I selected the best four I could find and negotiated a price, and two months after our return to England they were delivered to my home. It was ‘Christmas in August’ and I set about cleaning them up. The first of course was a painstakingly slow affair as I struggled to understand their construction. I teased out the pins from the wooden stock and unscrewed the barrel tang from where it is secured to the base of the trigger plate. Then I carefully lifted the 39 inch barrel from its old wooden bed. The brass ramrod pipes were easy enough to remove and revealed large hidden deposit (deposits) of green pasty brass oxide accumulated over generations of monsoon damp and baking summer heat. The renovations became more efficient as I tackled each subsequent musket and I felt a real bond with the craftsmen who originally assembled them. Their initials and those of the inspectors were often to be found impressed into the metal parts. It was a fascinating journey of discovery for me and the muskets are now added to my collection.

A friend whom I first met some 25 years before when we both served in the Royal Marines became intrigued and decided to buy a few for himself so we returned to Udaipur together and went through the same ritual with the muskets being laid out for our inspection. By this time Mary-Anne had agreed that I could buy a further six but politely declined another visit with me. So, Julian and I were like two kids in a sweetshop for a very enjoyable couple of days with Gajendra and this time we were able to tour that part of India with Gaju as he is known and his young son Pradeep. The six hour car ride to a desert town to see a local Maharaja’s weapons collection should have been avoided after the amount of beer we consumed the night before but we chaps never learn, do we?

I replied that one or two swords and the like would indeed be a fun thing to have. I had obviously missed the point because Gaju then emphatically pointed out that he wanted us to buy all 55 muskets and bayonets, and about 120 swords of various types. This mission creep needed some careful thought and of course, a call back to England.

Fifteen minutes later I was introduced to Gajendra Pariah Singh whose family business (run since 1815 by coincidence) specialized in the manufacture of weapons and Damascus steel blades. How refreshing to meet a man who completely understood my quest and then proceeded to lay no fewer than 36 original Brown Bess muskets on the ground for me to take my pick. My wife, Mary-Anne knew she was going to be in this for the long haul and sat patiently sipping tea whilst I inspected this treasure trove of flintlocks.

East India Company Muskets

The Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur

I suppose there are times in life when you just throw caution to the wind and after looking at what the worst possible financial outcome could be we decided that it was not such a crazy idea to say “Yes”. Only a little buyer’s remorse crept in to haunt me in the early hours. I decided to view this as a good sign.

Swords, pistols and bayonets from Sharpe’s Challenge

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Overall it was a superb visit and after concluding our business we spent many happy hours with Gaju’s family exploring the amazing medieval city of Udaipur with its teeming bazaars and of course the internationally famous Lake Palace Hotel, a white jewel of a building which seems to float on the surface of the lake.

It was during this visit that Gaju asked me.

”Mr Clive” (he insists on addressing me in this manner), “have you ever

heard of Sean Bean and

Sharpe’s Rifles?”

Obvious reply from me.

“They are making a film called Sharpe’s Challenge in Jaipur, (another beautiful city in the region of Rajasthan), and our illustrious family business has been graced with the contract to provide the weapons for the filming. When the shooting of the film is over would you be interested in buying the weapons from me?”