The history of the British bayonet goes back to the 17th century, and because of this the British bayonet is one of the more interesting types of militaria to collect. The definitive work on the subject is undoubtedly British & Commonwealth Bayonets, by Skennerton and Richardson (ISBN 0-949749-04-4, copyright 1986, published by Ian D. Skennerton, distributed in Australia by Arms & Militaria Press, PO Box 80, Labrador 4215, Australia, and in North America by Arms & Militaria Press, PO Box 5659 Grants Pass, OR 97527 USA, and by I.D.S.A. Books, P.O. Box 1457, Piqua, OH 45356 USA), from which most of the information presented here has been gratefully pilfered. Information about the cyphers has been lifted from British Enfield Rifles, Volume 1, SMLE (No. 1) Rifles Mk I and Mk III, by Charles R. Stratton (ISBN 1-882391-16-0, published by North Cape Publications, P.O. Box 1027, Tustin, CA 92781 USA).

The information on British Regimental markings is extracted from British Military Bayonets from 1700 to 1945 , by R.J. Wilkinson Latham, 1967, Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) LTD., 178-202 Great Portland Street, London W.1.

Manufacturers and armorers stamped information on each bayonet about when and by whom it was manufactured, when and where reworked (if ever), and the like. Being able to read and interpret these markings enables the collector to ascertain some information about the weapon and possibly deduce some of its history, all of which adds to the collectibility of the piece. The following tables and diagrams illustrate the more common markings found on British and Commonwealth bayonets, organized by country.

Items in italics are updates based on personal communications.

Contents

• Terminology - names of bayonet parts
• Cypher - Great Britain
• Cypher - India
• Markings - Great Britain
• Markings - Australia
• Markings - Canada
• Markings - India
• Markings - New Zealand
• Markings - South Africa
• Markings - Miscellaneous
• British Regimental Markings
• Examples

Terminology - Names of Bayonet Parts

The names of the various parts of the bayonets and associated scabbards are listed in the following table and illustrated in the following diagrams.

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Cypher - Great Britain

On British manufactured weapons the cypher consists of a stylized crown (the style of which changed over time) above the initials of the reigning monarch. The initials, monarch, and dates of reign are indicated in the following table.

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Cypher - India

On Indian manufactured weapons produced prior to about 1952, the cypher also consists of a stylized crown above the initials of the reigning monarch, but the letter "I" (for Imperator) is added to the initials. In approximately 1952 (a few years after Indian independence) the crown was changed to an Ashoka (four crouched lions) and the initials were changed to R.F.I, for Rifle Factory Ishapore. The corresponding initials under the cypher are indicated in the following table.

(The cyphers on weapons produced in India are somewhat different. I cannot be certain that the following information applies to Indian-produced bayonets (since I don't own any), but it does apply to rifles and so the information is provided here for the sake of completeness.)

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Markings - Great Britain

The following table lists the main markings found on British-manufactured bayonets. During (and after?) World War II Great Britain stamped manufacturing codes (much like Germany did) instead of manufacturer names on weapons parts. The table below does not contain all the codes, but rather just the ones used on bayonets, as identified in Skennerton's book.

Note: World War II codes consisted of a letter ("N", "M", or "S") followed by a number. "N" stands for "North", "M" for "Midlands", and "S" for "South".

