1943 Long Branch No.4 skeleton with an Australian connection.

[No4Mk1(T)]

I just recently acquired this rather interesting 1943 Long Branch No.4 skeleton action that looks to have an Australian connection.







The little gold address sticker on the butt stock says

PERTH ACADEMY DETACHMENT
BLACK WATCH BN A.C.F.
MURRAY PLACE
PERTH
Then what looks like a postal code.
sorry the pic sucks and is up side down



And and interesting stamp on the top of the barrel. Again up side down:



So does the PERTH ACADEMY DETACHMENT still exist? Is that M inside a star an Australian property mark?

Information

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[Thunderbox]

The ACF is the UK Army Cadet Force, and the Black Watch was a Scottish regiment (recently axed), so i assume it means Perth in Scotland, not Perth Australia.

The "W in a star" is frequently encountered on British No4s, but is not so far verified. Possibly a depot inspection mark.

[No4Mk1(T)]

Perth Scotland! Of course! I just got a Lithgow No.1Mk.III and had Australia on the mind. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks T-box. So the Black Watch disbanded you say. Never a good thing to see a military unit fall to Government cost cutting. It makes you wonder how many young cadets this rifle taught about the inner workings of the Lee design.

[Peter Laidler]

That reminds me of when I was a very young Armourer and one Friday afternoon, just before we all knocked off for the weekend, there was a rumour that I was about to be posted to Perth - - in scotland I hasten to add. Well, it was that or the alternative, a posting to Aden. I went home pretty pxxxed off and moaned to my mother who joined in my anxiety. Perth and Aden were both pretty violent and far from civilisation in any case.

Lo and behold, by Monday morning (and I was late back for some reason that I forget now.....) the place was buzzing and my posting wasn't the Jockland but to Australia............ Didn't stay in Perth long though! The rest is history as they say

[muffett.2008]

Sounds like the wind blew you all the way to Bandiana.

[Beerhunter]

The previous users of the rifle are still around: Black Watch Battalion ACF | Army Cadet Force Although the Detachment seems to have dropped its Perth Academy affiliation and become a so-called "open" unit. Many schools lost their CCF and ACF detachments on becoming comprehensives.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Is the W in a star perhaps a variant of the marking shown in "The Lee Enfield Story" to indicate a cord-Worn, i.e. unserviceable barrel? If so, then one would expect this mark to appear on other non-shootable rifles, DPs etc.

---------- Post added at 04:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 PM ----------

As a piece of utterly useless knowledge, I used to have a Bb clarinet in case, marked to the 2nd Black Watch. Made by Hawkes & Son, i.e. predating Boosey & Hawkes. Gone to a German collector a couple of years ago.

[Thunderbox]

Is the W in a star perhaps a variant of the marking shown in "The Lee Enfield Story" to indicate a cord-Worn, i.e. unserviceable barrel? If so, then one would expect this mark to appear on other non-shootable rifles, DPs etc.

Not really. Its predominantly seen on rifles that appear to be British post-war service rifles, and often appears on specimens that are fairly FTR-fresh.

My own assumption - which is not evidenced by anything other than observation of hundreds of rifles - is that it is an inspection mark applied when rifles were put into UK depot storage. I personally believe that the "W" refers to Weedon, the main post-war rifle depot. I could, of course, be entirely wrong, but thats what the circumstantial evidence seems to point to.

[Brian Dick]

I kept one just like it tagged to the Argyle and Sutherland Highlander Cadets based at Stirling castle.

[No4Mk1(T)]

One thing I do find interesting is how differently we perceive the star marking. I had assumed it was an "M" inside the star as I would orient the star with the point facing up. As I now look at the letter the outer lines are canted inward like this "W" as apposed to the vertical lines seen in an "M".
Could it be from the Quality Assurance Directorate (Weapons), Woolwich?