Simon Birch Posted 9 February , 2019 Share Posted 9 February , 2019 Afternoon, I have a 1908 troopers sword, marked on the inside of the bell guard are the letters 'inns ct' - they have been scratched out and underneath the letter 'HCTR 370' Does the HCTR part mean anything to anyone here...? Thanks for your help. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimE Posted 9 February , 2019 Share Posted 9 February , 2019 (edited) Possibly Household Cavalry Training Regiment? Training manual from 1938 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1500021718 JIm Edited 9 February , 2019 by JimE Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 9 February , 2019 Share Posted 9 February , 2019 The Inns of Court appear to have been foot infantry apart from a mounted infantry section in the Boer War. Would the MI carry cavalry troopers' swords? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimE Posted 9 February , 2019 Share Posted 9 February , 2019 The Inns of Court Regiment in WW1 was an Officers Training Corps. They were mainly infantry but maintained a mounted squadron throughout the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Birch Posted 10 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 10 February , 2019 According to their history they did maintain a mounted squadron throughout the war. Their museum archivist tells me the highest number of cadets in the squadron at any one time was 150. Thanks so much for the Household Cavalry angle - it makes a lot more sense than anything I came up with. Best Wishes, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 (edited) It was unclear to me whether a "mounted squadron" meant "proper cavalry" or mounted infantry, depending on which they might or might not have carried a trooper's sword. I'm not even sure whether mounted infantry of the period regularly (or irregularly) carried cavalry swords - can anyone advise? Edited 10 February , 2019 by PhilB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Birch Posted 12 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 12 February , 2019 I spoke with Major O'Beirne, who runs the Inns of Court Museum. He said that the mounted squadron cadets were meant for 'proper cavalry.' He also said that they have both 1908 and 1912 pattern cavalry swords in their museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 12 February , 2019 Share Posted 12 February , 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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