I have to ask this.
Was there a long standing tradition of this bit of kit being issued to the Royal Artillery, and was it's sole purpose to aid the gun crew in brush clearing, or were there other unique artillery purposes for which this item served?
I ask because a different, more traditional machete was standard issue with every CMP Tool Kit during World War Two, and it came with a protective sheath. It seems odd that two different designs would continue to be produced when the economies of war would suggest consolidation to one standard design, if they were both serving exactly the same purposes.
That's why I ask if perhaps it was purely a tradition the Bill Hook Machete was kept in production? Tea cups rattled in Artillery Officer's Messes around the world at the very thought of giving it up???
David