Knuckle Knife with Scabbard : Able Seaman M Berryman RAN, Operation Jaywick

Knuckle Knife with Scabbard. The two piece slab sided alloy hilt is rivetted on to the tang and is a knuckle duster grip with four finger holes. The blade is double edged with a spear point. The leather scabbard with a button-down knife retention strap encloses half of the grip and has two cuts in the back tongue for a belt. There are no maker's marks visible (although similar examples are marked GREGORY STEEL PRODUCTS on the hilt) but the scabbard is marked 93-2214 in black ink on the belt tongue.

This pattern of knife was issued to S.R.D. operatives on board the M.V. Krait on Operation Jaywick, but not carried by them in the canoes on the raid into Singapore Harbour. This particular knife belonged to Able Seaman Moss Berryman RAN. Fellow Jaywick member Ron Morris elaborates: "During training we used just about every type of weapon it was possible to conceive including mortars, hand grenades, Owen sub machine guns, along with Stens and Bren gun. In addition to firearms we used quite a variety of other potentially lethal weapons such as a knuckle duster sheath blade with the short, extremely sharp pointed blade facing inwards for a follow up thrust into the abdomen after a downward facial blow with the knuckle duster section - a formidable weapon but fortunately not used in reality. On the actual trip most of these weapons were available and although not actually carried on deck they were always available immediately."