It should be remembered that service dress and peaked caps were issued up until 1964 in boys regiments; having said that these lads look a bit older than 15 or 16.
Printable View
Firing the sub cal. for the Charlie Guts ache was always a challenge using the 6.5x55 indoor round.
Sounds like fun guys....
---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:05 PM ----------
Many thanks for the pics, proving beyond doubt that the flaps saw service in the early part of WW2 at the least.
It's reasonable to hypothesise in that case, that these were already attached to WW1 dated rifles, withdrawn from stores, or, perhaps more likely, older rifles allocated to War mobilised TA units in 1939.
Here's my example, it appears to be correct?? Bought about 6 years ago from World wide Arms and sourced by them from Nepal, as I recall...
It cost me £49 at the time.
If the group agree its an original, perhaps the pics could join the library as reference?
Nope its a Repro made in Yorkshire
but has had a makers name stamped into it at a later stage ( in the last 10 years! these copies were not marked apart from the crows foot)
Enfield SMLE Flanders Flap Muzzle Cover | Repro
That's a pity........although the 'M Myers & Son' has been individually hand stamped, which is a bit of a warning........mass produced items would have had the markings rolled on in all likelihood.
Does anyone know if any of the originals were marked with just a broad arrow & were devoid of a maker's mark/logo? A collector that I know in Northern France, who has a track record of turning up much high quality stuff, had a piece of rust stained knotted string with six of them threaded on it, when I met him at a show about fifteen years ago. They had an old faded looking blued appearance &, as mentioned, bore no markings whatsoever, save for a small (smaller than in Mr Clark's example) broad arrow. They were priced at a figure that made them rather expensive if repro's (not that there was a glut of repro's then), but pretty fair if originals. IIRC he gave a story that they had turned up from the collection of a very old recently deceased local collector.....but I am well aware that one buys the item not the story. I know the very fact that he had six of them might suggest they must be copies, but they looked good, & I had dealt with him before & had never seen him passing off anything I could see was fake. I bought three, one for a friend, & two to keep. If I'd been totally confident that they were genuine I'd have bought the lot. I still don't know for sure one way or the other......worth a photo for the opinions of those in the know?
Hey, I only paid £50, so ho hum, it's a very good repro. Thanks for that info Andy.
Looks like someone was 'slightly economical' with the truth shall we say and had gone to some effort to add age, etc.
I never ever buy the story, the very first lesson all collectors learn, usually the hard way!