A British Regimental Band Sabre.

The Scots Guard Band of 1790.

An example of a British early 19th Century Military Bandsman's Sword. A British Army military bandsman's sword from the early 1800's. Comprises a brass lions head hilt and ribbed grip. The blade is plain. There are many different variants of the British military bandsman's sword and it appears that regiments were given some leeway as to design and decoration.










Band sword from the 1830's.


This tended to fade after 1856 when a standard pattern was introduced.


British P1856 MK1 regimental band sword. Blade length 50 cm. Neo Gotic style.


Here is some of the history and use of regimental bands:

Taken verbatim from: www.imms-uk.org.uk/page3.html

Much of military music's origins lie in roles not dissimilar to those now carried out by the Royal Corps of Signals and the humble wrist-watch. Long before today s high-tech battlefield communications systems even became science-fiction, signalling in camp and in the field was carried out by the beating or drums or the sounding of trumpets or bugles.

A soldiers day was regulated by music telling him when to get up (Reveille), when to eat (e.g. Officers Dinner), when to be on parade (Warning for Parade) or when to retire to bed (Lights Out). This music duty is traditionally the task of the Corps of Drums (drums and flutes) which remain on the strength of battalions of Foot Guards and most English and Welsh Infantry Regiments. Their role, encompassed in ceremonies such as Retreat, Tattoo and Trooping the Colour, remains an important aspect of our nation’s heritage and, whilst today carried out largely for ceremonial purposes, has its origins in the practical necessities of soldiering.
Today carried out largely for ceremonial purposes, has its origins in the practical necessities of soldiering.
The military band evolved primarily as an enhancement to ceremonial and for the entertainment of the soldiers. From 1670-1750  hautboys (French: high-woods or oboes) began to be added to the drums and fifes, and other instruments emerged over the years to form the military band as we know it today.
Bands were originally held on an unofficial basis, paid for by the officers of the regiment, but were eventually added to the establishment. The Foot Guards maintained regimental bands permanently stationed in London but cavalry regiments and infantry battalions each had their own band which would normally accompany their parent unit wherever in the world it was serving. In addition, the Royal Artillery (Woolwich) Band (formed in 1762) and the Royal Engineers Band (formed in 1855) enjoyed great reputations and similar status to the Foot Guards as well as performing as full orchestras.
Cavalry and Artillery signalled battle calls on the bugle but in barracks, camp or quarters, used the E-Flat cavalry trumpet. Trumpets and kettledrums have long been used to announce the arrival of royalty or other distinguished personages, notably when King Charles II returned to London to restore the monarchy in 1660.
End quote.

It also must be said that members of military bands were off limits during battle. Kind of sacrosanct, one would work around them and never directly attack them. During the Crimean War a British drummer boy, most of the drummers were just little kids, was killed. There was a huge public outcry and the practise of using young kids was stopped right there and then.
What also is an important function of the military band is the public relations aspect and consequently the recruting of new personnel lured in by the glitter of gild and colourful uniforms and pleasing sounds as depicted in a print from a probably 1880's Boys Own on the British side and a print from France, depicting French Second Empire Voltigeurs de la Garde Imperiale from around 1860-70.




Voltigeurs of the Garde Imperiale circa 1860-1870.


Work and what I found.

Looking at untouched patches of the blade I found that the factory polish, at least as far as I could see, never went over what we now call 240 grid. Though the finish was a tad stripy, the overall impression was that the blade had a good smooth finish without too many tool marks.
I had to try to emulate that and planned to remove the dark spots with 240 or if needed go down to 180 grid and finish off with 240 again.
To get as close to the original finish as possible, I found that a good polish with coarse steelwool with oil removed most 240 grid leftovers and so comes very close to the original.










Fuller and edge after 240 grid. Looks much better now.


Here is one side finished. The foible had a good cleaning. It had lots of scratches.


I cleaned the grip from accumulated dirt, but mainly left in the state I found it in.
The blade had a little play due to the old washer being gone, so I glued the blade in place and added a new washer into the guard recess.



