Help! Colt Revolver with 65 pages of WWI & WWII Records, 6th Australian Light Horse

[malmartini]

Hi All,
I’ve posted this thread to seek information on a pistol with provenance I was lucky enough to purchase.
The original owner has scratched his name on the grips of the Colt, New Service Revolver, chambered for 455 Eley & issued during World War One. It’s in very good condition for a Colt that’s been through war...apart from the grips!
Crudely stamped on the underside of the grips is;
6ALH & N. S. Griffin.
6ALH stands for the 6th Australian Light Horse & the original owner was Noel Sealy Griffin.
I have located 65 pages of information relating to his service during WW1 (46 pages) & WW2 (19 pages) with the National Archives of Australia.
Enlisting as a Trooper in early 1917, he was quickly promoted to Sergeant. Noel embarked to Egypt, with the 6th Light Horse Regiment, being part of the 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigade. By looking at the dates of his records, he was probably involved in various battles through Sinai & Palestine.....the Battle of Beersheba, the capture of Jerusalem, Amman, Jericho, Es Salt & the Egyptian revolt? etc....
He did sustain injuries from a fall from his Horse (not at fault) & archives also mention gunshot wounds to left arm & foot, but are incorrect going by dates & location.
It’s difficult for me to understand military script & abbreviations etc..in these records, but Noels WWII records are even harder to understand.
From Pilot Officer, Flying Officer, Flight Lieutenant, he eventually became Squadron Leader in the Royal Australian Air Force during WWII after working his way up the ranks.
What I would be interested in learning is; Records mention a “Citation for a mention in Despatches”. The problem is how do I locate a copy of this??
From the records I can’t even figure out what type of aircraft he was flying!
I can forward PDF copies of his War records without breaching copyright.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Cheers; Mal

[snookyyyy]

What a great find! that revolver tells quite a tale or two....if only it could talk.

[malmartini]

Thanks Snookyyyy,
Yes its a nice example, I'm more into longarms, but with the amount of history behind the Colt, I just had to grab it! I'd consider trade for a good Australian Light Horse marked SMLE though.....
Cheers; Mal

[A square 10]

great old revolver - i kick myself for parting with the canadian 45 colt version i once had , i think you have a keeper there , congrats