The Sterling Armament Company

[desperatedan]

Thanks for the heads up Roy. I received my copy today and a great addition to the original GoD example that I have. Well done indeed to Peter et al.

Information

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[Gil Boyd]

BOOK REVIEW

As an author of modest books to fundraise for our Parachute Regiment Museum, I received
A HISTORY OF THE SMALL ARMS MADE BY STERLING ARMAMENT COMPANY
By Peter Laidler, James Edmiston and David Howroyd.

I have now read the hard back book from cover to cover all 335 pages of it, and independently, and unprompted by anyone, want to credit all three authors with a very detailed, fine example of how a weapons book should be written.
It covers every aspect of the Sterling Company, and naturally, every weapon they concieved and manufactured in some difficult periods of British history and conflicts.

I write this with much experience in CQB in both The Parachute Regiment and Royal Military Police, with the latter, being a weapon that was the norm along with a Browning pistol as the secondary weapon, and from a viewpoint of one where the L2A3 was my personal friend on many operations in Northern Ireland and other locations around the world. In so doing, my personal issue weapon saw every form of weather thrown at the weapon, never failing for one minute in some really arduos conditions.
It has to be said it must be one of the best CQB weapons ever made, although certain individuals made life tough for the company, and should have quite frankly known better.
Here is a segment from the book on how things went with 22 SAS which encapsulates this:

"The Sterling was a favourite of most, but not all British troops. As James Edmiston recalled bitterly in THE STERLING YEARS!
........Almost as ludicrous is the SAS connection, although one critises that elite body at one's peril. In the field of small arms, the SAS rejects whatever is standard in the British Army or available from British sources. Certainly, it would appear that SAS soldiers are the only ones who cannot jump through a window with a loaded Sterling. The side-loading magazine apparently gets in the way.......(Courtesy of Central Office of Information).

So you can see life wasn't easy for the company.
I will finish by saying this is an outstanding detailed book worthy of any shelf and a fantastic historic read, now preserved foreever, as those who formulated the weapon sadly leave us fascinated in its excellent build quality and accuracy, "especially in CQB Ops".
Gil

[mrclark303]

I'm still waiting for mine Gil, missing in action so far .....