The scabbard mouth was in bad condition. It looked like the mouth piece was ripped out with great force.





I made a new mouth piece and build up the damaged throad, gave it new wood liners, removed a large dent and thus restored the scabbard to a degree.
The sabre fits very well in the scabbard now and it does not rattle anymore, though some dents remain and there are a few small cracks. Overall the general impression is acceptable now.
I also turned two large brass screws to a smaller model to fit on the scabbard and cover the unsightly holes.
They do not really function. They are there just for the optics, to show how the scabbard looked before the destruction.





I also made a new ring for the tassel to fit into the camel's mouth and of course the tassel itself from a model I found on the net, though this tassel is from a sabre from 1830, so a little later.


Original 1830's tassel.

I do not really care about that. It just gives a festive touch and as a fun exercise it was worth making it.
Used an antique 19th C. watch chain to hang it from. It may look quite long, but I used a picture of the sabre with the tassel to detemine it's length. As far as I can see it is as close to the original as it gets.



I think this sabre or hanger is an early model. There are style elements harking back to Classical themes, which could place it in the ( French ) Empire period. It may commemorate either Nelsons victory and/or the Alexandria Campaign of 1807. The bend guillons give it a Near Eastern, Mameluke, touch.





Instead of the more usual lion head it sports a camel head which as a symbol is directly related to early British campaigns in Egypt.
It could very well be that the regiment fought in Egypt and therefore the band was allowed the camel head.
There are other examples of band swords, were the camel head is used to show British involvement in Egypt.
A presentation sword had the camel head pommel to commemorate the British victory over Napoleons forces at Abu Bakir.
Dave Kelly send me a picture of it asking what on earth this f-ugly horse head was doing on such a fancy sabre of $6000...



It is a camel head of course, though much less realistic than on the sabre under review here.
In the case of my sabre I must say that the hilt is very well executed. It goes to show that one doesn't need to spend $6000 to get a good looking piece of history. Though the sculpting of the camel head is still somewhat realistically challenged, probably due to the sculpter not having seen a real live camel  and the need to make the camel have this fierce look, the overall detailing of the bronze cast is well done and lifts the camel depiction, in my view, well above many other examples of the animal hilted breed.






The numbers.

Weight with scabbard: 1410 grams.
Weight of sabre: 980 grams.
POB: 5 cm or 2" from the guard.
Length oa: 88.7 cm.
Length of sabre: 86 cm.
Length of the grip, including the langets: 18 cm.
Blade length: 69.5 cm.
Blade thickness at the guard: 7.5 mm.
Blade width: 30 mm.









This little sabre or hanger was not meant to be used in battle, though it is not a toy either.
It still is in the realm of the Infantry sabre and as such still a weapon, albeit in this case only for defence.
It is quick in handling of course. The rather heavy bronze hilt sees to that. 980 grams for a sabre of this size is rather surprising. The blade is quite stiff and surely capable. It is obvious that the rather huge hilt of 18 cm, including the langets, is there to underscore the show element of the sabre. A hilt like this catches the public's eye. It could very well be that the hilt and scabbard were gilded once. There are still some traces left in the deep recesses of the hilt, but like in many cases most of the gild was polished off over time. That said, the ring holders show extensive wear and are deeply cut in by the rings.



Also the detail in the camel's mane is rubbed due to handling.



This little sabre had a long service life indeed.
Ultimately it is a rather nice example of the type, which is in a niche of it's own. The later examples after 1856 are just like the French ,, cabbage cutters '' for the French Artillery troopers, though in the British case they suffer from the uniformly accepted neo gothic fashion of the time. Much of the attractiveness of the original and more individualistic British regimental band sabre designs is by then lost to the streamlining of the Industrial Revolution.


Notes.

Sword Identification Required


The Campaign in Egypt - napoleon.org


Alexandria expedition of 1807 - Wikipedia