Last update: July 11, 2020
English M 1855 oval bore Lancaster carbine and modified Snider carbine. Superb long bright finished pipe back blade with a Birmingham inspection mark Crown over B and a Birmingham Repair mark, Crown over BR 12 , on the ricasso. Blade spine is marked Crown over B 72 and P G Excellent brass pommel is marked A H C (= Army Hospital Corps) and dated 8 / 1879. It also has an older regimental marking: 4. Co 3. (= Royal Engineers ) Pommel with excellent blued external spring fixed with a screw (=Second type), also shows another Birmingham inspection mark B 72 over a crown. The black checkered leather grips, fixed by tree small rivets, are a little bit swollen and the checkering shows wear on one side only. All exceptable and not very serieus. Excellent brass crossguard with muzzle ring MRD 20.2 mm. and a straight quillon with final.
The by Charles Lancaster of London develloped and Birmingham produced unique oval bored carbine and its bayonet was adopted by the corps "Sappers and Miners" in 1855. The bayonet is often called so. In 1857 the corpsname Sappers and Miners was changed into The Royal Engeneers and the bayonet was called: "Lancaster bayonet" .
After a long service life, finally the Lancaster bayonet was issued to the Medical corps, where it was carried as a side arm til c.1906. This is one of the very first and a former Royal Engeneers bayonet which was re-issued in August 1879 to the Medical corps, since is it marked: A H S.(Army Hospital Corps, raised in August, 1857) Later in 1898, the name A H S was changed to Royal Army Medical Corps and the bayonets became marked R.A.M.C.
There were only approx. 10.000 Lancaster bayonets ever produced, but many survived.
Beautiful and hard to find bayonet. No scabbard.
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