1944 Maltby No.4 Mk1

[jojoevo]

Found this under my trigger guard. " AH " or " HV ". Not sure of which way to read it. Looks like it has a decimal point either above or below each letter. Not sure of other marks. I cannot find anything about it. Does it have any significant meaning?

Information

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[Badger]

Hard to tell from the pics, but is that marking scratched on?

Here's a link that will help with official markings.

It's a site provided by Amatikulu with some good information to bookmark for the future.

Lee Enfield Rifle Markings (click here)

Regards,
Badger

[Peter Laidler]

A lot of the little marks were called 'stage inspection marks' whereby unless the part was stamped by an inspector at a certain stage in, say, the machine or hardening shop, it wouldn't be passed on to the next stage. So you could have, say, 5 different marks for 5 different inspectors indicating that a certain process had been completed and passed as suitable for the next process.

At the factories, a lot of these inspectors were the skilled (but not necessarily highly skilled ex apprentices) machine setters who knew that stage of the process

This stage marking happened at Base workshop during FTR overhauls (A big REME Base workshop was in effect a factory with factory facilities) where different colour tags were stuck on the worksheet to indicate that the weapon, gun, vehicle or instruments had passed a certain stage and were ready to be forwarded to the next stage, such as, say, hardness testing or painting or range testing.

It prevented a bit of kit getting all the way along to the Out-Inspection bay and failing for something that should have been inspected and sifted out much earlier on. I can tell you how frustrating it was to have rifles fully overhauled and like brand new but falling by the wayside at the last hurdle
because they couldn't be zeroed.

I just throw this is as a little explanation for the varied different marks that you find scattered over the rifles in different places

[jojoevo]

Thanks Badger and Peter,
There is no "FTR" or "FR" stamped anywhere on barrel or receiver.The AH look to be stamped, I don't think you can scratch something that precise. Other marks look like they are scratches.
Anyone else have stamp marks in this location? If so,what are they?

[Peter Laidler]

I should think that EVERY UK made Mk1 will have inspectors marks there. The Mk1/2's and 1/3's have a part of the new trigger mounting bracket brazed over that area.

[me2]

I have a 1942 Maltby with stamps located as yours are. Was this practice only used by Maltby as my Fazakerley & BSA #4's have no markings in that area.

[Peter Laidler]

I'm sure that they'll have similar markings elsewhere. The underside of the breeching-up ring was another favourite location. Another was the flat area to the rear of the sear axis pin hole.

Incidntally, if you're a Bren Gun fiend and reading this, they feature in the barrel locking nut recess. At one time we had a list of these Enfiield Bren inspectors. I knew one of them, Peter Quick and he commented that '.....after twenty thousand or so..........' I know what he means!