WW1 / WW2 / 20th Century

A Very Good British WW1, 1915, .455 MKVI Revolver Holster. An Absolute Corker!

The standard-issue Webley revolver at the outbreak of the First World War was the Webley Mk V (adopted 9 December 1913, but there were considerably more Mk IV revolvers in service in 1914, as the initial order for 20,000 Mk V revolvers had not been completed when hostilities began. On 24 May 1915, the large calibre Webley Mk VI .455 {manstopper} was adopted as the standard sidearm for British and Commonwealth troops and remained so for the duration of the First World War, being issued to officers, airmen, naval crews, boarding parties, trench raiders, machine-gun teams, and tank crews. The Mk VI proved to be a very reliable and hardy weapon, well suited to the mud and adverse conditions of trench warfare, and several accessories were developed for the Mk VI, including a bayonet (made from a converted French Gras bayonet), speedloader devices (the "Prideaux Device" and the Watson design), and a stock allowing for the revolver to be converted into a carbine.

Demand exceeded production, which was already behind as the war began. This forced the British government to buy substitute weapons chambered in .455 Webley from neutral countries. America provided the Smith & Wesson 2nd Model "Hand Ejector" and Colt New Service Revolvers.  read more

Code: 21348

WW2 Circa 1943 Knife Bayonet for M1 Garand Rifle & Model M1, in its Olive Green, US Flaming Grenade Stamped Scabbard

A good WW2 U.S M1 Garand (short version, 10” bladed) Bayonet, in its correct olive green 'flaming Grenade' scabbard. Blade maker marked UC {Utica Cutlery}, and US, and flaming grenade, pommel rear stamped with inspector mark, 'H'

After testing in early 1943, the U.S. Army decided to shorten the M1905 bayonet’s blade to 10 inches (25.4 cm). Production of this new bayonet, designated the M1, began at the five remaining manufacturers by April 1943. Bayonet is produced by UC (Utica Cutlery) Scabbard is the M7 with a metal throat, and was equipped with a wire hook hanger.

This UC manufactured Bayonet is complete with its scabbard and belt hook. Scabberd has green paint a nice WW2 example! General condition is good+.Pommel form: prominently beaked with well-rounded and stepped end housing a shallow T-shaped attachment slot. The locking catch, the end of the internal extension bar, projects through the base of attachment slot. Pommel meets grips in semi-circular curve. (Pommel form identical to that for the Model 1905 sword bayonet, see WEA 113). Grips form: two-piece black plastic, retained by single screw and recessed circular nut. Grips are adorned with fine vertical ribbing, underside rounded and shaped to hand, back flat and straight. Crossguard form: short straight crosspiece retained by two flush-ground rivets. Upper section formed into high full muzzle ring. The crossguard is slotted above and below the hilt, the narrow elongated oval apertures so formed designed to mate with the two hooks located on the upper edge of the scabbard's mouthpiece. On the underside of the tang, immediately behind the guard is a press stud with catch extension projecting through the lower crossguard slot. The catch mates with the scabbard mouthpiece hooks securing the weapon when not in use. The press stud also works the locking catch in attachment slot via internal extension bar. Blade form: single-edged with double-edged spear point, fullered. Fuller stops round. Back, except for false edge, squared off. Finish (all metal parts): blackened.  read more

Code: 25109

A Rare and Very Fine WW1 German Sniper's Scharfschutzengewehr Optical Scope. Some Of The Best & Most Desirable Sniper Scopes Are 20th Century Fine German Examples Such As This

WW1 German Sniper Optical Scope, steel body scope with bracket fittings to the lower section. Top focusing mount is maker marked “Rudiger & Bischoff Braunschweig”. Remains of the blued finish. Optics remain clear. Photo in the gallery of German snipers in WW1 and a cabinet of original snipers kit, including the rifle and sniper site, in the Imperial War Museum. During World War I, snipers appeared as deadly sharpshooters in the trenches. At the start of the war, only Imperial Germany had troops that were issued scoped sniper rifles. Although sharpshooters existed on all sides, the Germans specially equipped some of their soldiers with scoped rifles that could pick off enemy soldiers showing their heads out of their trench. At first the French and British believed such hits to be coincidental hits, until the German scoped rifles were discovered. During World War I, the German army received a reputation for the deadliness and efficiency of its snipers, partly because of the high-quality lenses that German industry could manufacture.

