Enfield Date question....

[smellie]

Definitely a Commercial rifle.

There were only two military contracts in the inter-War period: Siam and Iraq. The Siamese were dated in Siamese on the right side of the butt socket, using the Buddhist calendar. The Iraqi ones were dated 1936 and 1938 and had the BSA commercial logo AND the unique Iraqi "reversed S" stamp up on the top of the rifle, the butt socket giving only the manufacturer, model and date.

Commercial rifles were available right from the beginning of SMLE production, through to WW2. BSA mde them for sale under their own name and also on contract for many dealers and shops. The W.W.Greener SMLEs were actually built by BSA, marked to and sold by Greener.

Territorial regiments and various Volunteer groups had to supply their own rifles, and many of these came from BSA. Also, they were popular with target shooters and with people who just wanted the toughest rifle that could be built.

Hope this helps.