"Folded up" British bayonet frogs.

[Peter Laidler]

I would only disagree with Old Smithy with a great deal of trepidation......... When I joined as an apprentice in January 1963 we had No4's and spike bayonets. And for years afterwards small units at home and abroad had No4's and spike bayonets and I never saw frogs folded up. If this were the done thing, it'd be written down somewhere like the 1954 Equipment Regulations. It was these equipment regulations that the stated quite clearly that the brass buckles etc etc of the 1937 pattern webbing were not to be polished but left to dull naturally. That was all well and good but most CSM's and RSM's hadn't heard of them - or less still, read them. And if HE said the brass buckles were to be polished, then guess what happened?

Additionally, during the parade ground order 'SQUAD WILL FIX BAYONETS......... SQUAD........FIX.....' The rifle is pushed forwards to the extend of the right arm and at the same time, the left arm/hand grabs the socket (of the No4 or No9 bayonet), twists it round through 90 degrees and you pull the bayonet out DOWNWARDS out of the scabbard. In doing this, the frog is twisted/rotated downwards to suit. On the next command, a few seconds later of "....BAYONETS....' you fix the bayonet to the rifle, tap it to make sure that it's fixed firmly and bring the rifle back into the right side while the left arm is brought sharply to the left side. None of this could happen if the frog were short or folded as shown. These drills were the same with all the bayonets from the old No1's, No4's and right through to the No5's.

Incidentally, there was no method of fixing the No7 bayonet onto the No4 rifle 'on parade'. Don't ask me how I remember all of these drill movements. Just drummed into you so it became like acting by rote