A.A.Savery Posted 15 January , 2011 Share Posted 15 January , 2011 Hi all, This is another bayonet that I have acquired from the same source in my family. To me it looks quite old, but well looked after as it was nicely greased in its scabbard. It smells like a very old engine. There does not seem to be much to go on, as there are few markings. My feeling is that this is another of my grandfathers souvenirs and taken from a German. I’m probably wrong about this, but I’m intrigued to know what the experts say about this one. Cheers, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.A.Savery Posted 15 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 15 January , 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.A.Savery Posted 15 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 15 January , 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.A.Savery Posted 15 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 15 January , 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 15 January , 2011 Share Posted 15 January , 2011 I am afraid it is neither old nor German! It is a British No.5 bayonet (without grips) made for the Lee Enfield No.5 Rifle (Jungle Carbine) and dates from about 1944-47. It was made by Wilkinson Sword Company (WSC) but I cannot read the line above which should be the date. Sorry to disappoint! regards TonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.A.Savery Posted 15 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 15 January , 2011 Sorry, I couldn't get this in with post #4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 15 January , 2011 Share Posted 15 January , 2011 I am afraid it is neither old nor German! It is a British No.5 bayonet (without grips) made for the Lee Enfield No.5 Rifle (Jungle Carbine) and dates from about 1944-47. It was made by Wilkinson Sword Company (WSC) but I cannot read the line above which should be the date. Sorry to disappoint! regards TonyE Wot he said! Whilst not WWI these are one of the scarecer "modern" British bayonets and are quite sought after by collectors. You can see the large diameter of the muzzle ring, necessitated by the "flash hider" on the No5 rifle. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 16 January , 2011 Share Posted 16 January , 2011 I am afraid it is neither old nor German! regards TonyE Well it is relatively old.! But perhaps not as old as Anthony would like it to be. The WSC letters does indicate manufacture by Wilkinson Sword Company and the line above that is S294 which is their maker's code. I believe the bayonets on the Wilkinson contracts were being produced from very late 1943 through to early 1945, so a WW2 issue bayonet. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 16 January , 2011 Share Posted 16 January , 2011 Well it is relatively old.! But perhaps not as old as Anthony would like it to be. The WSC letters does indicate manufacture by Wilkinson Sword Company and the line above that is S294 which is their maker's code. I believe the bayonets on the Wilkinson contracts were being produced from very late 1943 through to early 1945, so a WW2 issue bayonet. Cheers, S>S I am as old as that bayonet, therefore it is not old! ..and yes, I know "WSC" is Wilkinson Sword, that is why I put it in my post. Regards TonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 16 January , 2011 Share Posted 16 January , 2011 It was made by Wilkinson Sword Company (WSC) but I cannot read the line above which should be the date. regards TonyE But you did not know what was above it which should NOT be the date.! Some of these aged pieces of equipment are getting very obsolete ..... (Sorry Mr.E couldn't resist that one.!) Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 16 January , 2011 Share Posted 16 January , 2011 ...'Vantage Miss Shipping Steel! Cheers TonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.A.Savery Posted 16 January , 2011 Author Share Posted 16 January , 2011 My thanks for the useful comments. I am actually quite pleased to hear that it’s a WW2 bayonet as this means that it most likely belonged to my Uncle, my grandfather, William Taylor's son whom I am also extremely proud of. He was an army driver who was brought home from the beaches of Dunkirk and later served in North Africa. After the war he served for many years as a reservist. Would there be a reason for the grips being missing, or would they just have been damaged or lost? Do the markings on the reverse side to WSC have any significance? Cheers, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 16 January , 2011 Share Posted 16 January , 2011 My thanks for the useful comments. I am actually quite pleased to hear that it’s a WW2 bayonet as this means that it most likely belonged to my Uncle, my grandfather, William Taylor's son whom I am also extremely proud of. He was an army driver who was brought home from the beaches of Dunkirk and later served in North Africa. After the war he served for many years as a reservist. Would there be a reason for the grips being missing, or would they just have been damaged or lost? Do the markings on the reverse side to WSC have any significance? Cheers, Tony Tony The makings on the obverse are an inspection stamp (and perhaps a bend test X although it seems to rather poorly marked.) Not sure why the grips would be missing - who knows how such things happen. I am not certain (I'll check) but standard 1907 wooden grips might fit, if so it would be relatively easy and cheap to replace them. The catch might be a bit harder to find and track down. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 17 January , 2011 Share Posted 17 January , 2011 Here is what it should look like when fully furnished with the timber grips. They are different to the common P1907 grips - shorter and more podgy looking. The markings on the other ricasso most likely include the date stamps. They also often have the bend test X mark but not usually any inspection markings. (Photo courtesy of the www.old-smithy.info website) Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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