Thread: Afghan Pistol
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Old 19th July 2015, 05:49 AM   #20
Jim McDougall
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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Shake the Trees, beware, this field is addicting!!!
As I noted, I was soon so heavily into all the native regiments, and I recall one sabre I wanted badly, but the guy would not let go.
It was a Bombay cavalry sabre, beautifully etched etc.
What was incredible was where he got it. I was in Southern Calif then, and apparently one of the big movie studios had been clearing prop warehouses, and there were a bunch of swords from the old 30s movies. This was one of 'em!
They filmed all the old classics out in the desert and valley areas like "Lives of a Bengal Lancer"; "Gunga Din"; and so many others.

One of my favorite memories was visiting a British Brigadier who as a young officer had led one of the last mounted British cavalry charges near the plains in Khyber regions in the 1930s. He authored a book "Last of the Bengal Lancers" (1980s, Brig. Francis Ingall) and had been attached to the 13th Bengal Lancers.

It would be great to see more threads on the weaponry of these units.
Great Britain produced many weapons for these cavalry units, and I once had several tulwars made by Mole of Birmingham.
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