Griff, I know of no SA organization which is abbreviated as SAF. I think it is actually stamped SAP (South African Police / Suid-Afrikaanse Polisie) with the tip of the P not stamped perfectly - look under a loupe and see if I might be right. This would fit with what I think is the origin of your (beautiful condition) rifle. The SAP had a pretty big stock of SMLEs, many of which have been sold off in the last few years; some of which are in near-mint condition, because as you can imagine there was not a lot of shooting of .303s done by the SAP, even in the dark days of apartheid. I think it very likely your rifle was built from parts some time in the 1940s or 1950s by the SAP. The broad-arrow-in-a-U dates the rifle to pre-1961 when the Union (hence the U) of SA became the Republic of SA. One of our regular forummers, and a dear friend of mine, TerryLee, in Johannesburg is THE world expert on Britishicon rifles used in/by South Africa, and you might PM him to ask more about this rifle. If no luck, PM me and I'll hook you up to him.

What puzzles me is the lack of any serial number - how on earth is the rifle logged on your firearms certificate?!?

Rob