Australian use of old Ross sniper rifles in WWII??

[Surpmil]

You should ask more questions such as "where was the scope mounted: overhead or offset", "was the bolt different from the Lee Enfield in any way?" (not giving away the straight pull aspect ;-) )

I've come to the conclusion that there was a lot of confusion between the P14 and the Ross in the minds of many soldiers. Tom Barker, whose memoirs "Sniper on Crete" are online, was also told that his rifle was a Ross. I corresponded with him and we determined from the features that he could definitely remember, that his rifle was an Alex Martin converted P14 with an offset scope, probably an Aldis No2 or No3. He also told me where he put it before he was ordered to surrender, so one day I shall visit that part of Crete!

It's not impossible that some Rosses made their way from India to Australia or the Pacific Theatre, we just haven't seen any photos AFAIK.

One has to remember that 99.9999% of soldiers are not firearms enthusiasts: a rifle is just a tool to them and they remember only the most distinctive features as most people would. In the case of the Ross and P14 that is the one piece stock and the projecting barrel.

The straight pull is the kicker though.

Ask him if he or any of his former mates have any photos showing their rifles.