During the First World War, the static movement of trench warfare and a need for protection from snipers created a requirement for loopholes both for discharging firearms and for observation. Often a steel plate was used with a "key hole", which had a rotating piece to cover the loophole when not in use.Imperial German Scharfschutzengewehr (Sharpshooters rifle in German) Model 1898 sniper rifle in 7.92x57 or more commonly known as 8mm Mauser. At the beginning of World War 1 no country had a "sniper program" as we know it today. Germany in 1915 outfitted the most experienced marksmen (typically pre-war game wardens and poachers) with specially selected factory rifles and equiped them with optical hunting sights. These early telescopic sights usually consisted of 2.5x, 3x and 4x power, produced by manufactures like Görtz, Gérard, Oige, Zeiss, Hensoldt, Voigtländer Rudiger & Bischoff and various civilian models from manufacturers like Bock, Busch and Füss. These rifles were standard 1898 Military Model which held exceptionaly high accuracy at the factory. They were fitted with a Model 1898AZ carbine bolt and optic and issued to an individual Soldier (Soldat) instead of a unit. Due to the very high usage of steel armor piercing ammunition the barrels were rapidly erroded and the life span for accuracy was between 1000-2500 rounds, often less, before having to be replaced. Soon the British army began to train their own snipers in specialized sniper schools. Major Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard was given formal permission to begin sniper training in 1915, and founded the First Army School of Sniping, Observation, and Scouting at Linghem in France in 1916. Starting with a first class of only six, in time he was able to lecture to large numbers of soldiers from different Allied nations, proudly proclaiming in a letter that his school was turning out snipers at three times the rate of any such other school in the world.

He also devised a metal-armoured double loophole that would protect the sniper observer from enemy fire. The front loophole was fixed, but the rear was housed in a metal shutter sliding in grooves. Only when the two loopholes were lined up—a one-to-twenty chance—could an enemy shoot between them. Another innovation was the use of a dummy head to find the location of an enemy sniper. The papier-mâché figures were painted to resemble soldiers to draw sniper fire. Some were equipped with rubber surgical tubing so the dummy could "smoke" a cigarette and thus appear realistic. Holes punched in the dummy by enemy sniper bullets then could be used for triangulation purposes to determine the position of the enemy sniper, who could then be attacked with artillery fire. He developed many of the modern techniques in sniping, including the use of spotting scopes and working in pairs, and using Kim's Game to train observational skills. An original complete Imperial German Scharfschutzengewehr (Sharpshooters rifle in German) Model 1898 GEW98 rifle, with its scope, just as this one, can now fetch over $11,000.  read more

Code: 23342

An Original, WW1, German Kaiserliche Marine Vickers-Maxim I Pounder Pom Pom Shell

Imperial Kaiserliche Marine Stamped. A superb fuzed shell head fully stamped and marked. With a 37mm calibre the water-cooled, belt-fed Maxim-Nordenfeldt (among others, with variants produced as Vickers-Maxim and Hotchkiss-Maxim) was the smallest item of artillery used during that war and boasted a firing rate of 60 rounds per minute, utilising a belt of 25 one-pound shells, each shell covering a distance ranging up to 3,000 yards. In World War I, it was used as an early anti-aircraft gun in the home defence of Britain. It was adapted as the Mk I*** and Mk II on high-angle pedestal mountings and deployed along London docks and on rooftops on key buildings in London, others on mobile motor lorries at key towns in the East and Southeast of England. 25 were employed in August 1914, and 50 in February 1916. A Mk II gun (now in the Imperial War Museum, London) on a Naval pedestal mounting was the first to open fire in defence of London during the war. However, the small shell was insufficient to damage the German Zeppelin airships sufficiently to bring them down. The Ministry of Munitions noted in 1922: "The pom-poms were of very little value. There was no shrapnel available for them, and the shell provided for them would not burst on aeroplane fabric but fell back to earth as solid projectiles were of no use except at a much lower elevation than a Zeppelin attacking London was likely to keep"

Nevertheless, Lieutenant O.F.J. Hogg of No. 2 AA Section in III Corps was the first anti-aircraft gunner to shoot down an aircraft, with 75 rounds on 23 September 1914 in France.

