One of the schools still teaching this today is Cane Masters. There you can get your own custom-designed defensive cane (http://www.canemasters.com/).

Men in India often carry canes eve to this day. Usually to beat away the beggars or the stray dogs. They must have picked up the habit from their British overlords.

Fine, but what do you do when someone attacks you with a banana?

This is my grandfather's cane or walking stick. He was British and went out to China in 1901 to work in the Chinese Postal Service (one for the spoils for the European's after the Opium Wars as they forced their influence upon the Emperor and later the Emperess).

The cane is probably from when he first went there and wanted to look his best within the British society that he was a part of, so it is most likely over 100 years old. It is finished in black lacquer, has a silver tip on the bottom and his initials are monogrammed into the top in sterling silver. He only put the M and S but his full name was quite upper class, it was Melton Edwin Arthur Lionel Summers.

I think he used it rarely as it is in almost unused condition. It is something I treasure!

In later life he used a more everyday walking stick but it did have a silver top knob and I have memories of him walking with it in the 1960's before his health failed. One could tell he knew how to use it as he had a certain rhythm as he walked with the tip kicking up in the air in between every other step. Close to 50 years ago and I can still picture him in my mind as he walked.

That's excellent Chris. If I owned that I'd change my name to match the initials.

extremely cool, but I gotta say . . . a cane with the initials S and M? the mind conjures

I think those three regular boys are laughing at teh fancy boys. Who can play in a top hat?

I suspect I'm not going to tell you anything you don't already know, but just in case................

As I have done some family history research of my own, I thought it would be worth Googling "Melton Edwin Arthur Lionel Summers" and came up with a couple of hits on Rootsweb. LINK

You are probably about to tell me that you made the above postings:o

No but I supplied some of the data to my distant cousin, Sam McMutry who lives in Australia where one branch of the Shaws of Ireland went to and he is the one who has posted the tree at the Rootsweb website. Much of the Shaw data can also be found a fairly rare book, "A History of the Clan Shaw".

By the way, my 3rd cousin twice removed was noted author and playwright George Bernard Shaw! The Internet has done wonders for homespun genealogists.

When I looked at Rootsweb and saw 'An Irish Shaw Family' it crossed my mind that there might be GBS connection.
I, on the other hand, seem to be descended from long lines of horny handed sons of toil. Not the remotest claim to fame anywhere:yelsick:

Carruthers

Funny thing is, the main Shaw ancestor that my line descends from was Captain William Shaw who was given a grant of land in Ireland for saving General Ponsoby at the Battle of the Boyne. In reality, my ancestors who owned stately homes in Ireland were Protestant transplants from England or Scotland and were squatters on Irish land.:right:

This is the hidden conversation.

My Grandmother was a Shaw, so we're related... sorta... distantly.


Guess you'd rather I kept that quit, huh? :lol2:

Really surprised to see that this "Infamous" photo is not by Bert Hardy. Just reg with this Site, after coming across what I thought was a Bert Hardy photo.

Welcome, Neil