Kevin O'Marah Posted 14 July , 2004 Share Posted 14 July , 2004 Any information about the above would be well appreciated. How many were issued and to who. Also if a great number were issued why are they so hard to find? "Urddas i Gymru" written on the blade is roughly translated to Honour/Dignity to Wales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsman64 Posted 14 July , 2004 Share Posted 14 July , 2004 Okay here goes head above the parapet! Waiting for the snipers from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers fan club to shoot me, and my hazy memory down. The weapon you are talking about was a copy of an ancient celtic/Welsh short sword with a leaf shaped blade, no cross guard and was really an "up close and personal" slashing weapon. I held one at an arms fair in 1979 when I was 15 I was told then that they had been bought as a gift for each man from the Colonel in charge of one of the Battalions of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers when they proceeded overseas. For some reason the 9th Battalion sticks in my mind but it was 25 years ago. Even if I have the wrong battalion, logic says somewhere between 750-900? Sure the RWF experts will come along and fill in the gaps. By the way the price in 1979 £200! So they must be scarce. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted 14 July , 2004 Share Posted 14 July , 2004 If you want to know how many were issued you could try and ask them in the RWF Regimental museum in Caernarfon castle. From, Thomas McCall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin O'Marah Posted 14 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 14 July , 2004 Any information about the above would be well appreciated. How many were issued and to who. Also if a great number were issued why are they so hard to find? "Urddas i Gymru" written on the blade is roughly translated to Honour/Dignity to Wales. We visited Mametz Wood again this June, how quiet and tranquil it was, exept for the cigarett tips left beind, does this show respect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 15 July , 2004 Share Posted 15 July , 2004 These are from "A Primer of Military Knives" (Hughes and Jenkins). Phil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 15 July , 2004 Share Posted 15 July , 2004 and:- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cymro Posted 15 July , 2004 Share Posted 15 July , 2004 I've been collecting Welsh WW1 militaria for many years and I've seen and handled only 3 originals of these knives. They have been heavily faked, usually using some sort of acid to replacate the pitting to the blade. Of those I believe to have been originals, one (the one in my collection which came direct from the family) had both DROS URDDAS CYMRU and Joubert's makers mark on the ricasso (a J with an O superimposed on the stem). It is in VERY used condition and the original chord grip has been worn off. The soldier cleverly used some lanyard material to fashion a new grip. I will post some pictures of it when I get home tomorrow. Of the other two I have seen, one had only the DROS URDDAS CYMRU and the other had neither this nor the makers mark. The scabbards for these knives are rarer than the knives themselves. There seem to be two patterns - one a plain leather sheath, the other a more elaborate affair with crossing khaki tapes over the body. I have seen one of the leather sheaths on the open market and cannot rule out the fact that this is what lies underneath the khaki covering. The fake sheaths are quite easy to spot - not wanting to help the fakers, I'll be happy to give a couple of pointers to interested members by PM. I have never seen the criss-cross sheath outside a museum. This is pure speculation but it seems that more than one batch of these knives were manufactured- the early ones being fully marked and stamped with the criss-cross sheath and the later ones with out the motto or makers mark. Like I said, pure speculation, and I'd be delighted to be put right. On numbers, there seems to be some controversy as to who received the knives. My two ha'pennies worth is that they were issued to either machine gunners, or individuals on raiding parties and held perhaps in company stores. I base this on the fact that there are so few around and the cost of producing such beautiful weapons for each member of the battalion might have put even Lord Howard De Waldon in penury! I am a collector and researcher of anything Welsh WW1 and am not an RWF specialist, so please put me right on anything I'm off-beam on. The 9th battalion cledd or cleddyf (both mean sword in Welsh) is a great piece of Welsh military history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burlington Posted 15 July , 2004 Share Posted 15 July , 2004 Kevin Welcome to the Forum. Glad you have joined. Speak to you soon. Regards Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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