The gun was experimentally mounted on aircraft as the lighter 1-pounder Mk III, the cancelled Vickers E.F.B.7 having been specifically designed to carry it in its nose.
Hiram Maxim originally designed the Pom-Pom in the late 1880s as an enlarged version of the Maxim machine gun. Its longer range necessitated exploding projectiles to judge range, which in turn dictated a shell weight of at least 400 grams (0.88 lb), as that was the lightest exploding shell allowed under the St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868 and reaffirmed in the Hague Convention of 1899. Dated 1905. Not suitable for export, empty inert and safe.  read more

Code: 20782

A Superb Group of Four Medals WW1 Trio, and Third Afghan War, 1919 Afghanistan Bar, India General Service Medal

The North Staffordshire Regiment served with heroism and distinction in WW1, and the 2nd battalion served in Afghanistan after WW1 in 1919.
In May 1919, as the world recovered from the First World War, Afghanistan invaded British India. A daring move, the invasion took the British and Indian governments by surprise. To repel the Afghans, they launched a massive land and air campaign, mobilising a third of a million troops. Despite facing this military might, the Afghans - aided by the North-West Frontier tribes - almost won the war.


Frontier Assault tells the story of the Third Anglo-Afghan War through the eyes of the men who fought it. The North Staffordshire Regiment was one of the first units dispatched to halt the Afghan advance. They defeated the enemy vanguard in a tenacious mountain assault in the Khyber Pass. After, they led the British counter-attack into Afghanistan.

In WW1 the regiment were part of the Staffordshire Brigade,

Private Sidney Richards, who came from West Bromwich and had been employed as a clerk before the war, served with the Machine Gun Section of the. He recorded his experiences in his pocket diary:

2nd April Rifle inspection. Marched to trench at Messines. Took trenches over from 3rd Monmouths.

3rd April On look-out. Duty man in my trench had his brains blown out by a sniper. Raining very heavy.

4th April Raining heavy. Had no rations brought to us. Shortage of water. Up to our knees in mud.

5th April Simply awful. Raining all day and night. Shells bursting all over the shop. All I have to eat is 1 biscuit - would give a fortune for a dish of tea.

6th April More shells. Plenty of mud. Weather a little better. Relieved at 10 p.m. Got to camp 2 a.m. Wed.The threat posed by snipers was a constant feature of trench warfare. Initially at least, the units of the Brigade were woefully ill-equipped to conduct sniping from their own lines, as they had neither specialist rifles or telescopic sights. Several men had lucky escapes, such as Sergeant C. F. Rose, a soldier from Stone serving with the 1/5th North Staffords:

"I had a narrow shave of getting blinded in both eyes. I was looking at the German trenches through a periscope, when a German sniper hit the top glass with a bullet, and the glass falling in small pieces filled my eyes. I thought I had been shot, for it was sharp work for the eyes. I am getting on all right now, but have been pretty bad."

Captain William Millner of the 1/5th South Staffords also narrowly avoided being killed while sniping on 5th May. One of the best shots in the country at that time, Millner was an excellent candidate for the role. While observing German movements from the barn of one of the farms close to the front line, he too was wounded by an enemy sniper. The bullet hit the cap badge of his service dress cap and creased his skull. Luckily, his injury was not serious and after a brief period of recovery returned to his battalion.

