Arms collecting and nostalgia

[Ed]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Ed, you can say more in several words than I can in pages!
Of course, those items were ubiquitous in virtually most boys backyard epic battles!

Particularly after bingeing on Ivanhoe and Robin Hood with the sainted Richard Greene.

I made a bicycle inner tube castle defense cross bow thing that fired a 3 foot plat stake. To this day I shudder at the thought of shooting it at another kid. I did BTW but somehow realized that it wasn't a great idea.

Let me rephrase that: it was a great idea, just not if aimed at other kids.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ed

Particularly after bingeing on Ivanhoe and Robin Hood with the sainted Richard Greene.

I made a bicycle inner tube castle defense cross bow thing that fired a 3 foot plat stake. To this day I shudder at the thought of shooting it at another kid. I did BTW but somehow realized that it wasn't a great idea.

Let me rephrase that: it was a great idea, just not if aimed at other kids.

Yikes Ed! You must have been a formidable foe in these 'war games'. Most of the stuff was 'wild west' with the popularity of the western films, but the popping cap guns were pretty harmless. BUT, BB guns (the trusty Daisy and Red Ryder) rifles uh, ouch!

[Jim McDougall]

As a boy of about 9, I saw the movie "King of the Khyber Rifles" with Tyrone Power. My interest in the British in India was already raging with "Gunga Din" and "Lives of a Bengal Lancer". This movie, in color, was larger than life, and it seems there were caves and drama, intrigue which fascinated me. However, the title made a deep impression and I wondered in years to follow, 'just WHAT was a Khyber Rifle?
I did not recall or realize that the character in the movie was Capt, Alan King, played by Tyrone Power.
Years passed, and in the early 70s, I saw a newspaper article about the Khyber Pass titled something like 'still heading them off at the Khyber' and mentioned the 1953 film.......I was gone!!!

Years of research led me to the book "King of the Khyber Rifles" (Talbot Mundy, 1916) the basis for the movies..............then further I found that this was based on Sir Robert Burton titled "Eighteen Years in the Khyber" (1900) and told of his exploits commanding native units there in late 19th c.
Like in the Mundy book and movie, Warburton was both British and Afghan.

The 'Khyber Rifles' were a British army police levy comprised mostly of Afridi forces who were originally armed with their own tribal jezail long guns. These tribesmen were deadly snipers with these guns as told by Kipling in his famed poem "Frontier Arithmetic". ....and the book by Warburton has one of these on the cover (pictured).

In time the unit replaced the jezails with the modified Snider-Enfield rifle , a muzzle load musket converted to breech loading. A number of years later, these were replaced with the Martini-Henry rifle, also breech load.

So HERE were the KHYBER RIFLES, actually a British paramilitary unit in the Khyber Pass, and THESE were the types of rifles used.
The seeds of my curiosity planted in that movie seen as a young boy, and recalled two decades later, sent me on a quest researching this to the present day, and acquiring these rifles.
The badge was incredibly elusive and found one just two years ago.

[corrado26]

The only firearm I can remember and which has been very impressiv for me as a youngster was the "silverrifle" of Winnetou, the chief of Apaches, written by Karl May

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by corrado26

The only firearm I can remember and which has been very impressiv for me as a youngster was the "silverrifle" of Winnetou, the chief of Apaches, written by Karl May

This is a fascinating entry Udo!!! The best thing about this kind of discussion is not just sharing memories and inspirations from sources we recall as kids, but learning about things we may not have known about.
I honestly had never heard of these stories, but it explains a lot about the European fascination with the 'wild west' in the late 19th century.

I wonder what type of rifle or gun was being depicted in the illustrations, and what I could find described it as a 'double barrel' gun, yet it has the artists rendering appearing to be in the form of a Kentucky long rifle.
While not nit picking with accuracy in the historicity of the wonderful literature and movies we saw as youngsters, it is interesting to look into what models or influences might have affected writers, artists and producers of films.

Thank you for adding this! Excited to learn more on "Winnetou" !

[gp]

Originally Posted by corrado26

The only firearm I can remember and which has been very impressiv for me as a youngster was the "silverrifle" of Winnetou, the chief of Apaches, written by Karl May

did you not see "Lederstrumpf" with Hellmut Lange.....?

or am I too old...☺☻☺

[werecow]

As a Dutchie, I also grew up with Floris, and Ivanhoe of course! And of course there were the three musketeers.

And I think various versions of Robin Hood instilled a moderate bow and arrow obsession in me. My sword collecting elementary school friend and I used to shoot bamboo shoots from the yard into the air randomly with his bow (it's kind of amazing we survived childhood now that I'm thinking about all the weaponry again, even if most of it was fake) - which in hindsight I think may have been some form of Indonesian traditional bow; I remember it was small but too heavy for us to fully draw, and had a quiver attached in front of the grip, kind of like the one below (but I think smaller and with a different curvature). I've just recently started dabbling in archery again.

[10thRoyal]

As someone born in the 90's, and I know I am going to get laughed out of here for calling this nostalgia, but I have to give some love to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. I am sorry Ralph Bakshi fans but it is the superior version.

Lord of the Rings was probably my first intro to arms and armor, and I watched those movies so many times that it's burned into my brain. And they weren't totally made up weapons either! They were semi-functional looking. And it lead me to reading a ton of Wikipedia pages on weapons and armor. And then i bought books on arms and armor. And now I'm here!

My brother asked for a chainmail hauberk for Christmas shortly after the second movie. I also received a cheap "El Cid" sword. I'm pretty sure that hauberk is the only reason my brother isn't full of holes.

And now I can watch those moviea and go "oh, I love Anglo-Saxon motifs on those swords guards". And I still love those movies.

[Ed]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

As a boy of about 9, I saw the movie "King of the Khyber Rifles" with Tyrone Power. My interest in the British in India was already raging with "Gunga Din" and "Lives of a Bengal Lancer". .

Great story, thank you for sharing.

[Ed]

How could I have forgotten?



A movie theater was literally around the corner from me when I was a kid. I went to see this (alone!!!) and stayed in the theater for 3 showings. I was 8.

Thinking about it, it explains a lot.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ed

How could I have forgotten?



A movie theater was literally around the corner from me when I was a kid. I went to see this (alone!!!) and stayed in the theater for 3 showings. I was 8.

Thinking about it, it explains a lot.

Absolutely, a great movie!! Theater that close would have been a real problem for me...probably would have moved in!!!
While its great having movies etc available endlessly in our own homes these days, I really miss the big screen of theaters (and popcorn)
In the small town in Texas where I live, the only theater is closed and the nearest is a considerable distance in the next city.

[Victrix]

As a child of
7-9 years old I developed a strong interest in history. My favourite TV series was “Once upon a time.” (See pic below) Maybe it partly triggered my interest. My grandmother also encouraged it. When I reached my early teens she gave me the best Christmas gift ever! She gave me the cavalry sword of her late brother who was an officer in Kungliga Norrlands Dragoner stationed at K4 in Umeå. That triggered my interest in swords. Sadly her brother passed away at a relatively young age from tubercolosis. She kept his sword all those years and then gave it to me when she sensed an interest. Now it proudly hangs on the wall in my study.