Letter from Rudyard Kipling to Stanley Baldwin on Oliver Baldwin

This sword was sold at Bonham's London in their September 2012 sale and came out of estate of the 4th Earl Baldwin. This sword was ordered by Oliver Baldwin from Wilkinsons in 1917 and is numbered 54502. It has the device of the Order of St. Patrick which is the badge of the Irish Guards and has no battle honours on the sword as it was still a young Regiment only formed in 1900. It comes along with a doveskin bag along with a leather case with the intials of ORB. Below are interesting aspects of Baldwin's life and I can only recommend CJ Walker's book 'Oliver Baldwin A Life of Dissent' which takes a symapthetic but not uncritical look at his life. It must be noted that Kipling was Stanley Baldwin's first cousin, who thus, was Oliver's second cousin. The John who is refered to in the letter is Kipling's only son, who was killed at Loos with the 1st Battlion Irish Guards in 1915.