON AND WILKINSON one word on each face but no unit markings.

Rgs Mac

Forgive me if I'm wrong here. I'm no lance expert but I am an ex cavalryman and know a little about swords and as far as OR's weapons go there were no unit markings or personalisations and that's because they were issued en masse. Wouldn't the same be true of lances? That they were all made by the same companies(s) and simply indented for in batches?

[Roy]

Hi,

I suspect you are correct. I have observed a number of lance heads over the years made by Wilkinson and from different periods spanning around 100 years. I have only seen (various) Wilkinson etched makers marks thus far. Of course this is only on the steel 'pointy' bit, so could be wrong. But to date I have not seen any other markings such as unit or reg etc.

Roy.

[Hussar100]

Originally Posted by Roy

Hi,

I suspect you are correct. I have observed a number of lance heads over the years made by Wilkinson and from different periods spanning around 100 years. I have only seen (various) Wilkinson etched makers marks thus far. Of course this is only on the steel 'pointy' bit, so could be wrong. But to date I have not seen any other markings such as unit or reg etc.

Roy.

Any sword I've ever seen or handled was also made by Wilkinson. I would imagine that the materials needed to make these weapons wouldn't have been available in certain theatres although they could have been contained within the baggage train but more to the point I would suggest that regulations demanded a standardisation of weaponry which is why they'd all have been made by approved manufacturers and stored centrally before being issued on receipt of the correct indent form.

Another comment which may be useful: I know of armourers sharpening sabres, swords, bayonets, and lances but I've never heard of any of these weapons being made intraregimentally. I would imagine however that some dispensation would have been given to indigenous manufacturers in India. They would have had the skills and materials and let's face it, it was a long way to Blighty which meant a long wait for stores from home. The higher Q echelons would have had the power to make local arrangements.

[mac mcconnell]

a lance at auction last week had 9L on it and my 1886 sword has 5DG so they do get marked now and again perhaps

[magpie]

Could it be a ceremonial lance with a pennant fitted on?
Andy

[wardog]

1908 troopers swords tend to have regimental marks inside the bowl guard. Regards, Paul.

[Hussar100]

Originally Posted by mac mcconnell

a lance at auction last week had 9L on it and my 1886 sword has 5DG so they do get marked now and again perhaps

There are always exceptions. That's the one thing you can be sure of with the army lol.

Originally Posted by wardog

1908 troopers swords tend to have regimental marks inside the bowl guard. Regards, Paul.

It's only the 1908 pattern sword I've ever handled although I've seen and caressed one or two 1912 pattern officers swords out of curiosity. All of the swords in our possession would have been 4H or 8H as the weapon had ceased to be issued before the formation of the QRIH.

I can promise you I was as fascinated by the sword as any other young man would have been. I had to clean the ones I had too so I've examined every inch in detail and I don't believe, despite searching my memory, that any of the ones I handled had anything more than a crow's foot marking inside the bowl guard.

I'd take money on it that some of the ones I never saw did have though. All it takes is for one colonel to have an idea and every weapon in the armoury would have been stamped by a handful of cursing armourers and any poor jankers victims they could lay their hands on.

[wardog]

Had a look at my sword. Above the thumb indent on the lip of the bowl a number of three digit numbers scored out and in two places a small 7 H. So I guess that's 7th Hussars. Sword is a July 1915 Wilkinson P08. Regards, Paul.

[Arnhemjim]

Hello Mac,
Had the extremely good fortune to acquire a Wilkinson 1868 Pattern lancehead and foot a few years ago. With full acknowledgement and gratitude to Robert Wilkinson-Latham (Who I believe should know), here are the different etchings used by Wilkinson Sword Company 1936-1945. I believe that these same etching patterns were applied to lanceheads produced by Wilkinson during the same periods of manufacture. The reason I say that you will see is that the lancehead that I have has markings identical to one of these patterns. Am not certain how some of the older lances were marked, but would tend to agree with others, that they would have a manufacturer's mark and an ordnance broad arrow. No unit markings. If so inclined you may want to glance at my blog page for at least one rather unique employment of a lance in modern battle. The URL is http://arnhemjim.blogspot.com/2011/0...-lance-at.html. Hopefully I can include some images which also may be of some interest.
Best regards,
Arnhem Jim
Arizona Territory

[mac mcconnell]

Look forward to the pics and thanks for the background info

Mac

[Arnhemjim]

Hello Mac,
The pictures I referred to were the ones included in my response. Some times in the past have had difficulty uploading due to size(memory) of the images. However, here are a couple additional images of much older 1868 Pattern lances, which are other than Wilkinson made.
Best regards,
Arnhem Jim