Straight-bladed dirk, which belonged to Midshipman John Shortland (active 1794). The hilt of the dirk consists of a gilt crossbar with inversed ends. There is an additional bar on the obverse of the crossbar, which stands out for nearly 25mm, and has five small balls in its centre. A small gilt foul anchor fills the space between the crossbar and the centre ball. The dirk has a small gilt ferrule. The dirk has an octagonal gilt pommel, but there is no fitting to accommodate a dirk knot. The white ivory grip is fluted. The dirk has a prominent tang button. The steel blade is straight, of flattened-diamond section with a fuller 298mm long, beginning 51mm from the guard and continuing to within 56mm of the point. The blade is of uniform taper and double edged, the reverse fuller being 6mm shorter than the obverse fuller. From the little that remains, it seems likely that the scabbard was made of black leather with two gilt lockets, each with a ring. The top locket has a frog stud in addition. There may well have been a gilt chape. A label attached to the dirk reads, 'USED BY JOHN SHORTLAND, MIDSHIPMAN JUNE 1st. 1797'.

Midshipman John Shortland (active 1794) does not appear in the list of 'The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660-1815' and it may therefore be assumed that he was not officially promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. James's 'Naval History of Great Britain' mentions a Midshipman of this name as being amongst the wounded aboard the 'Marlborough' after Lord Howe's victory of The Glorious First of June. It is highly probable that a mistake occurred in writing the label and the date of '1797' ought, to read '1794'. This dirk is almost certainly contemporary with WPN1007 and is very similar in design.