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Pattern 1897 Infantry Officer's Sword
The 1897 pattern infantry officers’ sword is a straight-bladed, three-quarter basket-hilted sword that has been the regulation sword for officers of the line infantry of the British Army from 1897 to the present day. History The curved, Gothic-hilted 1822 and 1845 pattern infantry swords, although elegant, had been criticised by some as fighting swords. In common with British cavalry swords of the era, they were cut-and-thrust swords. In 1892, a new, straight, blade was introduced, mated to the existing Gothic hilt. Presaging the introduction of the 1908 pattern cavalry sword, the curved blade was abandoned in favour of a straight, stiff blade optimised for the thrust. Credit for the design has been given to Colonel G. M. Fox, Inspector of Gymnasia at Aldershot, who was also influential in the design of the pattern 1908 cavalry sword. In 1895, a new pierced steel hilt pattern was introduced, replacing the earlier Gothic hilt with a three-quarter basket hilt. The new pattern ...
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British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations amongst member states. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and formalised by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931. The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which modernised the comm ...
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Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of Britain and British Empire, its Empire during the First World War. The museum's remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012, the museum aims "to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and 'wartime experience'." Originally housed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill, the museum opened to the public in 1920. In 1924, the museum moved to space in the Imperial Institute in South Kensington, and finally in 1936, the museum acquired a permanent home that was previously the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Southwark. The outbreak of the Second World War saw the museum expand both its coll ...
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British Army Equipment
This is a list of equipment of the British Army currently in use. It includes small arms, combat vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, artillery and transport vehicles. The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. Since the end of the Cold War, the British Army has been deployed to a number of conflict zones, often as part of an expeditionary force, a coalition force or part of a United Nations peacekeeping operation. To meet its commitments, the equipment of the Army is periodically updated and modified. Programs exist to ensure the Army is suitably equipped for both current conflicts and expected future conflicts, with any shortcomings in equipment addressed as Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR), which supplements planned equipment programmes. Infantry section equipment The British infantry section consists of eight soldiers who are normally organised into two four-soldier infantry fireteams. While equipmen ...
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British Service Swords
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton (d ...
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British Forces Broadcasting Service
The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselves. It was established by the British War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ... (now the Ministry of Defence) in 1943. In 1944, it was managed by Gale Pedrick. History Originally known as the Forces Broadcasting Service (FBS), it was initially under the control of the British Army Welfare Service, its first effort, the Middle East Broadcasting Unit, being headquartered in Cairo. Before and after the end of the Second World War various radio stations were set up, some using the FBS name, others using the name British ...
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Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also responsible for the Army Reserve, the largest component of the Primary Reserve. The Army is headed by the concurrently held Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff, who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff. The Army is also supported by 3,000 civilian employees from the civil service. Formed in 1855, as the Active Militia, in response to the threat of the United States to the Province of Canada after the British Garrison left for the Crimean War. This Militia was later split into the Permanent Active Militia and the Non-Permanent Active Militia. Finally, in 1940, an Order in Council was issued to rename the active militias to the Canadian Army. On 1 April 1966, prior to the unification of the Canadian Armed For ...
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Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to People's Republic of China in 1997. Pursuant to the one country, two systems principle, the HKPF is officially independent of the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security (China), Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China, which under usual circumstances may not interfere with Hong Kong’s local law enforcement matters. All HKPF officers are employed as civil servants and therefore required to pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Basic Law. The HKPF consists of approximately 34,000 officers, including the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force, civil servants, ...
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Nickel Silver
Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the element silver. It is named for its silvery appearance, which can make it attractive as a cheaper and more durable substitute. It is also well suited for being plated with silver. A naturally occurring ore composition in China was smelted into the alloy known as or () ("white copper" or cupronickel). The name "German Silver" refers to the artificial recreation of the natural ore composition by German metallurgists.Joseph Needham, Ling Wang, Gwei-Djen Lu, Tsuen-hsuin Tsien, Dieter Kuhn, Peter J Golas''Science and civilisation in China'' Cambridge University Press: 1974, , pp. 237–250 All modern, commercially important, nickel silvers (such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain significant amounts of zinc and are sometimes considered ...
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Shagreen
Shagreen is a type of rawhide consisting of rough untanned skin, historically from a horse's or onager's back, or from shark or ray. Etymology The word derives from the French ''chagrin'' and is related to Italian ''zigrino'' and Venetian ''sagrin'', derived from the Turkic ''sağrı'' / ''çağrı'' 'rump of a horse' or the prepared skin of this part. The roughness of its texture led to the French meaning of anxiety, vexation, embarrassment, or annoyance. Preparation and uses Shagreen has an unusually rough and granular surface, and is sometimes used as a fancy leather for book bindings, pocketbooks and small cases, as well as its more utilitarian uses in the hilts and scabbards of swords and daggers, where slipperiness is a disadvantage. In Asia, the Japanese tachi, katana, and wakizashi swords had their hilts almost always covered in undyed rawhide shagreen, while in China, shagreen, whose use dates back to the 2nd century CE, was traditionally used on Qing dynasty c ...
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Swords In Courts-martial
The usage of swords in courts-martial was an established tradition within the British armed forces. The accused was marched into their court-martial by an escort armed with a sword. Commissioned officers would be obliged to put their swords on the court table as a symbol of their rank and reputation being put on hold. At the conclusion of the hearing, the tip of the sword was turned towards them if they had been found guilty. The practice was abolished in 2004 following a claim that it was demeaning under the Human Rights Act 1998. Practice Traditionally in British courts-martial, all court officials would wear swords as well as all officers, whether they were a witness or were acting for the defence or prosecution. All accused, regardless of rank, would be marched into the courtroom by an armed escort. Officers' escorts would carry a drawn sword. If the accused was not an officer, the escort would carry a drawn cutlass. The accused officer would then have to lay his sword leng ...
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Pooley Sword
Pooley Sword is a traditional cutler and provider of swords, dirks and lances to the British armed forces and also to many Commonwealth and other overseas defence forces. Following the August 2005 closure of Wilkinson Sword's Acton works, Robert Pooley, who had been commissioning swords from Wilkinson’s since 1964, purchased many of the company's drawings, product records, spares, and much of their tooling, including both heavy and light machinery, some dating back to the late 19th century. Sheffield workshops Fundamental processes, including casting and blade manufacture, take place at the Sheffield workshops. Blanks are cut from hardened and tempered sheet steel, then ground to shape. Fullering of the blade is followed by polishing. Work in precious metals is carried out in Shoreham as well as in Sheffield. Shoreham workshops Craftsmen further polish, silk screen, and acid-etch the blades to traditional standards. Chasing and coin-metal plating are performed at this stag ...
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