red "R"

I have a No. 4 Mk 1 (T) 1945 BSA Shirley. Numbers all match. The rifle telescope case has a large 2" upper case red "R" written on it in crayon. Dose anyone have any ideas ? I have had this rifle for 48 years.

Keith

Hi. Senior NCO's have been doing that sort of thing for eons. Same idea as putting white paint on S/N's, etc. Makes it easier to count for inventory. No idea what an "R" might mean though. It's entirely possibly it has nothing to do with the scope or rifle.

Could it be a destroyed / chipped "B"?? The B on mine is red and I was told stands for "Bloomed lenses".

Normally the “B” for Bloomed is in blue, the “W” for waterproof is in red.
I haven’t seen a red R before, maybe some pictures of this will help the members identify it better.

And they are marked directly on the scope tube itself, not on the scope tin, at least, never in my experience. I'm with Sunray; it probably relates to some long ago inventory, indicating the tin & contents had been checked for whatever.

Probably just the arms storeman marking the case to remind himself to put it in for "repair" after first parade Monday morning. Entirely possible it's got no official meaning at all, hence, it's written in crayon.