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My father, Roy Hallam, served in the RAF in Burma during the Second World War, where he was involved in the liberation of several Japanese prisoner of war camps. In later years he spoke little about the experience beyond saying he'd seen some terrible sights. The Japanese officers (and NCOs) had to surrender their swords, and anyone who wanted one merely had to fill in the appropriate form. Since the war the only action it has seen has been hedge trimming, and it passed to me when my father died in 2005. It is impossible to say what the sword had been used for during its service life. (Nigel Hallam)