SMLE found by an author researching the fighting and retreat to Dunkirk

[Peter Laidler]

Here are a selection of self explanatory photos of a SMLE found very recently by an author researching the fighting and retreat to Dunkirk. The rifle was found on a farm, jammed into the now rotten wall frame of a large pockmarked or riddled barn, about 8 miles from the town. He had free access to the farms in the area and having a French wife helped! Other items including rotten webbing found in the floor and floor of the hay loft indicate that the place was occupied and abandoned by Royal Engineers and RASC (Service Corps) troops.

NO names - no pack drill, but the down side was that he brought the rifle back in all innocence believing that as it was rusty, woodwormed and with a bore that is barely see-through, it was nothing more than a harmless souvenir. Alas, this isn't how the Police here see things so it was given to us at Warminster after being documented. Incidentally, some of the webbing bears an identifiable soldiers service number (from the RAOC).


The UP side is that a quick glance shows that the is a Mk1 type SMLE without the bridge charger and closed eared nosecap. The bolt and magazine have been removed and hidden presumably within throwing distance!

That's all I know about it but is there any other documentary evidence that such an early Lee Enfield will have been used as late as 1940. Can anyone out there identify the exact mark of the rifle from the photos. No markings are visible and I'm loath to bead blast it to try to identify any marks

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