BACKGROUND: Midshipmen, in the Royal Navy, had been armed with a dirk for several hundred years because it was the weapon of choice for the young officers when they were called to lead boarding parties on to enemy ships. In 1939 the Royal Navy abandoned the practice of issuing dirks to its midshipmen. 

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: An 1879 pattern British Royal Naval Midshipman’s Dirk with its brass mounted leather scabbard. The sword has an 18 1/4", nickel/silver plated, thrusting blade with a cross hilt, a white, brass wire wrapped, fish-skin grip, and lions head pommel. The unsharpened blade has a false edge that runs about half way down the blade. Embossed to on the ricasso is "Matthews & Seagrove Ltd", "London", "Portsmouth", and "Devonport". The crossguard has acorn tipped quillons, one pointing up and the other down, and a medallion with a crowned fouled anchor within a laurel wreath. One quillon has a hole through which a locking spring attached to the scabbard passes. The white fish-skin grip is brass wire wrapped and has a gilt lions head pommel with a mane that extends all the way down the backstrap and a brass ring through its mouth. From the shape of the crown this sword would most likely have been made between 1910-1936 during the rein of King George the Fifth. The brass mounted leather scabbard is about 18 3/8" long with geometric patterns etched into the brass and two brass hanging rings to either side of the top brass mount. Mounted to one side of the top, by two screws is a spring clip that extends past the throat of the scabbard and locks the dirk in place when inserted into the scabbard. Engraved to the top brass mount is "G.E.O.B". The scabbard is still in good condition although the leather is starting to lose its stiffness between the hangers and there are a couple of dings to the lower brass end.. The dirk is in very good condition with the blade still bright with only minor marks to the edge, and the hilt and pommel are still in very good condition with the wire still intact on the grip and most of the gilt remaining on the pommel. A very nice example of a turn of the century Navel Midshipman’s Dirk.

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