Guest Philld Posted 27 June , 2014 Share Posted 27 June , 2014 Hello. I'm trying an almost impossible task to trace my great uncles WW1 officers sword. It has his name engraved on it, George Catling. What/where would be the best place to put an advert asking of its whereabouts hoping for a bit of luck that a collector has it or a private buyer has it in their home? The sword was sold to an antique dealer (Jess Applin I believe) in Cambridge, UK in the early 80's. Thank you for any help you can provide. George Catling was a rare survivor of the war but was badly affected by mustard gas. He was from Peterborough and any help as to what regiment he was in will be helpful as well. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eairicbloodaxe Posted 27 June , 2014 Share Posted 27 June , 2014 I assume that to be issued a sword, he needed to be an officer? Any more details on his possible rank would be helpful. There are several George Catling's on ancestry with service records and/or medal cards, but none of them are officer ranks, or obviously from Peterborough (and officers service records are not available there). Regards Ian PS. Surviving the war wasn't rare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 27 June , 2014 Share Posted 27 June , 2014 George Lionel Catling has been discussed before on the Forum. He died shortly after the war as a result of his gassing (officially from TB) and is buried in Kent. His father Walter was chairman of the Peterborough Licensed Victuallers Association (I have pictures of both George and Walter from the local papers, though of somewhat lower quality than I would like). Walter ran the hotel on St Leonards Street (both street and hotel now gone) near to the station (the hotel name escapes me at the moment) See: http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/75197434/CATLING,%20GEORGE%20LIONEL and http://www.kentfallen.com/PDF%20reports/CATLING%20G.L.pdf (direct to PDF file) http://www.kentfallen.com/forgotten%20fallen.html The picture on the PDF file looks like one of mine, actually.... Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 27 June , 2014 Share Posted 27 June , 2014 Ah, the Peterborough Hotel! Too obvious! Here is the topic on which we discussed him back in 2005: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=39300&hl= Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Philld Posted 27 June , 2014 Share Posted 27 June , 2014 Hello Steve and thanks chap for giving me all that info I can now put on my family tree. I had searched for military records without any success and this info has revealed some stuff I did not know. I have family pictures of the hotel & Uncle Walter and a picture of the soldiers marching in the street by the hotel I believe. I just wish I could find out where his sword is and hope it is still in one piece. The photo of him I can now compare to the photos I already have, with his horse in France and confirm it is him, as they did not put much info on the reverse of them. The hotel business was a big thing for our family & Walter was even the first chairman of the original Peterborough Utd FC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 27 June , 2014 Share Posted 27 June , 2014 I have seen Walter pop up quite a few times over the years (George was one of the first men I researched) though I haven't recorded every time he was mentioned. Because of the familiarity of seeing a known name over the years, the Catlings have been one of the families I have felt I have almost "adopted" as my own! And the Posh are close to my heart as well.... Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerhunter Posted 27 June , 2014 Share Posted 27 June , 2014 I assume that to be issued a sword, he needed to be an officer? Nope, cavalry ORs would have been issued swords. Officers, mounted or otherwise, bought their swords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 28 June , 2014 Share Posted 28 June , 2014 The first post says that the owners name was on the sword. Surely this indicates it was a private purchase and owner was an officer. Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerhunter Posted 28 June , 2014 Share Posted 28 June , 2014 The first post says that the owners name was on the sword. Surely this indicates it was a private purchase and owner was an officer. Old Tom That would seem to be the case. As I said officers bought their swords, only ORs would be issued them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoppage Drill Posted 28 June , 2014 Share Posted 28 June , 2014 Philld - officers were still responsible for buying their own swords in the 80s, and second hand ones were frequently bought by serving officers. Try a letter to "Soldier" magazine. You never know what your luck might be . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerhunter Posted 28 June , 2014 Share Posted 28 June , 2014 They were certainly not on issue in my time. In the 1970s I suddenly had need of a sword for a parade and had to borrow one from a fellow officer. It was actually easier to find a sword than the other piece of kit that i had missing - a pair of kid gloves. Finally ran a pair down at Marks & Sparks at Brent Cross IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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