Sorry Ian, but the Sergeant in this photograph is not holding a Mark IV, although I realize you want to convince yourself that he is ...... Look at the size of the triggerguards in the two side-on rifle views I posted and you will realize that the "higher glint" in the old photo is light reflection only from the front curve of the triggerguard in the photo, the bottom and back curve of the guard are not reflecting light. The straight part of the lever starts about where I have put the white line.

I hesitate to post further in this discussion, because you so clearly want to believe that your Martini-Henry Mark IV was North West Mounted Police issue. However, I regret to advise that the roundel in your photos is not an NWMP mark. You indicated that you feel this rondel says "N.W.M.P Police" but, to my knowledge, the Mounted Police have never used a combination of all of the letters in their abbreviated name with the word "Police" - it would have been either "N.W.M.P" or "N.W.M. Police". At any rate, it makes no sense that a small number of Mark IV Martini-Henry rifles be acquired for the NWMP when Canadaicon held over 7,000 Mark I and Mark III rifles .... most of which never saw military service, but were extensively issued or loaned out to both military and non-military competitive shooting teams.

I am satisfied that this rondel in fact is "N.W.F.P. Police" - referring to the police force in what was the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. (In 2008, Pakistan changed the name of the province to "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", purportedly to get away from "imperial/colonial" connections.)

Most of the other markings shown in your photos - other than the original markings applied at Enfield - show clearly that this rifle saw its service in Pakistan. For example, the "PAK" mark on the nocksform is well known as denoting service in that portion of the Britishicon Raj.


Similarly, the R.P. mark on the buttstock is also a very well known mark denoting the arsenal at Rawul Pindi (the modern spelling of which is usually "Rawalpindi") -


I expect that I have no real chance of convincing you, however ....
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