WWII dagger for sale - but not here

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Dagger used by hero commando on daring WW2 raid behind enemy lines before he was caught and executed by the Nazis goes up for sale​

  • Private Reginald Makeham went behind enemy lines during Second World War
  • He was one of 12 men who helped destroy a vital Nazi power plant in 1942
  • The officer was caught and executed at Sachsenhausen concentration camp
  • Now, Makeham's dagger is being sold at auction with a guide price of £2,000
 
Looks like a 1st pattern Fairbairn-Sykes, pretty rare.

I'm curious how they traced at back to Private Makeham. British Commandos were taught to try and pass themselves off as RAF fighter pilots (but not bomber pilots) to try and garner better treatment and explain why they're behind enemy lines. Not likely the soldier would have put his name on such an identifiable piece of equipment.

No reason to believe it's not legitimate but there are people who will find old blade and attach it to a popular war hero or engagement to push the price up.

​

 
Apparently the story is that this knife was damaged and left with his family, and he was issued a new one. The knife has been consigned to an auction house "by one of his descendants". No way of really knowing where the knife actually came from though. The seller could have bought it for $20 at a flea market last week.....
 
Arathol said:
Yeah, that would be the part of the story where the knife was damaged......broke off inside a Nazi sentry.....or maybe dropped on the kitchen floor.....
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...probably a kid into a carpeted wood floot :)
 
Arathol said:
Yeah, that would be the part of the story where the knife was damaged......broke off inside a Nazi sentry.....or maybe dropped on the kitchen floor.....
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It's a popular belief that the tips of these fighting knives were broken off in order to prevent them from hitting a bone (ribs) and getting stuck in them.
 
meako said:
So was it used by Makeham in the daring raid or left with family??? Obviously not both...making the whole deal spurious.
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Obviously not used in Operation Musketoon, because, well, he was captured, sent to a concentration camp and killed by the SS. The knife according to the story was left with the family at some point before....supposedly......
 
AbjectTestament said:
It's a popular belief that the tips of these fighting knives were broken off in order to prevent them from hitting a bone (ribs) and getting stuck in them.
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I'Ve read that too, but would think a little twist or side to side motion would free it easily. One might want a sharp tip to pierce leather. I think there's been a lot of pointy tipped knives before and since that were effective weapons, which belies that folklore. I always thought that the tale was a seller's fiction to justify more money. :)

When I was more stupid I broke the tip of a "theater" dagger by throwing it in a tree. Luckily it was successfully reground. I have a hunting knife that had it's tip broken off in a barn door and it was thrown aside to be rescued and reground by my uncle.
 
With the utmost respect for Pvt Makeham...the story of where this blade or is it another blade? has been has more holes in it than stalag 17s exercise yard.
 
Provenance is hard to come by, makes me worry that for sale but not here, on a knife forum where knives are constantly sold, I mean no disrespect but thing sounds fishy, left behind with family,any documentation or other pics with the family at the time? original description says used on the raid, I am sure it would not have survived intact and also says maybe given to family and another used on raid.
 
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I think Hogan’s Heroes was stalag 13, but I did enjoy the movie Stalag 17, and one of my favorite ones is The Great Escape, based on a true event where 76 Allied prisoners escaped, 50 were shot, others captured and I think two or three made it back home.
 
Hogans Heroes had some beautifully drawn characters and scripts...
You'd think I would know the number of the pow camp....I watched it every afternoon as a kid.
But lets face it...the dagger for sale was not used in combat then after they shot him kindly returned to his family back in blighty...sounds about as far fetched as Inglorious Basterds...and why did they spell bastards wrong?
 
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