German snipers were also quarry for the Staffords, patrols being sent out into "No-Man's Land" to hunt them down. Sergeant Sydney Norton, a member of "C" Company, 1/6th North Staffords, reported the results of one such patrol in a letter to his wife in Tamworth:

"...me and another Sergt. the day before found a sniper. We watched his antics for two hours and I placed the rifle at him, bowled him over the third shot and then got back to our trench. It's clinking sport like looking for game. They are very smart. We saw a dead cow in front of our trench. We fired a volley into it and the next day the Sergts. went out and found a dead sniper inside it, so you can tell the antics of war craft they get up to."

The last photo in the gallery is of Frontier Assault by James Green not included with group, just a suggestion. This might make a nice North Staffordshire Regt. Afghan War history book accompaniment for the medal  read more

Code: 25071

A J Nowill & Son 'Crossed Keys' Fairbairn Sykes Commando Knife (Crossed Keys & Star over D) with Broad Arrow & Scabbard

Marked with the crossed keys and * over D on the hilt which is J Nowill & Sons mark, plus, a Broad Arrow mark and diamond stamp. The Broad Arrow was a Government ownership mark was phased out in the 1980's.

The cross keys are the makers mark of John Nowill & Sons, Sheffield, established 1700.The British Fairbairn Sykes dagger officially made, issued service dagger, was created for the newly formed 'Special Forces' commandos. The story about the Fairbairn Sykes Fighting knife starts in England 1940.
In 1940 the British formed special commandos to carry out raids. The initiative came from Winston Churchill in 1940. On the 8 June 1940, Section M09 of the War Office was brought into being. The name commando was taken from small effective mobile Boer units during the war in South Africa 1899-1902.

Two of the first instructors were Captain William Ewart Fairbairn (b. 28 February 1885, d. 20 June 1960) and Captain Eric Anthony Sykes (b. 5 February 1883, d. 12 May 1945). These middle aged gentlemen trained the young soldiers in a new and difficult mode of close-combat fighting at the Commando Basic Training Centre, Achnacarry, Scotland. Churchill described the commandos as 'a steel hand from the sea'

The need for a proper fighting knife, for these commandos, was apparent from the first few weeks of training specialized personnel. As Fairbairn later wrote, "...the authorities did not recognize a fighting knife as part of the equipment of the fighting services. In fact, such a thing as a fighting knife could not be purchased anywhere in Great Britain."

Until now, there had never been an official knife for the British armed services, although many types of knife had been authorised for use in the past. Bowie style knives were carried by some of the Imperial Yeomantry during the South African War of 1900-1901, and in World War I cut-down bayonets, privately purchased hunting knives, or captured German issue folding knives were extensively utilised.

In November 1940 there was a meeting between W. E. Fairbairn, E. A. Sykes and Robert Wilkinson Latham at Wilkinson Sword Company.

Fairbairn and Sykes described the type of knife they envisioned and the purpose for which it was intended. As discussion continued, preliminary sketches were drawn up and modified time and time again. As Robert Wilkinson Latham tells it: 'In order to explain exactly their point, the two men rose to their feet and one, it was Fairbairn my grandfather mentioned, grabbed the wood ruler from his desk and the two men danced around the office in mock combat'. W. E. Fairbairn had also brought with him an example of a suitable fighting knife.
The system they devised utilised techniques drawn from Jiu Jitsu, Gatka, Kung Fu and 'Gutter Fighting'. It proved extremely effective. They were natural choices for the job. Both had served in the Shanghai Municipal Police Force, facing death daily in the dark, narrow streets and alleys of the city against armed thugs and organised gangs. In Shanghai they had made some fighting knives out of bayonets. The meeting resulted in the Fairbairn Sykes Fighting knife that was manufactured by Wilkinson Sword Co. They eventually changed the design a number of times to evolve into the current 3rd pattern. The 1st pattern is by far the rarest, and the fewest types of FS ever made, as the second pattern, and the other variant's were produced fairly quickly after the first pattern's original order from the British Government, issued on the 14th November 1940, was fulfilled by January 1941. 6¾” double edged blade in forged carbon steel with blued finish. Cast metal alloy handle with steel guard. Original design, 3rd Pattern. current post war pattern, Falklands to gulf war period, apparently bought by original deceased owner, a one time commando, around 30 years ago, and kept in storage for around 20 years

