Fazakerley made reciver

[mrclark303]

That is remarkable...especially since their last No. 4 rifles, from around the same time as the struggling SLR and Sterling programs, look to be very well made.

I recall seeing another pic of a Faz-made receiver...as I recall, it was on an Enfield-built rifle. The mark on the left side of the mag well had no year, just "F".

Unfortunately,the Factory management lost control of the workforce and the union shop Stewarts effectively had day to day control.

This led to a torturous relationship with the Government of the day, with every production decision questioned and repeatedly delayed.

As Peter has said before, it came to a point where enough was enough and the contracts were pulled, closure was inevitable after Sterling production was completed.

To be honest though, I wonder, even if L1A1 production contracts went ahead instead of being transferred BSA, would Fazakerley have survived past 1968?

I doubt it very much, as the ROF would have been surplus to requirements with a considerably smaller Armed forces operational by that point.