Markings on British bayonets

Marking	Meaning
or	Government acceptance mark
	Sale or sold out of service mark
'89	Manufacture date (1889)
11 17	Manufacture date (November 1917)
CHAPMAN	J. Chapman; maker
EFD, D, or ENFIELD	Royal Arms Factory, Enfield; maker or repairer (D - post 1925)
J A C	J. Chapman; maker
MOLE	R. Mole; maker
RE	Remington; maker
SANDERSON	Sanderson Bros. & Neubold; maker
S & N	Sanderson & Neubold; maker
W	Winchester; maker
WILKINSON	Wilkinson Sword Company; maker
W.S.C.	Wilkinson Sword Company; maker
	Hopkinson; maker
	Royal Ordnance Factory, Poole
B. & J. S. Ltd	B. & J. Sippel Ltd.
	Vickers, Crayford; maker
F.F. & S. Ltd	F. Fisher & Sons, Ltd.
F 191	France-British Electrical
H.G.	Barrow, Hepburn & Gale Ltd.
J.W.(S) Ld	J. Wilson Ltd.
S. M.	Hopkinson contract (L1A4 bayonet)
S.M.C. or S.M.	Singer Manufacturing Co.; maker
	Scottish Motor Traction Co.
	Cinque Port Artillery
V.N.S.	Viners Ltd.
M 1	Accles & Pollack
M 44	J.B. Brooks & Co. Ltd.
M 47 A	Birmingham Small Arms (B.S.A.), Small Heath; maker
M 53	Camelinat Ltd.
M 58	Jabez, Cliff & Co. Ltd.
M 78	Elkington; maker
M 121	W.J. Hill Ltd.
M 158	J. Lucas Ltd.
M 166	M.C.L. & Repetition Co. Ltd.
M 198	Morris Springs
N 26	F. Fisher & Sons, Ltd.
N 30	Howard & Bullough; maker
N 56	Prince-Smith & Stells; maker
N 64	Sheffield Steel Products
N 67	Singer Manufacturing Co.; maker
N 69	London Sand Blast & Decorative Glass Works
N 76	Temporal Spring Co. Ltd.
N 79	Viners, Ltd.; maker
N 96	Baird Engineering; maker
N 152	B. & J. Sippel Ltd.
N 165	Restwell Spring Co.
N 187	Radcliffe; maker
S 7	Auto Engineering
S 9	Barrow, Hepburn & Gale Ltd.
S 41	Grundy, Ltd.; maker
S 67	London Sand Blast
S 68	Lines Bros. Ltd.
S 128	Wembley Tool Co.
S 158	Bramlands Engineering
S 169	Chiswell Wire Co.
S 191	France-British Electrical
S 195	H.E. Gibbs
S 200	Gramophone Co.
S 201	Grant & West Ltd.
S 229	McLoughlin Machinery Ltd.
S 268	Shalston Engineering
S 286	Vanden Plas (Eng) 1923 Ltd.
S 294	Wilkinson Sword Company; maker
S 356	N.J. Edmunds Ltd.
S 361	S.E. Norris & Co.
S 376	Lewisham Engineering; maker
S 377	Joe Thompson
E-M	Enfield-Martini
R.A.M.C.	Medical Corps
U.M.P.	Ulster Mounted Police
ONTEX	Retailer's name (commercial bayonet)
	Board of Ordnance acceptance mark
	War Department acceptance mark (discontinued in 1895, although it's been reported on examples dated 1897 as well)
	Enfield Royal Small Arms Factory (R.S.A.F.) inspection mark
	Birmingham R.S.A.F. inspection mark
	B.S.A. inspection mark
	Wilkinson inspection mark
	Birmingham R.S.A.F. repair mark
	Solingen mark, British inspector
	Liege (Belgium) mark, British inspector
	French mark, British inspector
	Cancellation mark
*	Corrosion or rust mark
N	Naval service
L	Land (Army) service
D.P.	Drill purpose
	Downgraded, usually to drill purpose
	Bending mark, proof of blade

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Markings - Australia

Markings on Australian bayonets

Marking	Meaning
	Department of Defense
	Department of Defense
A.M.C.	Army Medical Corps (New South Wales)
LITHGOW	Manufactured at Lithgow
LYSAGHT	Manufacturer
MA	Manufactured at Lithgow
MANGROVITE	MANGROVITE Belting Pty. Ltd.
N.S.W.	New South Wales
N.S.W.G.	New South Wales Government
OA	Manufactured at Orange
P.P.M.S.G.	Victorian marking (Port Phillip)
Q.N.C.	Queensland Naval Cadets
S.A.	South Australia
SLAZ	Slazenger (wood only)
V.A.	Volunteer Artillery (New South Wales)
V.V.	Victorian Volunteers
W	Waxed finish, scabbard
W.T.	William Tranter
	Colt (US manufacture) (but possibly not; additional research underway)
	Queensland Government
	Queensland Police
1 M.D.	1st Military District (Queensland)
2 M.D.	2nd Military District (N.S.W.)
3 M.D.	3rd Military District (Victoria)
4 M.D.	4th Military District (South Australia)
5 M.D.	5th Military District (Western Australia)
6 M.D.	6th Military District (Tasmania)
	Australian Forces, or Royal Australian Air Force (not certain)
	Early Lithgow inspection mark
	Lithgow inspection mark
	Orange inspection mark
	Government acceptance mark
	Lithgow manufacture mark
	Early Lithgow proof mark
	Early Lithgow manufacture mark, with pattern acknowledgement (1907)
	Australian manufacture mark with pattern acknowledgement, as seen on Pattern 1907 and Owen bayonets
	Scabbard marking
	Bend test mark, proof
9/47/R	Refurbished, with month & year
10 '44	Month and year of manufacture
	Sale mark

