Help With Lithgow SMLE

[Homer]

So muffer were the 8th Division mostly equipped with new SMLE's before they disembarked for Singapore or was it that a shipment arrived there and troops were issued these as they arrived to the front? From memory wasn't it a bit of a scattered force before it arrived?
I would think that if they were equipped with rifles fresh off the assembly line, the majority of 1941 actions would have been MkIII no star. My thoughts are that by the time they began assembling MkIII*s, it would have been too late for these to arrive in Singapore in time for the battle and final capitulation.
Having said that, I've found that 1941 actions serial numbered between B80000 and and C20000 are quite scarce and I've always felt that these were lost somewhere. I've been on the hunt for rifles in this range for some years and find myself constantly examining serial numbers for this reason.