A, Stunning 19th Century Northern Nile Sudan Campaign Barbed Spear

14 inch iron head comprising of a 4 inch leaf shaped spear tip followed by 16 barbarous hooks. On a 51 inch haft over 64 inches long. Called at the time 'fishhook spears' a simply fearful looking piece brought back as a souvenir of the war in the Sudan campaign by a British officer serving in Abu Klea and 13 years later at Omdurman in the 2nd Dragoon Guards. Their was an article written by Winston Churchill, specifically mentioning them,- who was at the battle of Omdurman as a cavalryman - with reference to the 'fishhook spears' - and another about medical treatment after the battle, and how the doctors had difficulty removing the spears from wounded soldiers because of the wicked barbs on them.. Abu Klea: the quintessential Victorian colonial battle, fought by the lauded Camel Corps, and celebrated in Sir Henry Newbolt's poem Vitai Lampada.A bumping pitch and a blinding light,
An hour to play and the last man in.
And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,
But his captain's hand on his shoulder smote
'Play up! Play up! And play the game! '

The sand of the desert is sodden red,
Red with the wreck of a square that broke;
The Gatling's jammed and the Colonel dead,
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed his banks,
And England's far, and Honour a name,
But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks:
'Play up! Play up! And play the game! '

This is the word that year by year,
While in her place the school is set,
Every one of her sons must hear,
And none that hears it dare forget.
This they all with a joyful mind
Bear through life like a torch in flame,
And falling fling to the host behind
'Play up! Play up! And play the game!
..Photo in the gallery of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman and a Sudanese warrior of the time.

Code: 20517