British 1882/85/90/92 Pattern Household Cavalry Trooper’s Sword

The design of this new pattern was initially entrusted with the Superintendent of the R.S.A.F. Enfield (Colonel Arbuthnot) and he was given specific instructions to ensure that its development and manufacture should be strictly in-house as opposed to previous patterns, where private sword makers had both proposed and produced finished swords for the British Army.  The final design was actually influenced by the previous 1820 Pattern that had been tendered by Wilkinsons and Arbuthnot submitted a final pattern for approval in 1882.

The swords came in two forms; ‘Long’ and ‘Short’, with a longer version for cavalry troopers and the shorter sword allocated to bandsmen and trumpeters. 

The blade was straight, with the longer version measuring over 38 inches and the shorter blade, just over 37 inches. It soon attracted the inevitable criticism from those who had to use it, with complaints that the longer blade lacked sufficient strength.  Subsequent improvements (1885/1890/1892) were an attempt to rectify this problem by shortening the blade and giving it a slight curve in common with the universal sword patterns carried by other cavalry regiments at that time.

The open scrollwork steel hilt has the Household Cavalry (“HC”) cypher interwoven under a crown.  The open piercing was viewed as a hindrance in combat as it could allow an opponent to thrust in the point of a blade or socket bayonet.

© 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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