Rare Parker Hale WW1 Sniper Scope

[Alan de Enfield]

At the end of the 1800's, Alfred Gray Parker is listed with an address at 69 ickneild street and by 1910,their logo has altered to A G Parker & co ltd , at 264 ickneild st.
In 1915 the fim has moved to 61/2 Whittall St where they have added GUN IMPLEMENTS to their range and by 1920,additional premises have been found and the address becomes BISLEY WORKS Whittall st. By 1935 the firm can no longer be found under the entries for GUN ,RIFLE and PISTOL MAKERS; they are now classed as GUN IMPLEMENT MAKERS and have acquired more premises in Price St.
A G Parker,the founder ,was a keen rifleman with an inventive turn of mind. He invited his nephew A T C PARKER to join the firm, which continued to prosper,becoming a limited company in 1904.

MR HALE was responsible for the introduction of 'PARKERIFLING' which saw use as an inexpensive way of converting .303 calibre rifles to .22 rinfire for troop training during the first world war.The process of re ligning small calibre barrels was further developed to provide target rifle accuracy.

The founder of the firm died in 1915 and in 1925 MR ATC HALES second son,arthur,joined the firm.

By the 1920s A G PARKER& CO could furnish a range of fullbore 303 target rifles based on the LEE ENFIELD and a variety of aperture sights (rear).some of which were built under licence from BSA and others which were developed by the firm itself.The shotguns on offer were the BSA range,the WEBLEY AND SCOTT double and single and the singal barrel VICKERS VANGUARD.

In 1928 the firm was given a boost by the victory of A C HALE in the BISLEY MEETING. This followed a family record set up in 1926 when three members of the HALE family all reached the KINGS HUNDRED at BISLEY.

The role played by the HALE family in the fortunes of the firm was acknowledged in 1936 by a change of name to PARKER HALE LTD

It seems as if we have differing sources of information.

I will have to dig out the book by 'Ma Parker' to get the rest.

[Gil Boyd]

Probably best described and saves my finger tips by reading the attached link which does have some discrepancies but very close to the truth as to where it started and where it ended:

Parker Hale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Alan de Enfield]

Wikipedia is only as good as the information placed on it - there was even an example on Wikipedia which stated that all Enfields in 303 were withdrawn from use due to craze-cracking.

You, I or Fred Smith can write and submit anyhing to wikipedia andit will be 'posted' as it is supplied. If Wikipedia is your source then I would rather go with the Parker family history.

[Badger]

Just did a quick site search and found lots of old threads ...

As an example..

Alfred J Parker Ltd

There's also an MKL entry ..

Milsurps Knowledge Library - A.J. Parker Parker Hale Sights

Extract ..

For anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of the evolution of A.J. Parker/Parker Hale micrometer sights, I'd recommending locating this rare and interesting book called A Century of Sights and Sighting Aids by Edna Rosalind Parker. She is the daughter of Alfred J. Parker (founder of Alfred J. Parker Ltd.) and granddaughter of A.G. Parker (founder of Parker hale Ltd.). With her knowledge of the business and access to all of the various historical documents and pictures of the various sights, this little book makes for a very through and accurate reference piece on the subject. There is no ISBN number for it, so I'd suggest you use a "Google" search on the title to see if you can find a copy from one of the rare used book sources on the Internet. I found my copy on a table at a local gun show.

(Click PIC to Enlarge)(Click PIC to Enlarge)

Regards,
Doug

[Beerhunter]

It seems as if we have differing sources of information.

I think that you have confirmed what I have always thought to be the case Alan.

[Gil Boyd]

My info was mostly based on that provided by ex employees at the Parker Hale factory up until it closed and they were laid off.
From my research actual dates have always been illusive to confirm exactly, when they started with a programme or otherwise, as their memories fade with old age.
Thanks Alan another source worth asking them about, to see if it rekindles anything!!

So in short did the telescope have any bearing on PH?

[Alan de Enfield]

So in short did the telescope have any bearing on PH?

No - it was not manufactured by PH but it does appear to have PH rings on it.

[Gil Boyd]

Ha Ha it gets better by the day

[Simon]

I've never come across any official documented evidence, which I suppose isn't surprising, but it is believed that the No42 and 53 scopes that are seen in Parker Hale rings are those that at one time where issued to the "Auxiliary Units" on .22rf silenced weapons.

I've seen pictures of said weapons in the past and if memory serves I think Roger Payne may have some info regarding them, but I could be wrong on that score.

Below info reproduced from Guns used by the Auxiliary Units

"One sinister weapon which was given to the members of the Auxiliary Unit patrols was a special .22 rifle - usually manufactured by BSA, Winchester or Remington. A report by Duncan Sandys to the Prime Minister in August 1940, confirmed that sniping would be in the Auxiliary Units' remit. This rifle, which was fitted with a powerful telescopic sight and a silencer, could either fire high-velocity bullets for additional lethality at extended ranges or subsonic bullets for virtual silence if the target was relatively close. The Resistance men who received these weapons were told that they were for sniping at German officers and for picking off tracker dogs before they came too near, but several members of the Resistance have admitted that they were also intended to be used on British people in their areas who they thought might collaborate with the Germans. More recently, it is thought that this rifle was to be used for the assassination of Britons that might have proved to be "loose tongued" under interrogation or know too much about who was in each Auxiliary Unit, such as the Chief Constable. The snipers' .22 rifle became Auxiliary Unit standard issue. In some instances it would be the only firearm carried on patrol because it was the only one that could be fired with a chance of continuing the mission afterwards".

Cheers,

Simon.

[Roger Payne]

Not a lot actually Simon. I think the subject of the equipment used by the auxiliaries is an issue that has captured Valley Sniper's interest.............go on give us chapter & verse Valley!

One thing I would mention though is that I'm pretty sure most No42 scopes I've seen in PH rings were the handiwork of Bubba's British cousin, rather than genuine issue to auxiliary units......at least judging by the number I've seen over the years (No32's in PH mounts as well). I think many cost-conscious shooters probably saw an ex-Govt No42 (or 53 or 32) & a set of PH rings as cheap way to set up a scoped rabbiting rifle. AFAIK there were no special markings applied to the auxiliary units' equipment though, so we'll probably never know for sure one way or the other. At least our vendor didn't describe it as 'auxiliary unit issue sniper scope'!!

ATB