WW2 Loyal Service Bread Knife Manufactured By Ex Service Men

For sale is an interesting piece of history a WW2 Period Loyal Service Bread Knife Manufactured By Ex Service Men.

  This organisation was established in 1920 after WW1 as an umbrella group to represent all Ex-Service Associations in the Sheffield region aiming to present a unified voice on all matters affecting ex-service associations.   The knives in our collection were probably manufactured by a Sheffield cutlery company employing ex-service men who had been injured or disabled during the first world war. A number of Sheffield cutlers were involved but no record of their names remain and hence we cannot identify where this knife was made. A Sheffield company making the cutlery was reported to have an arrangement with the Association to use the inscription 'Loyal Service, Made in Sheffield by genuine ex-servicemen' and 'Loyal Service'.   Very little information remains about the activities of the S.J.C.E.S. M. other than brief newspaper extracts i.e. the Sheffield Daily Telegraph. Monday, November 1, 1940 the first monthly meeting was held in The Comrades Hall where 'progress had been made in overcoming ill-feeling between various groups while achieving a move towards national unity', also that a wing of Wharncliffe Hospital had been taken over for the benefit of ex-servicemen', where they were encouraged to undertake a range of handiwork tasks e.g. woodwork and painting to assist with their recovery. Later articles reported local service men's parades and the renovation of ex-Corporation premises, formerly used for cutler manufacture, to provide meeting/recreation rooms, a library and bar. The organisation also successfully campaigned to have part of the City Hall named Memorial Hall in memory of those who served in the Great War.   During 1938 newspapers reported that a groups of 'salesmen/pedlars were giving the impression that they represented disabled servicemen's organisations and were selling a range of 'shoddy goods' including cutlery marked with the words 'Loyal Service' and S.J.C.E.S.M.'. The cutlery sets being sold for two to three guineas (£2.10 to £3.15), having been bought for 6s ( £0.30). The newspaper commented 'No wonder these super-peddlers stay at good hotels – at Bournemouth they were put up in a hotel near the police station'!. (John Bull, 26 November 1938). There was no evidence that the culprits were caught or when/if the practice was stopped.   S.J.C.E.S.M. is still active in Sheffield, organising the Veterans Parade in June and the November Remembrance Day Parade.   This bread knife is a little worn, but all the details are still clear on the knife blade.    Upon purchasing this please send us a photo of your ID proving your over the age of 18 years.    This will be sent via Royal Mail 1st class signed for and dispatched within two working days.