Contributors

Guard with Edward VII Cypher Pillin’s Proof Slug, below Guard

Engravings on the sword include Pillin’s Proof Slug, Victoria Regina, and Interlocked Gothic EJD initials

scabbard is in fair condition. The grip is 5¾” (127146mm) long and is covered in ray skin and wrapped with German-silver wire. The grip is straight, with no off set to the blade. There is a chequered backstrap fitted, off ering excellent grip. The blade is 32 1⁄2” (830 mm) long and 1” (25 mm) wide at the shoulder, with the complete sword weighing between 794g - 822g. The thick blade has a deep central fuller on each side and is rounded on both its edge and back towards the hilt. There is no immediate evidence of Boer War sharpening. Sharpening options included along the top side of the blade and the blade is tapered to permit this, and along the bottom cutting edge for approximately one-third of the length of the blade. An alternative concept was to only sharpen the tip of the blade for 6cm to facilitate the thrust.

The Man.

Edgar John Dent was born in December of 1863, in Hendon, Middlesex, to Mr Robert Cecil Dent and Ms Susan Huddleson. He graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1882, as a Lieutenant. Upon commissioning he was posted in March of 1883 to the 2nd Battalion, King’s Own Borderers at Gibraltar. The battalion returned to the new barracks at Berwick-uponTweed and was given the new title of King’s Own Scottish Borderers in 1887. In July of 1888, the battalion sailed for Egypt and joined the Suakin Field Force in December 1888. He saw combat service in 1888 at Gemaizah and was issued with a Medal with Clasp and Khedive’s Star, In 1889 he fought at Toski where he was Mentioned in Dispatches and was awarded the 4th Class Medal of the Medjidie with Clasp. He was wounded in action

on the 30th of April as part of the (Upper) Nile River Expedition.

He embarked with the battalion for Bengal, India, and was barracked to Umbalia before sailing for Plymouth and joining the 1st Battalion at the Berwick barracks. He was promoted to Captain in 1893 and probably purchased a new sword with the newest pattern blade. He was posted to the HQ Company of the 3rd Battalion (Militia) in Dumfries, Scotland, as battalion adjutant. He had married Mary Violet Sellar in Scotland in 1893, and they had a daughter, Eleanor Ruth, in 1898. This information came to me via the Gentlemen’s Military Interest Club, (https:// gmic.co.uk/). A professional ancestory investigator read my article and forwarded to me the updated marriage details. She discovered these records on the Scotland’s People web site. He died on the 18th September, 1906 and in his will he left a considerable amount of property and money to his widow and their daughter.

“I happen to have been helping someone else with research into this off icer. In fact he had married Mary Violet Sellar in Scotland in 1893, and they had a daughter, Eleanor Ruth, in 1898 (these records can be found on Scotland’s People). In the 1911 census for England & Wales, Mary Violet Dent and Eleanor Ruth are recorded as living in Burley, not far from Edgar John’s brother Herbert Wilkinson Dent in Brockenhurst.”

He was recalled to the 1st Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, and sailed for the Boer War landing in Cape Town in January of 1900. He saw combat service at Paardeberg, the Traansval and at the battle of Rustenberg (October, 1900), and at Vlakfontein and Lambrechtfontein in May of 1901. He was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal, and the King’s South Africa Medal with Clasps for Paarderberg, Johannesburg and Cape Colony. g and

BRAD MANERA

Australian Rising Sun Badges, & Australians in Afganistan

Growing up in my grandparents’ home inspired an interest in objects with stories. The piano and mantelpiece were lined with sepia photos of young men in ill-fitting uniforms, slouch hats and puttees. After 40 years working in museums I’m still facinated researching great objects and their stories.

BILL TAYLOR

500 Year Old Japanese Sword, & Buying an Antique Japanese Sword

Bill Taylor has been collecting antique arms for forty five years in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide. He specializes in English flintlock pistols, and still enjoys finding something good, hidden under a couple of centuries of grime. He also collects antique Japanese swords and fittings.

GEOFF POGSON

The Cave Dewellers Club of Tasmania Part 3

In 1968 a lucky find in the Chatswood White Elephant Store spurred me to add collecting to my shooting interests. I began picking up interesting old guns as well as rabbits, foxes and cats. The book was British Pistols and Revolvers, by J. N. George. From this, my collecting became my main focus.

In 1968 a lucky find in the Chatswood White Elephant Store spurred me to add collecting to my shooting interests. I began picking up interesting old guns as well as rabbits, foxes and cats. The book GEORGE CHARLTON was British Pistols and Revolvers, by J. N. George. From this, my collecting became my main focus.Captain Edgar John Dent A retired Secondary English and History teacher who also dabbles in Geography, and a boarding housemaster at a variety of schools for almost twenty years. Serving in the Australian Army Reserve in the Infantry Corps he reached the rank of Sergeant. He has recently developed a passion for 19th and 20th century military swords, with many fine examples from Britain, France and Germany. g erve 9th

JOHN NEWTON

A Regional Gun Maker

Over the past fifty plus years I have spent many rewarding hours researching colonial Australian arms, particularly police and gaols firearms, and the lives of those who used them. I also attend trap shooting competitions where the goal is to use vintage shotguns manufactured in the Victorian era.

PAUL DUFFY

Kris, & Kangaroo & Lyrebird Powder Flasks

I started with British military and sporting arms, as they were available, especially those with colonial markings. But I became fascinated with the art of the gunmaker and the complexity and culture of Islamic and Javanese weapons. Working with metal. and