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Remembered Today:

Swagger Stick - is it GW?


stephen p nunn

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I have long wanted to get hold of a swagger stick. Today I picked one up at our local second-hand market.

 

It is Dorsetshire Regiment. It doesn't appear to be hallmarked and is on a bamboo cane.

 

Is it WW1 do you think?

 

Here it is:

 

 

st1 (640x193).jpg

st2 (586x545).jpg

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The 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment we’re deployed to Egypt late in WW1. Shame there is no hallmark to date its manufacture.

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2 minutes ago, Lawryleslie said:

The 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment we’re deployed to Egypt late in WW1. Shame there is no hallmark to date its manufacture.

Oh fantastic - thank you very much.

Best wishes.

Stephen.

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The 1st Bn went to France in August 1914 but I suspect that a man in any of their 11 WW1 battalions could have used it?

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Dear Stephen,

Good find!

I share your glee with the possible Egypt connection.

Recently I convinced a fellow IARO collector of the fact that his swagger-stick would look better alongside my father's (a 2AIF officer, MC, Despatches), than in his Den (not to mention the accompanying medals), and the deal went my way (Never Give Up!).

Despite having the all-important name and Regt., my fellow-collector friend had failed to follow all this up. I did (admittedly it was not an easy task)Stick.JPG.7d2701d7da70574160e041e97d7bb7ab.JPG5aec27433eac4_PontStickcrest1.jpg.9903f739d1591811f34574b470713a1a.jpg5aec2760edf42_2LtLVPont.jpeg.78ab237f56e97840a3a2c1f021512bd6.jpeg5aec276db4959_CaptL.V.PontVDNWRwaysobv_small.jpg.ee3dbfac5481412589ad9d46b26bddf5.jpg5aec27929312d_CaptL.V.PontIAROattdSprsandMnrs.jpg.88fc6c53cd88925f31a1455cda422ac7.jpg5aec28fd9b6ef_HallmarkPontsVD.JPG.2b73c4b610d1bc3371b5b0da65501c62.JPG. The rest is history, as they say.

Kindest regards,

Kim.

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On 04/05/2018 at 10:06, PhilB said:

The 1st Bn went to France in August 1914 but I suspect that a man in any of their 11 WW1 battalions could have used it?

Don’t understand your logic? Are you saying that any man, probably an officer, in any of the Dorsetshire Battalions could have served with the 2nd Battalion in Egypt? By the way I think you’ll find that Dorsetshire Regiment eventually had 9, not 11, battalions and one company serving with the 2nd  Hampshire Regiment.

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I think it`s an OR`s stick, not an officer`s. If you know it went to Egypt, then probably 2nd Bn, otherwise, any Bn. How do you know it went to Egypt?

Dorsets had 1,2,3 (Res), 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 5,6, 7 (res), 8 (HS) and 1(Garrison Bn). I make that 11, not counting the 9th Bn that only existed for 17 days.

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16 hours ago, PhilB said:

I think it`s an OR`s stick, not an officer`s. If you know it went to Egypt, then probably 2nd Bn, otherwise, any Bn. How do you know it went to Egypt?

Dorsets had 1,2,3 (Res), 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 5,6, 7 (res), 8 (HS) and 1(Garrison Bn). I make that 11, not counting the 9th Bn that only existed for 17 days.

I think we are at odds here.....I am referring to Battalions during WW1. According to the Dorsetshire Regiment Museum the Regiment had 2 Battalions and 1 Reserve Battalion at the beginning of WW1 that expanded to 9 Battalions during the war with 1 company attached to the 2nd Hampshires.

Regarding the swagger stick, I made the natural assumption that it had belonged to a soldier serving in Egypt in order to help the OP in understanding if it was from WW1. Of course there is no certainty of this,  just an educated guess I’m afraid. Be interested as to why you think it’s an OR's stick and not an officer's?

 

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If it were mine, I'd attribute it to Great War era, other ranks.....an officer would probably have had a silver ferrule with a more expensive wood, as for actual battalion, that's anybody's guess unless the stick comes with provenance.

From what I understand, by WW2,  the carrying of swagger sticks had ceased in most cases.

Nice stick.

 

Dave.

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I`m referring to Bns in WW1 as well - according to Brig E A James` book British Regiments 1914-18. Which of the Bns he lists do the Museum not recognize? One can rarely be certain about these things but, like Dave and for the same reasons, I think it just looks more like an OR`s stick. Were you influenced by the EGYPT on the cap badge to think it had been to Egypt? It`s still a nice stick!

Edited by PhilB
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IIRC, the Dorsets cap badge featured 'Egypt' below the Sphinx  until 1881, when it was replaced by  'Marabout'. 

 

Cheers,

 

GT. 

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On 06/05/2018 at 11:12, PhilB said:

I`m referring to Bns in WW1 as well - according to Brig E A James` book British Regiments 1914-18. Which of the Bns he lists do the Museum not recognize? One can rarely be certain about these things but, like Dave and for the same reasons, I think it just looks more like an OR`s stick. Were you influenced by the EGYPT on the cap badge to think it had been to Egypt? It`s still a nice stick!

Yes I was influenced by the EGYPT on the cap badge which may have misled me.

The Museum of The Dorset Regiment lists:

1st Battallion

2nd Battalion

3rd Special Reserve Battalion

1/4th Battalion

2/4th Battalion

3/4th Battalion

5th Battalion

6th Battalion

7th Battalion

Plus Y Company of a Composite Battalion made up of companies Somerset LI, 2nd Hamshire, Wiltshire and Dorsetshire Regiments.

 

I would be interested in your comments Phil.

 

 

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8th Bn (Home Service) and 1st (Home Service) Garrison Bn. I`m working on the assumption that a man in any battalion, at home or abroad, could carry such a stick though unlikely to take one to a war zone.

IMG_2578.JPG

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1 hour ago, PhilB said:

8th Bn (Home Service) and 1st (Home Service) Garrison Bn. I`m working on the assumption that a man in any battalion, at home or abroad, could carry such a stick though unlikely to take one to a war zone.

IMG_2578.JPG

Thanks for this Phil. Assuming your book is correct you’d have thought their own Museum would be up to speed with their WW1 Battalion strength. Strange.

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Nothing`s certain but Brig James would normally be believed before the average museum curator! I`d be interested in evidence to the contrary.:)

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51 minutes ago, PhilB said:

I suspect that the LLT used Brig James as their reference!

 

Yes, many of these publications and unit histories are excellent starting points....I always try to pick up period originals as and when they pop up, even better if first editions!

 

Dave.

Edited by Dave66
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