Overall in superb condition with fully mirror blued blade, blacked ribbed 3rd pattern FS knife grip, {with service wear marks} blackend crossguard with all the markings as previously described. Brown leather scabbard with stitching tabs and blackened brass chape. Elastic hilt retainer. One tab partially removed  read more

Code: 25070

British Army CWC W10 Watch. Formerly From A British Tank Regiment, 'Tanker' Serviceman. Excellent Quality Service Issue Timepiece, Iraq War Era Issue

With original military strap. New battery fitted and time checked. Beneath the 12 o’clock triangle marker is the encircled CWC insignia, and below that, is the encircled ‘T’ marker, which was the British military way to denote that the dial uses luminous material containing tritium. Government Broad Arrow inspection stamp. Service code, followed by ‘6645’ representing ‘Time Measuring Instrument’ and ‘99’ referring to the UK Nato country code, & Serial number with batch date, 1997

The CWC, or Cabot Watch and Clock Co. saw its inception in 1972 by Ray Mellor. Mellor got his start in the watch industry working for Hamilton to set up a retail distribution network in the United Kingdom. He would build on that opportunity and become the managing director for Hamilton UK, as well as spearheading the development of government contracts with the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The CWC name actually gets its inspiration from the famed explorer John Cabot, an Italian explorer, known for his notable voyage from Bristol to the continent of North America in the late 1400’s.

Between 1972 and 1980, Mellor secured additional contracts under the CWC brand with the MoD and provided the Royal military with the W10, their tonneau shaped field watch and their asymmetric chronograph pilots watch, which would be issued to the RAF, as well as BBC war correspondents. In 1980.  read more

Code: 25067

A Most Attractive, 20th Century, Silver Omani Jambiya Knife. a Symbol of Status in UAE Society

An Omani Sa'idiyyah khanjar, a Khanjar with the distinctive ‘7 Rings’ to denote its owner is gifted to a person of high status, comprising of an all silver fronted scabbard and hilt. Decorated in intricate and delicate silver filigree wirework with a pattern similar to the 'tree of life'. Also known as the Jambiya, daggers of this quality were almost always usually custom made for presentation, not use. Lawrence of Arabia had several very similar ones presented to him, they were his favourite dagger, and he was frequently photographed wearing them. Silver, usually more often than not, coin silver, not English hallmarked silver. The jambia, a curved Islamic dagger, is the main customary accessory to the clothing worn by Arabian men. For centuries the people of South Arabia have inherited the their jambiahs from generation to generation. There are several theories about the origin of the Jambia. There are historical facts, concerning the existence of the Jambia revealing that it used to be worn at Sheban times, in the Himiarite kingdom. They take the statue of the Sheban king (Madi Karb 500 bc ) as proof. This statue, which was discovered by an American mission in Marib in the 1950s, was found to be wearing a Jambia. Since The most expensive and famous jambiya was purchased by Sheikh Naji Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Sha'if, who was able to pay US $1 million for one prized and ancient piece. This jambiah had a historical importance, belonging to Imam Ahmed Hamid Al-Din, who ruled Yemen from 1948 to 1962. The Imam's most precious possession was transferred to Sheikh Hussein Al-Watari, who in turn sold it to Sheikh Al-Sha'if. According to Sheikh Muhammad Naji, the son of current owner of the most precious jambiah, his father's prize is the most expensive and famous one in the country. Its cost was made so high because it is one of the best jambiahs ever made by Al-Saifani, and a piece of history, as well.

Just returned from our conservation workshop.  read more

Code: 25066

A Very Good British Army Officer's Sword WW1, Regimentally Marked for The Army service Corps

With deluxe quality blade, showing traditional royal cypher of King George Vth, and the ASC beneath crown for the Army Service Corps. In its Field Service leather bound wood scabbard. Traditional three bar hilt in steel, full sharkskin triple wire bound grip.

