Tom Mason’s collecting bug began when his father sent him postcards and gifts from places where he was posted during the Second World War. By his early teens he had started his own collection of military memorabilia and began what would become a lifetime obsession with the American Civil War. Pen pals in the US and Canada helped him search for relics.
In 1955, at the age of 18, Mason enlisted into the South Staffordshire Regiment. He served all over the world, including Cyprus, Mombasa, Bahrain, Northern Ireland and Berlin. In 1956, during his time in Cyprus, he was seriously injured during active duty, but he survived and continued his military career until retiring with the rank of sergeant in 1977.
From early on, it was clear that bayonets held a special interest and his worldwide military career helped in sourcing rare items. The result was a huge collection of more than 800 bayonets, that Stroud Auctions is now offering for sale on November 7.