EL7058 - A good 1895 pattern infantry officer's sword by Wilkinson. Numbered 33340 for August 1895, this was made soon after the new regulation sword was introduced - these are relatively scarce, because in 1897 the pattern was slightly changed again. The Wilkinson record shows that this was sold to the outfitter Flight & Co, so unfortunately we will never know the officer who owned it, but the blade has been service sharpened repeatedly, so it's likely that they saw active service some time after 1895, so they could have been in South Africa, China, Afghanistan or one of the other conflicts of that era. The quality of the sword is of course Wilkinson's finest, with a bright and deeply etched blade, firm in the hilt, and a bright steel guard. The grip shagreen and silver wire is very good, with some wear to the shagreen, suggesting that whoever the officer was, they were probably in the Army for several years at least. Complete in an unusual soft leather field service scabbard, which might also be a clue as to where this sword saw service.
