A Very Fine Presentation Sword to the Earl of Dudley. 40” overall with 34” flat etched blade, etched on one side with foliage, Worcestershire Yeomanry badge, Earl Dudley’s crest & ‘Comme Je Fus’ (As I Was) & ‘Henry Wilkinson Pall Mall London’ on the forte . The reverse with initials under a coronet, foliage & in a tablet ‘From Keith Frazer Inspector of Cavalry To William Earl of Dudley Queens Own Worcestershire Yeomanry May 18th 1892’. Three bar Light Cavalry hilt with backpiece embossed with Earl of Dudley coronet & initials. Numbered 31114 on back edge of the blade. Three bar light cavalry hilt with backpiece embossed with Earl of Dudley coronet and initials. Fish skin grip with twisted three strand silver wire. In its plated steel scabbard.
No 31111 for 1892
A superb sword in very good condition with very extensive research documentation
William Humble Ward, 12th Lord Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley & Viscount Ednam, was born 25th May, 1867, the son of William Humble Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (2nd Creation) and Georgina, Elizabeth Moncrieffe. His first marriage was to Rachel Gurney (daughter of Charles Gurney) in 1891. She died in 1920. Amongst his many endeavours, Dudley joined the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars as a supernumerary lieutenant on 18 April 1885 and was promoted to captain on 2 June 1888 and major on 23 September 1893. he served in the Yeoman Cavalry from 1899 to 1900 and became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade from 1895 to 1902. He travelled extensively, becoming Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1902 to 1906, and the Govenor General of Australia from 1908 to 1911. He was also active during the First World War (1914-1918) by commanding the 1st Worcestershire Yeomanry in Egypt and Gallipoli in 1915. During his life he had owned around 30,000 acres of land which included mineral deposits in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, as well as iron works and coal mines. He also had commercial interests in Jamaica. His second marriage was to Gertie Millar in 1924. He died in 1932.
Lieutenant-General James Keith Fraser CMG (20 September 1832 – 30 July 1895) was a British Army officer .In 1855, he served as military attache at Viennna. He gained the rank of Colonel in the 1st Life Guards and was Inspector-General of Cavalry in Great Britain and Ireland in 1891