British 1822 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword

THE 1822 PATTERN INFANTRY OFFICER’S SWORD was a radical departure from previous British Army infantry sword patterns.  Its distinctive half-basket hilt became the standard hilt type for British infantry officers’ swords until the end of the 19th Century.

The 1822 Dress Regulations describes it as being:

“…a gilt half-basket, with GR IV inserted in the outward bars”.

Distinctive features of the sword include the so-called  “Gothic” hilt, named as such after its apparent resemblance to the shapes of windows in Gothic architecture. It also had an inner guard that was hinged and could be folded down to sit comfortably against a uniform.  The royal cypher was also inserted within an oval hilt cartouche and during its lifetime, this pattern saw the royal cypher of three monarchs (George IV, William IV and Victoria) placed within its hilt bars.  Victorian examples are pretty common due to the monarch’s long reign and there are many interpretations of the royal cypher, including versions with both pierced and moulded “VR” cyphers.  Earlier examples from the reign of George IV and William IV, who had relatively short reigns, tend to have hilts that are more delicately crafted than later Victorian pieces (c.1830’s) and display thinner hilt bars.  Up until around 1835, there would also a requirement to have been a black leather hilt lining.

A new blade type was also introduced with this pattern. It was of slender, pipe back form, with a slightly curved profile, double-edged for the last few inches and sheathed in a black leather scabbard with decorated gilt brass mounts.

As a fighting weapon, it was not well received by infantry officers, many complaining that it was simply not suitable for robust combat and there are a number of recorded accounts of it failing in battle with fatal consequences.  The famous 19th Century sword maker, Henry Wilkinson, was not an advocate for this pattern and wrote in 1863:

“…the worst possible arrangement of hilt, blade and shape that could possibly be contrived. It is crooked but has no regular curve; it is wrongly mounted for thrusting and wrongly shaped for cutting.  The hilt is so flimsy as to be no protection to the hand and it is made of bad metal, badly tempered.”