This is a beautifully produced, and surely definitive, complete account of its subject. With over 200 annotated high quality black and white illustrations and six full colour plates, printed on fine quality paper, it is a volume for any edged weapon or British Army enthusiast to treasure.
The text encompasses technical details such as the pattern of swords, the reasons why certain types were adopted, and instructions for correctly wearing them. There are descriptions of the use of swords in battle, sometimes described by the swordsman wielding them, such as the gory account of the butchery at Waterloo by Sgt. Ewart who famously charged with the Royal Scots Greys. Here, Sir Garnett Wolseley, the celebrated Victorian General, describes chopping men down from head to waist while serving with the Household Cavalry in Egypt in 1882. There are appendices on marking swords and chronological lists of changing sword patterns.
This is a Naval and Military Press and National Army Museum joint reprint of the 1996 revised edition of a book that first appeared in 1975 and quickly established itself as the standard authority on the British Army's swords.
- ISBN10 0853682593
- ISBN13 9780853682592
- Publish Date June 1975
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 19 October 2003
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Arms & Armour Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 208
- Language English