3-071-079 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sword of Honour presented to General Sir F. Roberts by the City of London, 1881. '...the Corporation of the City of London presented their freedom, with a sword of honour, to this distinguished officer, in recognition of his late services in the Afghan War...This sword was manufactured for the occasion by Messrs. Hunt and Roskell. The scabbard is of standard gold, and at the upper part, near the hilt of the sword, is decorated with representations in high relief of the Orders of the Bath, the Indian Empire, and the Victoria Cross, surrounded by branches of palm...below...are heads of the Indian tiger and African elephant... together with the lotus, the serpent, and various palms...The ornamentation is continued in the form of tablets bearing the names of the principal engagements in which General Roberts has figured - viz., Delhi, Lucknow, Cawnpore, Umbeyla, Looshai, Abyssinia, Peiwar Kotal, Char-Asiab, Cabul, Candahar...The hilt of the sword is of ivory, terminating in a lion's head, and delicately carved with oak-leaves, emblems of Valour and Fortitude, and the cross-piece of gold bears on one side the arms and supporters of the City of London, and on the other the arms and supporters of General Roberts'. From "Illustrated London News", 1881.