jscott Posted 14 October , 2014 Share Posted 14 October , 2014 Hi all After a lengthy hiatus from posting I thought I would upload some photos of three unit marked P03 bayonets which have come my way in the last 6-9 months or so. I really like this style of bayonet, particularly as they seem to have unit markings far more often than the P1907s or even the P1888s. In particular I like the first example which is marked to the County of London Yoemanry, which is a unit which fought at Gallipoli (Suvla). Cheers, Jonathan Oh and a closeup of the scabbard markings for no.3 (pre-empting a request from the scabbard aficionados!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 14 October , 2014 Share Posted 14 October , 2014 A very nice set! One of my '03's is like your no.3, in a scabbard missing the 'frog' part... So, KRR = Kings Own Royal Rifle Corps... But '2.I.R.G.A.'? I believe 'I.R' is Irish Rifles. but...??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 14 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 14 October , 2014 Hi Trajan - I had always assumed this was 21 RGA (i.e. 21st company of the Royal Garrison Artillery), although there is a "." between the "2" and "1", and the "1" is quite like an "I". Happy to be corrected but Im not aware of any "IRGA" marking. Cheers, J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 14 October , 2014 Share Posted 14 October , 2014 Hi Trajan - I had always assumed this was 21 RGA (i.e. 21st company of the Royal Garrison Artillery), although there is a "." between the "2" and "1", and the "1" is quite like an "I". Happy to be corrected but Im not aware of any "IRGA" marking. Cheers, J Ah, I see what you mean. I thought there was a dot after the 2 before that capital 'I' which I took to be an 'I' but can see can be a 'one', even though there is a nice '1' in the weapon number. But I go with you on this - 21st RGA seems much more sensible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 14 October , 2014 Share Posted 14 October , 2014 County of London Yoemanry, which is a unit which fought at Gallipoli (Suvla). Jonathan, The mark ' 1 CO ' coming before any letters, usually stands for 1st Company - then followed by the regimental initials. For example ' 2 CO. R.A. ' would be 2nd Company, ( Field ) Royal Artillery. The London Territorial Regiments used the following marks - City of London ' LD ' - County of London ' LD ', or ' L.D. ' so the 9th Battalion City of London Regiment would be marked ' 9 LD ' or ' 9 L.D. ' Regards, LF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 14 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 14 October , 2014 Hi LF, thanks for your post - I hope all is well. The unit mark on that bayonet is actually 1.CO.L.Y. I can't remember where I saw the reference now but I'm fairly certain that this marking refers to the County of London Yeomanry. I'm not aware of any regiments that used "L.Y." as a marking but please do let me know if I'm missing something. I'll have a look to see if I can find my original source on this. Thanks, Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancashire Fusilier Posted 14 October , 2014 Share Posted 14 October , 2014 Hi LF, thanks for your post - I hope all is well. The unit mark on that bayonet is actually 1.CO.L.Y. I can't remember where I saw the reference now but I'm fairly certain that this marking refers to the County of London Yeomanry. I'm not aware of any regiments that used "L.Y." as a marking but please do let me know if I'm missing something. I'll have a look to see if I can find my original source on this. Thanks, Jonathan Jonathan, They are very nice 1903s, particularly the example with the internal chape scabbard. It is hard to be precise as to some of these 100+ year old bayonet pommel markings, like you, I could not find a specific British regiment using ' L.Y. ', I even looked among the various Dominon/Colonial regiments, and still no L.Y. My only hesitation is with ' CO ' often standing for ' Company ', and the London County and City Regiments using ' LD '. Hopefully, you can turn up the original source. Regards, LF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 15 October , 2014 Share Posted 15 October , 2014 EDITED: My computer closed while writing this for its usual 0730 Invision check, so I'll continue... One possibility (but very slight) is the Lothians and Border Horse Yeomanry... So, perhaps, "1st Company, Lothians and Border Horse Yeomanry"? According to our old friend Wikki, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothians_and_Border_Horse, though, it was not known by this name in the period when a P.03 may have been issued to this particular unit... BUT, a much better possibility is the Lanarkshire Yeomanry? See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanarkshire_Yeomanry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 15 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 15 October , 2014 Thanks both. I have had a search but can't yet find my original source for the interpretation I've given above. From memory the COLY was used to differentiate the marking from the City of London Yeomanry (which I think used CLY) - as per the following link (although I agree this is not definitive as it is just someone else's interpretation): http://www.antique-swords.eu/G41-1902-Pattern-WW1-British-City-of-London-Yeomanry-Westminster-Dragoons.html If the CO does stand for company in this case then I agree is could potentially be Lanarkshire Yeomanry. Cheers, J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 24 November , 2014 Share Posted 24 November , 2014 As it often happens, when looking for something else, I came across somethng else of interest, in this case a 1903 marked for a German unit - 16. FK. 44... See http://s400910952.websitehome.co.uk/germancolonialuniforms/militaria/bayonets%20doa.htm As it is verified as such by RW, then that is good enough for me! I would go, though, for the 16.Fuhrpark-Kolonne not their suggested 16th Schutztruppe Feldkompagnie... I''l make a note later on German unit markings to that effect. Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 24 November , 2014 Share Posted 24 November , 2014 I have posted this elsewhere on GWF, but just to ensure proper cross-referencing here a nice one, which is German... 16. FK. 44, and I think 16.Fuhrpark-Kolonne Waffe 44... See http://s400910952.we...ayonets doa.htm Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 16 July , 2015 Share Posted 16 July , 2015 As it often happens, when looking for something else, I came across somethng else of interest, in this case a 1903 marked for a German unit - 16. FK. 44... See http://s400910952.websitehome.co.uk/germancolonialuniforms/militaria/bayonets%20doa.htm As it is verified as such by RW, then that is good enough for me! I would go, though, for the 16.Fuhrpark-Kolonne not their suggested 16th Schutztruppe Feldkompagnie... I''l make a note later on German unit markings to that effect. Trajan A follow up really, on the subject of German use of 1903 bayonets... In The German Colonial Troops book, on p. 133, there is a photograph of an Askari with an SMLE with what I think are volley sights(? - i.e., a movable lever on a dial on the left side of the rifle?), and on his belt a P.1903 bayonet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 17 July , 2015 Share Posted 17 July , 2015 Here is a scan of the relevant page mentioned in the previous post - shown here for reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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