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Markings - Canada

Markings on Canadian bayonets

Marking	Meaning
	Canadian Government ownership mark
	Canadian Government ownership mark (post-WWII)
B C B G A	British Columbia Brigade fo Garrison Artillery
B C P R	British Columbia Provisional Regiment of Garrison Artillery
C R I	Canadian Regiment of Infantry
D C	Dominion of Canada
H L I	Hochelaga Highland Light Infantry (reserve unit from Galt, Ontario)
L C	Lower Canada
L C M	Lower Canada Militia
M D	Militia & Defense
M & D	Militia & Defense
NELLA	Nella Cutlery, maker of C7 bayonet
O R	Oxford Rifles
P E I	Prince Edward Island Regiment
P E I G A	Prince Edward Island Garrison Artillery
P W R	Prince of Wales Regiment
Q C B I	Queens County Battalion of Infantry
R C A F	Royal Canadian Air Force
R C N	Royal Canadian Navy
R C R	Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment
R R C I	Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry
s	for Spencer rifle (found on elbow)
U C	Upper Canada
U C M	Upper Canada Militia
V M I	Volunteer Militia Infantry
V M R	Volunteer Militia Rifles
V R	Victoria Rifles
	Ross Factory inspection mark
	Quebec Arsenal inspection mark
	Long Branch
	Canadian Arsenals Ltd.
	Canadian Arsenals Ltd.
10/15	Acceptance date (into service)
	Cancellation mark
	Stevens-Savage (United States)
	Stevens-Savage (United States)
	Victory Plastics (U.S.-made Scabbards)

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Markings - India

Markings on Indian bayonets

Marking	Meaning
	East India Co. ownership marking, Quartered Heart
(script)	Various Indian script letters for issue marks and numbers
R.F.I.	Rifle Factory Ishapore
F R 55	Factory Repair, 1955
J.U.	(unknown) Jhelum Arsenal
M.I.L.	Metal Industries, Lahore
N.W.R.	North West Railways
S & R	Swinburn & Son (?)
	Bend test mark, proof
1 41	Date of manufacture, January 1941
	Indian Government ownership marking, later version of E.I.G. mark
	East India Government ownership mark, pre-Great War
	Inspection mark, for East India Co.
	Inspection mark, for East India Co.
	Ishapore inspection mark
	Indian inspection mark
12 / 14	Conversion date, December 1914

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Markings - New Zealand

Markings on New Zealand bayonets

Marking	Meaning
	Ownership marking
	Ownership marking

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Markings - South Africa

Markings on South African bayonets

Marking	Meaning
S.A.	South Africa
S.A.P.	South African Police
MAKERS S.A.R. & H	South African Railways and Harbors Dept.
A E Co	Manufacturer's initials
	Cape Government, South Africa
	Union of South Africa
	South Africa Defense Corps (current)

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Markings - Miscellaneous

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British Regimental Markings

Some British bayonets have regimental markings stamped on the pommel (and possibly elsewhere). These identify the regiment of the British Army to which the bayonet was issued; when a bayonet was re-issued to a different regiment, the original regimental markings were normally lined out like this, and the new regimental markings were stamped near the original ones.

To properly decode the regimental markings one needs to know what the abbreviations and letters stand for. The following list summarizes the regimental abbreviations as of 1881. Pre-1881 numbers are difficult to establish as to the date of change. Some regiments have the same number pre- and post-1881 but the majority have changed, i.e., pre-1881 20th Foot were East Devons; post-1881 20th Foot are Lancashire Fusiliers.

The regimental markings are normally (but not always) expressed in the following form:

decodes to the 42nd bayonet of the 3rd Company 1st Battalion of the Leinster Regiment.

Volunteer / Militia / Reserve markings are different, and are normally (but not always) in the following format:

For example,

decodes to the 3rd Company, 3rd Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. In this type of marking,

V = Volunteer
Y = Yeomanry
M = Militia
R = Reserve

The placement of these markings is indicated in the following table.

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Examples

By way of illustration, below are the markings on 2 British bayonets in my collection, and my (probably partially incorrect) decoding of them:

Example 1

Location	Markings	Interpretation
left ricasso		Pattern 1903, manufactured December 1902
top of spine		Enfield inspection mark
right ricasso		Enfield manufacturer, Enfield inspection mark, Indian inspection mark, bending proof mark

Example 2

Location	Markings	Interpretation
left ricasso		Pattern 1907, manufactured August 1918 by Sanderson
right ricasso		Enfield inspection marks, bending proof mark
left pommel		Canadian government ownership mark

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