Photograph courtesy of Wellington College.(MacKean is second left from the backrow)
This sword recently bought from the UK, and is best told by a well known collector, its former owner.
"It's a typical fighting sword of the Edwardian period, and was carried by a young officer in the 10th Jats during service in India and in Mesopotamia during the Great War. It's a Wilkinson "Patent Solid Hilt", which British sword collectors will know differed from traditional patterns in having a full-width tang continuing into the handle (as opposed to a more slender "rat tail" tang running through a hole in the grip). This innovation gave the blade additional strength and reduced the likelihood of the blade parting company with the grip at a critical moment. You can see the construction in one of the photos where the grip scale has chipped, revealing the tang beneath.
This sword also has an unusual scabbard chape, almost certainly of Indian manufacture rather than original Wilkinson, which is rather gracefully shaped with a decorative nibbled edge. This may have been an in-life replacement, or the whole scabbard may be a local pattern specific to the regiment (I'd be interested if anyone else has ever come across an example like this).
The sword has been sharpened for active service and has the owner's family crest of a hound and the motto "J'ai d'Esperance" (I have hope). Research into the Wilkinson proof book records has revealed that this sword was carried by Lieutenant Ralph Ashenhurst Mackean, who was born in July 1888 and graduated from the Royal Military College in 1908, being briefly attached to the 1st Royal Irish Regiment before his transfer to the Indian Army. His first official posting was to the Indian Staff Corps in December 1909, and he was formally gazetted into the 10th Jats a year later. During his time with the regiment they seem to have been mainly based in the Calcutta area, as befitting an old regiment of the Bengal Army which had its recruiting base in the province. When the First World War broke out, however, the 10th Jats were mobilised and eventually saw service in Mesopotamia, becoming part of the 18th Indian Division. The "Mespot" campaign had its fair share of disasters, not all military, and disease and sickness took as heavy a toll on the troops as actual combat. Such may well have been the case with Ralph Mackean, since he was permitted to retire from the Army in September 1917 on the grounds of ill health. He died childless in 1956 at 78."
I have recently been able through the kind offices of Wellington College to find his Blucher photograph. He is the second person standing on the left back row behind the house master.
The clan crest of the MacKean.
