G'day Guys,
I was lucky to acquire this sword recently. It is a standard 1796 light cavalry trooper's sword maker marked to Osborn. What makes it special is that the scabbard has a silver plaque inscribed "Balaclava Charge 25th Oct. 1854". Both the sword and scabbard are also marked 17L 37. Richard Dellar in his book "The British Cavalry Sword 1788-1912" describes three similar examples. Two of these are also marked 17L and one 4H. Richard thinks 17L stands for 17th Lancers and 4H for the 4th Hussars and that these swords were presented to the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade. To date only these 4 examples have been documented. I have been searching for evidence that these 1796 sabres were presented to the survivors of the Charge, but haven't been able to uncover any new evidence. Later photos of survivors show them with all sorts of swords, but I haven't yet found a photo of a survivor with one of these 1796 sabres.
Cheers,
Bryce
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