Serjeants stick

[MatthewT]

All,

Boasting here and feeling very proud!!

I have been lucky enough to be given my Great Great Uncles medals, photo's of him in uniform plus a painting which was painted of him after he was kiled in the last week of the war at Sebourg.

Not only this but in passing my cousin also gave me what appears to be a short stick which has been in the corner of his shed for a number of years - he said he thought it belonged to my Great Great Uncle.

On reviewing the photo's I could see that he was carrying a short stick which from what I could see matched the one I had - was this ceremonial?, did it have any practical use?

Attached is a picture to give you an idea on what it looks like top end, total length is about 70cm and it appears to eb made from bamboo.

Thanks in advance.

[michaeldr]

On reviewing the photo's I could see that he was carrying a short stick which from what I could see matched the one I had - was this ceremonial?, did it have any practical use?

Mathew,

Not really ceremonial and probably not very practical, but nevertheless taken very seriously by the orderly sergeants of certain regiments

I have just been reading this in ‘Tommy’ by Richard Holmes

“Once a man had ‘passed of the square’ as a recruit and could ‘pass the guard’ – that is, satisfy the orderly sergeant at the guardroom that he was fit to be seen in public – then he could ‘walk out’ in his best uniform. Cavalrymen carried regimental whips and infantrymen regimental canes. As late as 1915 a puzzled New Army recruit at Aldershot found himself inexplicably rejected by the guard until he bought a Rifle Brigade cane.”

Regards

Michael D.R.