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Thread: SMLE MkIII Butt Disc Identification.

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  1. #1
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    SMLE MkIII Butt Disc Identification.

    I have just bought an Enfield SMLE MkIII and need some help in identification of the butt disc if possible. To the left of the disc is a C over what looks like B C A with the number 395 underneath, to the right of the disc are the letters HV, all of the marks are very faint. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
    The bolt is a rematch and has the letter U on the bolthead?
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    Peter Laidler's Avatar
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    if it's RGA, then RGA = Royal Garrison Artillery and HV is well known about

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    Thanks for that Peter but who or what was the "Royal Garrison Artilery" and where would they have been based? I can't find any reference to the "B.DIAS" on the stock disc, it is very well struck, could it actually be someones name? The "Broad Arrow" book shows the "15" as the Territorial Force County Association identifaction for Cardigan but then again...

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    Names on butt disks are invariably to do with private property or a club rifle - I doubt there is any military service connection.

    Royal Garrison Artillery was one of the three parts of the Royal Artillery between 1899 and 1924:

    Royal Field Artillery (RFA) - artillery used for most battlefield tasks
    Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) - lightweight high-speed gun teams that could keep up with cavalry
    Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) - heavy emplacement artillery as used in static coastal defences and fortresses. Some of these big guns were deployed onto the battlefield in WW1

    In 1924 the RFA and RGA were re-amalgamated into the Royal Artillery. The RHA remained (albeit mechanised) as a sort of career filter for Gunners.

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    Legacy Member Merlin266's Avatar
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    This disc is fitted to my 1918 no1mk3* anyone make sense of it! it has a crows foot stamp on the reverse side
    Last edited by Merlin266; 06-18-2014 at 05:57 PM.

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    Legacy Member Merlin266's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Merlin266 View Post
    This disc is fitted to my 1918 no1mk3* anyone make sense of it! it has a crows foot stamp on the reverse side
    http://s54.photobucket.com/user/usernamechanged/media/imagejpg1.jpg.html

    Last edited by Merlin266; 06-18-2014 at 06:09 PM.

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    AOC = Army Ordnance Corps ?

    B.DIAS = Personal name (Dias is a common Portuguese/Spanish family name)
    Last edited by Patrick Chadwick; 06-18-2014 at 06:05 PM.

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    AOC = Army Ordnance Corps ?
    Army Ordnance Corps it is...but an October 1900 issue date raises some obvious doubt as to the disk's originality in a 1918 MkIII*

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    Legacy Member Bathurst72's Avatar
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    Hello, what does AFA on a Lithgowicon star marked disc mean????

    cheers

    Steve

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