Australian Pattern 1907 Lee Enfield (No.1 Mk.I or Mk.III?) bayonet

Picked this up on an earlier antiquing adventure. Initially thought it was a Ross bayonet, but I was wrong. Researched the markings as best I could, and found the "OA" markings on the blade and the scabbard referred to the Small Arms Factory No.2 at Orange in Australia, which produced most of these P1907 bayonets for Australian service, starting around July of 1942. Below the "1907" and "1" (Mk.I) stampings on the blade, are an "8" and a "43", which are the manufacture dates, specifically the month and the year. Therefore, this tells me that this bayonet was part of a batch produced in August of 1943.

The seller mentioned that it may have seen service with the Indian army at some point, but I have yet to find concrete evidence to support that.

There are also no serial numbers on the pommel, so that's where my research stops, but this is a very neat piece that is in decent shape (shame about the wood filler used to cover the screws on the grips of the bayonet, but I'm not about to rip it apart and attempt to restore it).

Knowledge is power and will save you money in the long run.   This post is certainly a classic case of an uninformed overzealous collector not doing any homework and then turning to the internet to sort out the problem.   My suggestion is that before you go and buy anything else, you at least invest in a few good reference books so that you will be armed with some basic knowledge about what you are buying and will not have to rely on the word of vendors or the internet.   A couple of books that may help you out are: Equipment of the WWII Tommy - Revised and Expanded - 2010 ISBN 1-57510-151-4 and The Canadian Soldier - From D-Day to VE-Day - 2003 ISBN 2-913903-51-7.   Trust me, they are investments you will not regret and good luck in your collecting.

Quick bayonet lesson.


Pattern 1907 Sword Bayonets



Ross M1910 Bayonet

Ed is not wrong. I agree that knowledge is the key. Both books he has mentioned are IMO, the tops for reference.

A good example of trying to source information for the internet was the conflicting and out right wrong information I got from a few sites, while researching the A.P.R. badges.

For the record, I initially thought it was a Ross bayonet prior to purchasing and researching it. I looked at some images of Ross bayonets afterward and knew I was wrong and yes, the seller had corrected me after that, but the correction is what led me to purchase it in the first place. Once that was done, then I went on with researching markings.

Furthermore, this was the second bayonet I had ever purchased, with the first being a socket bayonet from a far earlier period. Forgive me for not having a library of reference material prior to venturing into the world of collecting the occasional military antique here and there. I've only collected a goulash of civilian antiques up until this point. Come to think of it, I haven't had reference material for anything that I've collected thus far, and it's all turned out peachy anyway.

That is not to say that life does not provide learning experiences, this is indeed helpful (albeit a tad unnecessarily scolding, but no matter). And while reference material is crucial and handy when you need it, sometimes that's the joy of this whole thing, learning and discovering as you go along, sometimes after you've already brought it home and are studying it (in moderation and depending on what you're picking up of course).

Food for thought anyhow, not sure when I'll be picking up the next bayonet. Could be a couple of weeks, could be a couple of years.