A scarce weapon from the First World War has surfaced at a valuation day at Kenilworth in Warwickshire.
The use of a club as a fighting weapon dates back a millennia, but this example was used in the highly mechanised era of WW1, when men more often relied on rifles, artillery pieces, and later tanks to make their attacks.
Trench warfare was perilous at the best of times, without the added incumbrance of a fixed bayonet on the end of a Lee Enfield rifle.
The mud-soaked trenches could be waterlogged, or clogged with men, and in darkness, and the brandishing of a bayonet and rifle in a confined space could be problematic, hence the need for a shorter weapon of choice.
Trench raiding parties involved small scale night-time attacks on enemy positions, with the purpose being to kill or injure enemy troops, gather intelligence, or sabotage equipment, such as a machine gun emplacement.
Perhaps more far reaching would be the effect on morale, when men lived from minute to minute, always fearing the next attack or artillery barrage.
With its simple oak handle, and a cast iron head, you might be forgiven for thinking it was a medieval era piece, more at home with a knight or man at arms, but this was a last ditch weapon used by a British Tommy.
Head of Militaria at Hansons, Matt Crowson said: “it’s an unusual piece for us to see, with many being discarded after the conflict, and with the likelihood of the wooden handle rotting away over time.
Desperate times inevitably called for desperate measures, and the sight of a soldier bearing down on you brandishing this would have been a terrifying sight”.
This example is unusual in the fact it has a name punched into the wooden handle, which appears to read as ‘J.Sollis’, which may relate to one of several soldiers by this name who fought in the trenches of the Western Front.
When will it go to auction?
The piece is due to be offered in the February 26th Medals & Militaria auction at Hansons in Etwall, Derbyshire, with a guide price of £100-£200. Click here to find out more.
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