During WW1 it was a most hazardous and perilous corps to be a member of, as it meant every day the officers and men were travelling to the combat front of every single combat region of the trenches. And supply trains and bridges etc. were a fond and useful target of the German air force, and dedicated, concentrated artillery fire, due to the fact that the cutting of supply lines, and eliminating of supply troops to the front could achieve as much effective damage as a huge barrage of artillery against a full line of the British entrenched positions. Thus the corps was awarded many Victoria and George Crosses for valour in the field.

The shortcomings of the supply chains during the early stages of the Crimean War (1854-56), and the ensuing public outrage, persuaded the Army to set up a new supply unit in 1855. This was known as the Land Transport Corps, before changing its name to the Military Train.

Army supply overall, however, was still in the hands of a unit of uniformed civilians known as the Commissariat. In 1869, this merged with the Military Train’s officers to form the Control Department. The Military Train thereby became a unit solely composed of other ranks who were commanded by officers from the Control Department. In 1870, the Military Train was renamed the Army Service Corps.

In 1875, the Control Department split into the Commissariat and Transport Department (CTD) and the Ordnance Store Department (OSD), the latter forming the predecessor to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. In 1880, the CTD was renamed the Commissariat and Transport Staff (CTS), while the Army Service Corps became the Commissariat and Transport Corps (CTC).

In 1888, the CTS, the CTC and the War Department Fleet merged to form a new Army Service Corps, bringing officers and other ranks back together into one unit. That unit went on to absorb some of the Royal Engineers’ transport duties.

During the First World War, the Army Service Corps (ASC) operated the transport systems that delivered ammunition, food and equipment to the Front Line. The ASC used motor vehicles, the railways and waterways as part of a complex supply line linking Britain to the various Fronts. As this poster demonstrates, despite the increasing mechanization of warfare, much reliance was also made on horse-drawn transport.  read more

Code: 25057

A Very Rare, Original, 1913, Silver Medal Of The Crash of Imperial German Naval Airship L2 in Johannisthal

Silver medal 1913. (Lauer) On the crash of the naval airship L 2 in Johannisthal. Icarus lying on the ground, phoenix rising above it burning, falling airship. Hallmark: silver 990, 33.3 mm, 17.5 g. Coll. Joos a. 293 Kaiser 397. Very rare. Matted, small scratches, extremely fine The Johannisthal air disaster was one of the first multiple-fatality air disasters in history. It involved the Imperial German Navy's L 2 airship manufactured by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin as LZ 18. Its test flight resulted in the death of all 28 passengers and crew on board. On 17 October 1913, at approximately 10:30am local time, hydrogen gas which was being vented was sucked into the forward engine and ignited causing the airship to explode and burn. It crashed near Johannisthal Air Field about 10 miles southeast of Berlin. This accident occurred a little over a month after the Helgoland Island Air Disaster.The "Almanac and Year-Book for 1914" reported that the airship "was destroyed by the explosion of a gasoline tank, which occurred as the ship was making a trial trip above the city of Johannisthal, near Berlin. All except one of the twenty-seven military men on board, including the entire admiralty trial board, were killed.

Thousands, who had been watching the evolutions of the L-2, which, if accepted, was to have been the flagship of Germany's new aerial fleet, heard a heavy detonation and saw the craft suddenly become enveloped in flames and drop to the ground from a height of 900 feet.

On reaching the spot in the highway where the airship fell the spectators found nothing but a mass of crumpled aluminium and twisted wreckage. The only man found alive was Lieut. Baron von Bieul, a guest on the trip, who was fatally injured. The passengers of the centre gondola were blown through the sides of the car by the explosion and their bodies fell a quarter of a mile away from the wreck of the dirigible.

The pilot of the airship was Capt. Gluth, who had been in Count Zeppelin's employ for a long time.

The admiralty trial board consisted of seven officers, including Lieutenant-Commander Behnish, and Lieut. Freyer, both personal friends of Emperor William, Naval Constructors Neumann and Pietzler, Naval Engineer Busch, Lieut. Trenk and Chief Engineer Haussmann were among the others killed."  read more

Code: 23640