Thought I'd add in a couple of photos of some of the SMLEs I have in my collection at the moment.
The picture of the 5 rifles are my 'ex-AIF' (
Australian Imperial Force) rifles. Two 1913 Lithgows, two 1914 Lithgows and a 15 Lithgow. These rifles have a myriad of
British, South African and
Canadian markings on them. This would be due to them being handed into British ordnance post-Gallipoli and being refurbed and then handed out to other forces in
France.
One of the 1914 Lithgows still retains its original 2nd Military District markings and South African markings - the fact it still retains its Australian markings points to it probably being one of the rifles that 10% of soldiers from each troopship to France from Egypt had to take and these were refurbed at local ordnance depots in France for a quick change to the rear sights rather than going back to EFD or BSA for a full refurb and scrubbing of all Australian markings.
The 1915 Lithgow has a nice 1940 dated barrel which is possibly an indicator of being one of the couple of hundred thousand rifles (ex-BEF) that were sent to EFD to be refurbed post-Dunkirk due to exposure to the elements, worn from use etc.
Happy days gents.