At a radio rally this morning, for a tenner, this
The chap selling it said that it had been his dad’s and that dad had flown in the RAF at the end of the war and for a little while afterwards. The seller believed it was fitted inside aircraft to help aircrew escape in the event of a crash (basically you could chop your way out through the fuselage skin). He pointed out the govt ‘arrow’ stamp in support of this story.
Looking more closely when I got home I could see a part no 27N/1 also stamped in and it seems it is one of these although the internet says that it was actually a general purpose axe used for quite a few tasks.
Mine is quite rusty and has no edge on it but it might clean and sharpen up with a bit of effort. Given their commitment to passenger safety I’m sure Easyjet will understand if I explain why I want to carry it on in my hand baggage “just in case”.