***NOW SOLD***Mint Condition 1st Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes Dagger Perviously Owned By Lieutenant Colonel Sir Philip Brocklehurst - One of Ernest Shackleton's NIMROD Antartica Team Members and Silver Polar Medal Recipient.

Sir Philip Lee Brocklehurst (1887-1975)

Lieutenant-Colonel and Explorer

2nd Regiment Mechanised Brigade of the Arab Legion (WW2)

This dagger was gifted by Sir Philip Brocklehurst to his Doctor and friend (name given to purchaser) in Staffordshire, where the family seat was at Swythamley Hall. The Doctor and Sir Philip Brocklehurst were friends and regularly shot together during the late 1960s and early 1970's. The dagger was gifted by Sir Philip Brocklehurst as he had been treated by his friend, the Doctor in later life. This provenance has been given to us direct by the Doctors son, whom we obtained this rare dagger from directly.

Sir Philip Brocklehurst was born at Swythamley Park, Staffordshire, in 1887. His grandfather John Brocklehurst had a silk weaving business in Macclesfield and was a Member of Parliament; his father Philip Lancaster Brocklehurst was created a baronet in 1903. Sir Philip Brocklehurst succeeded to the title, as "2nd Baronet Brocklehurst, of Swythamley Park, Leek, Staffordshire", on 10 May 1904. In 1904 he joined the Territorial Army in the Derbyshire Yeomanry, where he was later promoted to Major in March 1916 and Colonel in 1924. Brocklehurst was educated at Eton College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he left without taking a degree. He represented Cambridge University at boxing in 1905, 1906 and 1907 as a lightweight against Oxford University, and obtained a half blue.

Ernest Shackleton, looking for members of his proposed expedition to Antarctica, met Brocklehurst in London in 1906, and was impressed by his boxing achievements. Brocklehurst offered to contribute to the expedition funds. The appointment was confirmed in May 1907; he was Assistant Geologist. He travelled independently, paying for a first-class passage to New Zealand, where he joined the other members of the expedition on the Nimrod. After a base was established in Antarctica at Cape Royds in February 1908, he was one of a party which climbed the volcano Mount Erebus (unclimbed until then). The party of Edgeworth David, Douglas Mawson, Alistair Mackay, Eric Marshall, Brocklehurst and Jameson Adams started on 5 March. Brocklehurst suffered from frostbitten feet and was unable to complete the climb; the others reached the summit on 10 March. Afterwards, a big toe had to be amputated because of frostbite. He was not chosen for the polar party but was part of the support party which accompanied them for part of the way. The four-man polar party, intending to reach the South Pole, eventually reached a Farthest South latitude of 88° 23' S, 97.5 nautical miles (180.6 km; 112.2 mi) from the pole. Brocklehurst, as a member of the shore party of the expedition, was awarded the Silver Polar Medal in 1909.

He planned to join Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914. However, he gained a commission in the 1st Regiment of Lifeguards, and he sailed to Flanders in October 1914. He was shot in the left shoulder after 11 days in Belgium, and after recuperating in London he returned in February 1915. In 1918 he transferred to the 9th Sudanese Battalion of the Egyptian Army, where he served for two years.

During the 1930s, Brocklehurst and his wife, and an estate employee, travelled in a car across the Sahara Desert. In the Second World War, he commanded the 2nd regiment of the Mechanised Brigade of the Arab Legion and later joined the British Council for Palestine-Transjordan.

The Dagger

A stunning example of a 1^st Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes dagger and scabbard fully authenticated by the world authority and author on Fairbairn-Sykes daggers.

Sir Philip Brocklehurst commanded the 2nd regiment of the Mechanised Brigade of the Arab Legion and later joined the British Council for Palestine-Transjordan and this ties in very nicely with the custom-made scabbard on this 1^st Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes dagger as the pop studs are all middle eastern marked). The blade and entire dagger are in near mint condition with only light signs of service carriage. The scabbard is in superb condition and is unique. The blade is in as close to mint condition as one could ever hope to see and with this provenance is a unique and highly desirable 1st Pattern. Blade has pristine logos to both sides and the blade has its needle point, which is perfect and original issue length.

This is a superb 1^st Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes dagger, which is both unique in its personalisation and provenance.

New York Times regarding Sir Philip Brocklehurst's death: LONDON, Jan. 29 (Reuters). Sir Philip Brocklehurst, Army officer and Antarctic explorer, died last evening at the age of 87. Sir Philip was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's medal for his part in Sir Ernest Shackleton's British expedition to the Antarctic in 1907. 

This item is available to view at our antique shop only - we will not be listing it on our website or emailing pictures to individuals via email, forums or other social media platforms. This is a unique example with unique provenance and must be seen. The is possibly the finest example that is currently available with regard to condition and provenance.

***SOLD - 05/07/2021***