He had the Mark I version of the standard 1888 Pattern Lee-Metford bayonet issued to all British soldiers fighting in the Boer War. It is an oddity of the Boer War, in the later stages, that bayonets issued to the men were rarely sharpened! The Boers were so elusive on their ponies and scooted away so fast from trouble that one could hardly get close enough to them to take a shot, let alone come to grips with them at bayonetting distance.įound among his effects, and showing signs of extremely heavy usage during the struggle against the Boers, is the bloodied and battered bayonet of Canadian Otto Moody (right and below). Various proof marks (above) noted when a bayonet was re-issued after being stored during a lengthy period of peace. Sometimes even the name of the regiment was stamped, like in the case right, marking a bayonet belonging to the 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Light Infantry. The "pommel" of the bayonet (the metal butt end of the handle) often carried numbers which matched those of the rifle to which the bayonet was mated. In that year the Pattern 1888 was replaced with the 1903 Pattern bayonet.
Wilkinson was one of many companies that manufactured bayonets for the British Army.īelow the ricasso of a bayonet produced under the "domed" Crown of ER (Edward Rex) in 1903. On the "ricasso" (the part of the blade closest to the hilt) are stamped the crown of the reigning monarch, in this case the "flat-topped" crown of VR (Victoria Regina), and the date when the bayonet was made: Feb. The scabbard for all three was made of supple black or brown leather, to which metal guards were stapled to protect it from wear from the sharp parts of the blade.īayonets have their life history engraved on them. The final version, the Mk III used steel rivets instead of brass. The later, MK II right, moved the oil hole back to the metal pommel and spaced out the brass rivets more widely. It was soon replaced with the MK 1 Type 2, which had two large brass rivets positioned close together, set close towards the blade, and with the oil hole beside the top rivet. The extremely rare MK 1, Type 1, had 3 (1 large, 2 small) rivets on the grip with the oil hole among them. It's essential features included a dagger type blade, sharpened on both sides, and big brass rivets holding the wooden grips to the blade. The Boer War Bayonet: To complement the newly introduced Lee-Metford rifle, the British Army adopted the Lee-Metford Pattern 1888 MK 1 bayonet right. Walter Simmonds carried this one all during the Battle of Paardeberg and the March to Pretoria. This was the bayonet the First Canadian Contingent carried to South Africa. The next generation, the Mk 1, Type 2, bayonet with two brass rivets close together. The extremely rare Pattern 1888 Mark I Lee-Metford Bayonet with three brass rivets in the handle Lee-Metford Pattern 1888 Bayonets Mk I to III
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