WW1 British Officers Presentation Sword Stick to Capt. W Smythe, Catterick - 1914

Here on offer is a fine quality WW1 British officer’s presentation sword stick that was presented to Captain W. Smythe, by the officer’s mess at Catterick in 1914.

I haven’t been able o find out any information about the service history for Captain W. Smythe, but he warrants further researching effort to uncover what he did during WW1.

The sword stick appears to be made from a light-coloured mahogany or possibly Hawthorne wood.

The circular domed top has an inlaid disc of real amber or possibly amber coloured Bakelite.

The metal fittings are made from polished brass and consist of a brass olive fitted between two brass collars at the top and a brass ferrule with steel tip at the end.

The lower of the two collars is engraved with:

Presented To
Capt. W Smythe
By The
Officer’s Mess,
Caterick – 1914
“God Speed”

I believe that “Caterick” has been misspelled and should read as “Catterick”.

Now Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town 3 miles (5 km) south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world.

Some related history:

The siting of the garrison was first recommended by Robert Baden-Powell who founded the Scouting movement in 1908 whilst he, as Inspector-General of Cavalry, was based at the army barracks—at that time located in Richmond Castle. On 12 August 1914, the order was issued for the construction of the camp, following the outbreak of the Great War. The original intention for Catterick was to be a temporary camp to accommodate two complete divisions with around 40,000 men in 2,000 huts. The base was originally named Richmond Camp until being changed to Catterick Camp in 1915, later modified to Catterick Garrison. It was primarily used as an army training camp for soldiers during WW1 and also served as a prisoner of war camp at the end of the WW1.

The idea to make Catterick a permanent military barracks was first suggested after the partitioning of Ireland in 1921 and the required land was purchased and building plans were put forward in 1923. By the mid-1930s most of the camp's facilities were complete.

During the Second World War the camp was once again used to house prisoners of war.

The sword stick handle twists with a bayonet pin lock, to withdraw a close quarter short sword. The 12” diamond shaped, four-sided steel blade tapers to a needle point.

One side of the blade is stamped with the maker’s mark, ‘MOLE’ which relates to the well-known English sword maker, Robert Mole of Birmingham, England.

The blade is in great condition but now has some greying to the finish and a very slight curve to the blade.

The stick itself is in excellent condition with just some light scratches and tiny hairline cracks on the domed top.


Dimensions: Cane 32” blade 12”


The blade measures 12” (30cm) long and the whole stick is 32” (81cm) long.

It weighs 255g.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

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Code: 51252