Sword of honour

We knew little more than their names. Arthur Frederick Wright carried the sword, William James 'Jock' Wilson the mace.

Seven days later we know a lot more. Jock Wilson's son, David, got in touch to tell us about life at the Guildhall.

His father was caretaker there for more than 30 years. He came to York with his regiment the Scots Greys. Jock was stationed at the Cavalry Barracks, where the Fulford Road police station is now, and saw action in France in the First World War.

He was in charge of four horses, which were stabled at the Mason's Arms in Fishergate while he was in York. The rings to which they were tethered are still there.

Jock met and married a York girl, Mary Elizabeth Wharton, better known as Polly, and started his service career after the war.

The job of Guildhall caretaker came with very exclusive accommodation. David - also known as "Wee Jock" - was actually born in their Guildhall rooms, situated on the floor above the main council chamber.

"It was a marvellous place to be," he recalled at his home off Acomb Road. "We had two boats on the river. And we had the place all to ourselves at night."

On ceremonial occasions he carried the mace and then succeeded Mr Wright as sword bearer. These are ancient posts that date back to King Richard II's time.

In 1389 the King and his court moved to York to avoid an epidemic of plague in London. For a few months, the kingdom was ruled from here.

As a reward, Richard bestowed honours on the city that last to this day. He proclaimed that mayors could bear the title 'Lord', and a Sword of State and Cap of Maintenance, to be worn by the sword bearer, were given to the city.

Royal permission was also granted for the sword to be carried point uppermost, except in the presence of the sovereign.

This sword disappeared, and was replaced in ceremonies by the Sigismund Sword. According to Swords With A Story, by AL Laishley, it was originally owned by Sigismund, Emperor of Bohemia.

He was also the father-in-law of Richard II, and the sword was hung at the Chapel of St George's at Windsor.

Two years after his death, in 1437, the sword was presented to York by Henry Hanslap who was both Canon of Windsor and Rector of Middleton in North Yorkshire.

It is a formidable looking weapon, 4ft 4ins long, bearing the Royal Arms on one side of the blade and the Arms of York on the other.

The Sigismund Sword is carried on State occasions, defined as when a member or representative of royalty is present.

For lesser ceremonial occasions involving the Lord Mayor, the shorter Martin Bowes Sword is carried. This was presented to the city by Sir Martin Bowes, a native of York and Lord Mayor of London in 1545.

He lived in The Manor House, Peasholme Green - the Black Swan today.

York has a third ceremonial sword, given to the city by razor manufacturers Wilkinson Sword when the city celebrated its 1900th anniversary in 1971.

The Cap of Maintenance now worn by the sword bearer is York's fourth. When the first either disappeared or was worn out another one, made of beaver fur, was created.

This was replaced in 1580 by hatter Peter Wilkinson at a basic cost of 40 shillings, plus 3s 4d for crimson velvet trim. It has a broad, stiff rim, and looks just like an Elizabethan hat ought to be.

Remarkably, this cap was still in use earlier this century. By 1914 it was looking well past its best, however.

The council, rather cheekily, wrote to King George V pointing out that his predecessor had provided the first cap and could he please send a replacement?

He is said to have to have sent cloth from his coronation robes, which was fashioned into a new hat, based on a medieval design, by staff at tailors Andersons.

It cost £22 10s and was first used on Military Sunday, May 16 1915.

The wearer is meant to doff his cap before the sovereign, but not before God: it is worn when he enters York Minster.

As for the mace, the original no longer exists. The one carried today dates from 1646.

The Cap of Maintenance above the Sigismund Sword and the mace, crossed, forms York's unofficial coat of arms.

It was created when the Mansion House state room was decorated in 1726. At one end of the room was the royal coat of arms and it was thought York's arms - a shield with cross and five lions - paled alongside it.

The cap and swords logo has no authority from the College of Arms. Jock Wilson carried the mace at the event featured in last week's photograph.

Reader David Poole undertook some research and dated it to July 1924, when the Lord Mayor of London Sir Louie Newton visited the Great Yorkshire Show at Knavesmire.

His York counterpart was then Alderman William Dobbie, who later became Rotherham's MP. Jock also carried the mace the following year when former Prime Minister David Lloyd George was made an honorary freeman of York.

He went on to carry the sword on numerous occasions, including the first visit of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to the city in 1949. William Simpson carried the mace alongside him.

Now 92, he recalled how Lord Mayors "came to us for advice. Most of them didn't know how to go on."

Both he and Jock were in the thick of it during the German bombing raid of York in 1942. Jock was firewatching at the top of the Guildhall.

He saw the incendiary bombs creating havoc across the city. Then the Guildhall itself took a direct hit. "I was blown out of bed," said David, who was ten at the time.

With his sister and mother they took refuge in the ARP headquarters in the cellar. From there they could see the Guildhall burning and, across the river, the Rowntree's sugar warehouse and Armstrong lubrication plant on fire.

Unknown to them, Mr Simpson was fighting these blazes. Even though the actual Guildhall itself was gutted, the assizes procession continued to be held there - with Jock Wilson and William Simpson proudly carrying the sword and mace.

More information on this subject can be found in Hugh Murray's articles the Cap of Maintenance and the City's Shield of Arms in York Historian Volume 5; and the Mayor's Esquires in Volume 6. Contact him on (01904) 620883 for back copies.

PICTURE: David Lloyd George, fourth right, is made honorary freeman of York in 1925. Jock Wilson carries the mace. The Lord Mayor is Sir Robert Newbold Kaye.