British 1834/74 Pattern Household Cavalry Officer’s Dress/State Sword

 THIS SWORD IS ONE OF THE MOST attractive of British Army pattern swords and is still carried by officers of the Household Cavalry. It was first adopted in the 1834 Dress Regulations and designated for use by officers of the 1st Life Guards. Early versions are described as:

“…half basket, steel pierced hilt, with regimental cipher in brass; the edges of basket ornamented with twelve plain brass studs; lining of white leather, backpiece of plain polished steel, with a brass cap; straight cut and thrust blade with hatchet edge and square back, thirty eight inches long. Scabbard – steel with plain brass mountings.”

It was meant for both dress and undress, with the stated intention that it was to be used in combat. I very much doubt its effectiveness, though, as the blade is quite long and unwieldy. It probably saw little service action and it is more likely that officers on active service carried a more practical standard regulation pattern light or heavy cavalry sabre.  There were some changes to the sword in 1874 when all regiments of the Household Cavalry formally adopted the pattern. It was then officially listed as the 1874 Pattern State Sword. The brass hilt cyphers are marked with “1LG” (1st Life Guards), “2LG” (2nd Life Guards) and “RHG” (Royal Horse Guards).  Other minor changes included the dropping of the brass pommel to be replaced by a steel version, and slight regimental alterations to the scabbards.

© Harvey Withers Military Publishing, 2024

Taken from The British Sword – From 1600 to the Present Day – An Illustrated History by Harvey J S Withers – 12,000 full colour photographs – 884 pages

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