The sharpest way to keep the soldiers of #WW1 entertained

These newsreel clips show sword displays filmed during #WW1.

6:30AM Aug 22 1914, UK Captain Charles Beck Hornby, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, uses aPattern 1908 sword (officer variant the Pattern 1912) to strike down a German soldier. It is reportedly 1st British to take out an enemy soldier of #WWI

Newsreel clip, IWM NTB 258-1, shows Lord Desborough fencing. Ex-Corporal-Major Eggleton is helped by "Mr Holman James (Fred Lindsay)"

Newsreel clip, IWM IWM 202-1, released Jan 17 1916. It shows Indian soldiers in Europe doing a "Khattak" demonstration or ritual sword dance.  The Khattak (Pashto: خټک) tribe are a Pashtun tribe located in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This newsreel film clip, IWM IWM 508-10, released on May 17 1917, shows a percussion band playing Moroccan instruments in accompaniment to a sword dance.

This newsreel clip, IWM IWM 1061-07g, shows a sword demonstration by ex-Corporal-Major Eggleton of the Royal Horse Guards. Also, 2/3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) take part in fencing on horseback

Jan 27 1918 In Crecy Forest, France war photographer David McLellan takes this photo, IWM Q 8515, of a sword display in a Chinese labour camp. Some 140,000 Chinese served in the Chinese Labour Corps 中國勞工旅 in both UK and French forces in #WWI, of which around 2,000 died.

The Sphere Magazine Aug 4 1917 publishes a photo of a Grenade Unit squad. One seems to have a sword or machete.

Jun 20 1916 South-east of Remaugies, a Senegalese, 62nd Bn Tirailleur, and his coupe-coupe machete (Cote: VAL 433/139) Colourized by Memento
Jun 22 1917 Paul Castelnau, A 12 092 S, colour autochrome.

Jul 24 1915 #OTD In Le Sart, France, photographer H.D. Girdwood takes this photo, Ref ID: 24/(98), of ¼th Gurkhas at kit inspection showing the famous #Kukri knives (खुकुरी) used by Nepalese soldiers