Some of the last flotsam retrieved from Alfred J Parkers........

I think I've mentioned before that DT & I managed to buy some of the spares that were left behind at the death of AJP. We met up with the late Edna's niece & great nephew. Most of what we purchased were springs, screws, No4 butts, & such like, but in the back garden, lying where they had slowly been mouldering away for several decades, were some items that caught our attention. They were, & still are, in terrible condition, with seized catches, & with whichever surface that was lying in contact with the ground, pretty rotton. But, with enough work, salvageable.......

We picked them up in about 2007, but it took till a fortnight ago for my friend to bring them over to me so that, hopefully this year, we can start to do some restoration work on them. And I must check to see if there are any four screw hinged examples, as my 90L rifle could do with one! There was a total of nineteen all told, although a few have sold 'as is' & both of us have a couple already set aside for our own use.

Anyway, feast your eyes, or wring your hands in despair, as is your wont.....:ugh:

Well, at least you got them. Such as it is. I was called to go through a great stock of chests for the #7 rifles that we held in Bn back in about '92(?) and they were in every condition possible. I rescued a number and sold them off while the rest went to the dumpster... There must have been 50+ of them.

Not so long ago a major UK deactivated weapons supplier was burning Bren chests simply because most people didn't want the chest with their Bren, & they simply didn't have the space to store them. They gave me a number, & also let me scrabble about in their grounds where they'd had the bonfire on my hands & knees so that I could fish out some of the furniture!

I am not proud......:)

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Originally Posted by Roger Payne

Not so long ago a major UK deactivated weapons supplier was burning Bren chests simply because most people didn't want the chest with their Bren, & they simply didn't have the space to store them. They gave me a number, & also let me scrabble about in their grounds where they'd had the bonfire on my hands & knees so that I could fish out some of the furniture!

I am not proud......:)

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Roger (Skip-Rat) Payne !!!

For our cousins over the pond :
Skip = Dumpster
Skip Rat = Dumpster Diver

Quote:

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

Well, at least you got them. Such as it is. I was called to go through a great stock of chests for the #7 rifles that we held in Bn back in about '92(?) and they were in every condition possible. I rescued a number and sold them off while the rest went to the dumpster... There must have been 50+ of them.

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Several years ago I managed to snag about 4 of those CNo7 crates for $50Cdn each. A shop in New Westminster had them.

Yes, with a little effort & maybe a touch of luck you can still land on a bargain now & then!

A little more on the transit chests that just occurred to me. There must have been rather more originally, as Edna used to sell them refurbished to anyone who could afford her prices. It is easy to tell one of her refurbs as they were painted in a 'battleship grey' rather than the more usual shades of green/brown. Parkers originally acquired them for free when Alfred J Parker bought surplus rifles in the 1950's. Edna told me that the government disposals bods used to throw away the internal chocs from the chests, & then they could fit three No5 rifles in each chest. This was convenient, as Alfred used to pay six shillings & eight pence per rifle (three for a pound!). Over a period of time they accumulated quite a lot of No15 chests.

Roger,
How much for the Cocker Spaniel I think it is in the background :lol:

We've two Gil............that one is Abbie, & she's a daddy's girl! In fact, as I type, we've just got back from chasing squirrels in the park!:)

Some years back I found a few sets of the hasps and latches that had obviously been recovered from a burn pile. Have also a set or two of very similar ones in brass. The design was common to a variety of crates and chests for purposes other than S.A.