Enfield Envoy in one piece stock

[Ridolpho]

Peter: Yes, I can believe it. Extremely strong and the bulk of recoil forces dealt with and no possibility of wood failing. The trade-off, to me, is the rather finicky set up of the forend which has to deal with other recoil generated stresses and is prone to failure (at least in the well aged specimens we have to deal with today). But the real reason I harp on it is that I find it perplexing how, in the various histories of this rifle, the rather remarkable re-design is hardly mentioned.

Ridolpho

[Peter Laidler]

Ah, Lee Enfield books are the same as sniper books Rudolpoh. Authors read 10 books to write the eleventh and repeat all of the same stuff but in a different way. Unfortunately, that includes the erronious, the mistakes, the myths and sometimes the absolute bolloc......., er.... howlers too!

If only they'd just come to Warminster and sat down in the small library for a couple of days and asked.......... You just can't believe the stuff we had tucked away including wartime and postwar photos of the sniper courses and details of the making of the wartime training film 'I am a sniper'.

We actually found a sniper pair from the Lincolnshire Regt on one of the very old course photos! All the original photos from the Sniper pamphlet too............

[Surpmil]

...the only significant reference I've been able to find regarding the change to two-piece is in the "Catalogue of tht Enfield Pattern Room" by Herb Woodend where he states it was primarily to make use of stores of Martini furniture.... Regards.
Ridolpho

If that was a factor I would suggest it was more likely to make use of blanks that had been laid away for seasoning, which IIRC took 3 or 4 years and if these had already been cut for separate butts and forends, a two piece stock would have allowed them to be used for the Lee Metford instead of trying to find suitable wood that was already seasoned before production could begin.