With due and honest respect, the EAL rifles were always and ever NOTHING MORE THAN EAL WOOD AND BARRELS STUCK ON LONGBRANCH RECEIVER. That point is moot. I can't emphasize though that I do mean that entirely respectfully.

Fact 1: No4 Mk1 receiver manufactured Longbranch after July, 1941.

Fact 2: Serial Number 02 and matching bolt.

Conclusion: A) The receiver serial is a fake (in which case, why, considering it was worth $10 in its time and faking serial numbers is fraud); B) this is the second receiver built at Longbranch, ever (which would be a big, big deal); C) that the receiver is actually 02, second of a series, supported by other matching two-digit serial numbers on other EAL rifles.

Fact 3: Almost all tooling was disposed of at the Longbranch factory in 1946 and the remainder was not used for Lee Enfield.

Fact 4: The EAL run was about 4000, worth about $280,000 if we cost the guns at $10 each and transfer to today's money ($1 in 1958 being worth approx. $8 now). Small potatoes.

Fact 5: Typical EAL receivers have the bridges milled, but

Fact 6: New tooling jigs cost money, as do mills; the work shown here could be done with simple tools

Conclusion: prototypes or early rifles would be built on unmodified used parts, because the tooling for metallic parts would not be economical for a small sporting goods store and shop prior to winning a contract, supported by

Fact 7: Actual machining upon winning the contract being farmed out to another shop, S.T. Francis and Sons, Toronto

Fact 8: Visual proof of Longbranch serialed EAL, 1943 series, with Longbranch serial plainly evident.

Conclusion: the presence of Longbranch markings on receiver, or absence of EAL markings, indicates nothing, especially in early series. This is contrary to popular wisdom, but true.

Fact 9: All parts used conform to EAL norms, including

Fact 10: Furniture built in new and far less complicated manner, supporting Fact 3, which shows that the original No4 furniture was in my limited experience the most complicated and costly furniture ever produced, economical only in large quantities with expensive now-sold machines, in this case, enormous copy routers using steel models on graduated reducing styluses.

Fact 11: Markings on receiver and woodwork correspond, including MK1 stamp on buttstock.

Conclusion: All parts assembled at same time and new rifle had yet to be renamed, using new furniture.

Common sense, which we all love, dictates that this is actually #02 of the EAL rifle. Essential Agencies was a civilian supplier of psuedo-civilian rifles for the Canadianicon government, and they used whatever was expedient: simple furniture, sporting recoil pads (Jostam recoil company was sold in 1955 and moved from Illinois to Texas; I would bet EAL bought their stock), sporting sights, and surplus parts. Common sense dictates that it is unlikely that this is the second receiver ever built at Longbranch; common sense dictates that forgery was pointless, penalized by the gov't and worthless in practice. Common sense also dictates that much of the information available on these rifles is incomplete and or incorrect, and can be proven as such.

The more research I do, the more I am convinced this is EAL #02 -- second of the last run manufactured of the No4 Mk1. For the record I bought it as a bitsa.