Stick, Swagger

A swagger stick is a short stick or riding crop usually carried by a uniformed person as a symbol of authority. A swagger stick is shorter than a staff or cane, and is usually made from rattan (a family of lianas or long-stemmed vines). Its use derives from the vine staff carried by Roman centurions as an emblem of office.

In the British Army before the First World War, swagger sticks were carried by all other ranks when off duty, as part of their walking out uniform. The stick was a short cane of polished wood, with an ornamented metal head of regimental pattern. The usual custom was for the private soldier or non-commissioned officer (NCO) to carry the stick tucked under his arm. Cavalrymen carried a small riding cane instead of the swagger stick of infantry and other branches. 

This practice was restricted to the Army and Royal Marines, and was never imitated by the other services, although T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) when enlisting in the Royal Air Force (RAF) under the name of Ross mentions airmen under training at the RAF Depot at Uxbridge carried swagger sticks. It is thought this practice was limited to the depot.

Until 1939 swagger sticks were still carried by peacetime regular soldiers when “walking out” of barracks, but the practice ceased with the outbreak of the Second World War. Uniforms are no longer worn by British army personnel when off-duty, and the swagger stick has become obsolete.

The swagger stick at the bottom was used by HCol Ken Langridge, founder of the CSS Museum.

Stick, Swagger  - Swagger Stick complete  (1)

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