The Stalingrad Sword is one of the most notable swords in modern times and was specially forged as a gift to the Russian people in 1943.  King George VI  and Sir Winston Churchill together decided  that a ceremonial sword should be made for presentation to Stalin to commemorate the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII and in recognition of the importance of the battle. The battle  of Stalingrad  was  the greatest  and bloodiest battle of  WWII, it lasted for 200 days, between August 21st 1942 and February 2nd 1943.  The Red Army lost around 400,000 soldiers and 40,000 civilians dead, whilst the Germans lost around 200,000 soldiers including six whole divisions completely obliterated in the cauldron of death that was Stalingrad.  This battle however, was the turning point for the Russians and from then on the German war machine was on a downward spiral until their entire defeat in 1945. The Stalingrad sword was designed in 1943 by R.M.Y Gleadowe, who was a former Slade Professor of Fine Art at oxford, it took three months to complete to be presented to Stalin and the people of Stalingrad now name Volgograd. Gleadowe drafted out six designs and the King finally approved of one of them, this design was then sent to a committee of nine members of the Goldsmiths Hall who supervized the work that was undertaken by the best craftsmen in England. The sword blade itself was forged by the famous company of Wilkinson Sword and two swordsmith's were selected for this important task, they were the 86 year old Tom Beasley and his assistant, Sid Rouse.  Beasley was born in 1860 and began work at the age of eight helping his father at the family forge, his family had been sword makers since the early 1700's. Below expert swordsmith Beasley and Rouse  working on the sword. The company of Sanderson Brothers and Newbould of Sheffield were selected to supply the special steel for the blade.  The 36 inch double edged blade once made was acid etched with the words: "To the steel-hearted citizens of Stalingrad, the gift of George the Sixth, in token of homage of the British people" ...and the same was etched on the reverse side of the blade in the Russian language.  The Russian wording was supervized by Sir Ellis Hovell Minns, who was a Slavonic iconographer and also the President of Pembroke College, Cambridge. One of the best gold and silversmiths at the time was actually serving in the R.A.F and he was Corporal L.G. Durbin ( 1913- 2005 ).  Durbin was granted special leave from the R.A.F after the Institute and Company Of Goldsmiths asked for his assistance in completing all the intricate gold and silver work which was to adorn both the sword and the scabbard. He worked on the sword at Meadow Road, Kennington, UK at the forge of Frank Adam, his tutor at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts.  Durbin created the silver quillon (or crossguard) for the sword.  The ten inch wide quillon was crafted from solid silver and showed carved leopard's heads at each end, the handle was bound with 18 carat gold wire, with a ferrule of red enamel on silver at each end. Durbin personally selected the shimmering rock crystal which was carved to make the pommel, held in place by the rose of England in gold. The scabbard was covered with crimson Moroccan leather and fitted with silver embellishments bearing the Royal  Arms, Crown and Cipher with three gold mounted Soviet stars.  Overall a very ornate and beautiful work of art. After the Wilkinson sword had finished all the work, the 4ft 2in long sword it went on "whistle" tour, being displayed in every major British city before being transported to Tehran.  Sir Winston Churchill later handed the sword to Stalin on behalf of King George VI in the Ballroom of the Russian Embassy at the Tehran Conference on November 29th 1943. Amongst those present at the ceremony was President Roosevelt, the British, Russian and U.S Chiefs of Staff.  The most revered out of them all however, was Marshal Klimenti Voroshilov, who was noted as "The Defender of Stalingrad".  Just to mention here: Voroshilov retired to private life at the end of WWII as he was more popular amongst the Soviets than Stalin.  Stalin would possibly have had him killed to preserve own his status. In 1944, the citizens of Stalingrad presented approximately 30 special folios to Beasley for his work and dedication on the sword.  One book, containing numerous rare photographs of Stalingrad and its people was presented to Sid Rouse, this portfolio is now in the possession of his grandson John Dixon, who today still carries on the family sword making tradition. The original Stalingrad Sword hangs in the Battle of Stalingrad Museum in the city of Volgorad, Russia.  There were three additional Stalingrad swords made by Wilkinson Sword at the same time. It is stated that Wilkinson Sword is currently arranging a long term loan of one of these priceless swords to the Medmenham Collection at the Military Intelligence Museum in Bedfordshire UK. Distinguished neurosurgeon Martin Lewer-Allen is the owner of one of the three swords and is pictured below pulling the exquisite sword from its illustrious scabbard.

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