The Naval Review The copyright of this article rests with the author, or the author's estate.

Two hundred years for the Naval Sword.

Although much this year will be made of the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and Nelson's great victory, and the centenary of both BRNC and the RFA, it is also the 200th anniversary of a piece of naval weaponry that remains in service to this day. 1805 saw the introduction of a regulation naval sword for officers (the first cutlass was in 1804¹).

Up to this time officers had been able to carry a sword of their own choosing although, being generally conservative in nature, these followed three main types for the 25 years prior to the introduction of the pattern sword and often complemented their wearing with a completely different dress sword. These three main types were the slotted hilt sword, the five ball sword and the oval side ring sword, all taking their names from the shape of their hilts. Of those that have survived, it is sometimes difficult to determine which are actually Naval swords, as they did not necessarily carry any identification, although some have decoration (often an anchor) to indicate their ownership.

In designing this sword, the Admiralty appear to have taken a mix and match from the several patterns of Army sword in use at the time and produced the decorated pattern sword for Commanders and above with a white grip and the undecorated for those more junior with a black grip.

At this time there was no formal instruction in technique, a fact lamented by John McArthur whose treatise The Army and Navy Gentlemen's Companion was published in 1780, where he claims that commanding officers who encouraged cudgelling or singlestick activity amongst their men had been particularly successful in actions with the sword². Therefore in 1813 Henry Angelo, the most prominent fencing master of the day, was appointed by the Admiralty to fill the gap and he produced a cutlass exercise drill³. This proved too complex for the sailors and was, shortly prior to his death in 1828, replaced by a simpler version of only three guards. Of note was the insistence on the greater effectiveness of the point over the cut and the instruction to riposte with a point after every parry. Whether this was because of the possible lack of room in combat between decks and the risk of snagging the blade on rigging or other loose gear is not known but it is a significant difference from army drill.

As the 19th century progressed, slowly the sword pattern also made progress with a series of changes. In 1825 all commissioned officers gained the decorated pattern, leaving just Midshipman, Master, Mates and Warrant Officers with the undecorated pattern. The regulations appear not to have been totally enforced and anomalies can be found; it would appear that, prior to the 1825 ruling, some Lieutenants adopted the more decorated pattern but left the grip black⁴.

In 1827 the Navy introduced a new pattern of hilt, which remains in use to this day. The main difference between the 1827 pattern and the modern sword was the blade, which was then of a type described as 'pipe backed' which was supposed to be an effective design for both cut and thrust, although it did not find favour as such. Then in 1846 came the final change to bring the weapon to something familiar to us today with the introduction of the Wilkinson flat back blade replacing the pipe backed⁵.

There continued to be many minor changes, including to the method of wearing and carrying the sword. These from unequal slings to equal and show that the myth that officers carry their swords due to a mutiny is just that, a myth. In 1856 a return to two unequal slings for carrying the sword for all officers below flag rank was introduced, and in 1880 the peg and hole method of securing the sword in its scabbard was formalised. Despite what might appear to be quite a simple set of regulations there were many other anomalies, some following the liberal interpretations of the regulations, some because related organisations followed the basic RN pattern. Additionally a few other swords were introduced for short periods such as the small sword for the civil branches of the pursers, secretaries and surgeons, each with their own symbol (1827 - 1832). Following the popularity of an eastern style sword in the Army, a similar weapon was introduced as an optional weapon for Flag Officers (1842 - 1856), although it never became popular. These small changes have continued with the change to the crown from a St Edwards to a Tudor in 1901 and back again in 1952, also the blade width was reduced in 1929 and the blades became straight from 1937⁶.

There have also been presentational swords such as the Sword of Honour at Dartmouth and the spectacular Lloyds Patriotic Fund Swords, (an example of which is in the wardroom at HMS Raleigh) which appear in so many works of fiction of the Napoleonic wars, and the magnificent City of London Swords. These last have continued to be used to mark distinguished service including four in the 20th century to Jellicoe, Beatty, Cunningham and Mountbatten⁷.

Naval cutlasses also went through various transitions with five different patterns prior to their formal withdrawal from service just before WWII (although not all were returned). The matching training continued and since naval cutlasses were so heavy, it was important to develop and maintain the strength to wield. Cutlass drill was conducted at least once a week in ships, usually on a Wednesday afternoon and seamen were also expected to be ambidextrous in this practice⁸. Free play with singlesticks and parties of sailors performing a mêlée became common features at the Assaults of Arms which were a popular social activity of the last half of the 19th century and from one of which the Royal Tournament eventually developed⁹. These competitions further developed into the modern sport of fencing as older combat style weapons were replaced with their modern sporting equivalents. In 1904, when it changed from the Royal Military Tournament to become the Royal Military and Naval Tournament¹⁰, there occurred the first RN fencing championships¹¹ including a certain Sub/Lt Fielmann who went onto win the national sabre in 1907¹². These championships have continued and are still competed for each year with the Royal Navy team winning the 2004 match for the first time in nearly 50 years.

So when you next see your sword reflect on the journey it has been through to reach the format we are now used to, and on the history that goes with it.

Mark Barton

Swords from Left to Right

Flat-backed blade, Master-at-Arms, ca 1950.

Flat-backed blade, 1919.

Broadsword blade, ca 1880.

Pipe-backed blade, 1827 - 1846.

Small sword of civil branches, 1825 - 832. This example with Purser's badge.

Stirrup-hilted sword, plain, 1805 - 1827.

Stirrup-hilted sword, decorated, 1805 - 1827. This example with the badge of the Honourable East India Company.

5-ball sword, ca 1800.

Slotted-hilt sword, ca 1780.

1. May, Commander WE. RN and Annis PGW, Swords for Sea Service, London (Her Majesty’s Stationary Office) 1970

2. McArthur, John, Army and Navy Gentleman’s Companion, London (James Lowers) 1780

3. Aylward, JD, The House of Angelo, London (the Batchworth Press) 1953

4. May, Commander WE. RN and Kennard AN, Naval Swords and Firearms, London (Her Majesty’s Stationary Office) 1962

5. Ibid

6. A fuller history is given in McGrath John, Swords for Officers of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth (RNAFA) 2004

7. Op sit May and Kennard 1962

8. Navy and Army Illustrated 1901

9. Assault at Arms at the Albert Hall in aid of the Afghan War Relief Fund, reported in the Graphic, Feb 19, 1881

10. Burns, PL, Lt Col, The Story of the Royal Tournament, Aldershot (Gale and Polden Limited) 1952

11. McGrath John and Barton Mark, Fencing in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines 1733 to 1948, Portsmouth RNAFA, 2004

12. De Beaumont C-L, Modern British Fencing, London (Hutchinson) 1949