Another No4 Mk 1 T accounted for.

[Sentryduty]

I had requested photos and serials from my contact at the PPCLI museum of our LE Sniper held in collections. Today he was able to send along some info.

I wad hoping to find another LB rifle to add to the data we already have but here are the photos of a M47 (T)

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Lee Enfield]

Not a surprise, I've never seen a picture of a Canadian sniper in the WW2 ETO (European Theater of Operations/"North West Europe") where the rifle was not identifiable as being of British conversion...

Can anyone point out a photo of a Long Branch No4 T sniper in wartime Europe?

Not counting training in the UK....

[Sentryduty]

Not a surprise, I've never seen a picture of a Canadian sniper in the WW2 ETO

One of the unusual aspects of the PPCLI museum is the manner in which our 1200 or so firearms were added to the collection, according to the accessioning records I reviewed years ago, they came from donations, estates, police seizures, etc and only a number can be traced to official former DND sourced loans.

I had hoped this one might have been a LB because of the variety in our collection, and I couldn't remember from when I last handled it. We may have more than one, but I will have to tour the vaults myself later this spring or summer to be sure. I did verify the firearms holding accounts with the RAdjt back in summer of 2012 but that was a huge undertaking and tempo distracted any joy from the task. I recall we only hold 1 or 2 Ross rifles and they are both barely better than relic condition, which is rather sad.

[Seaspriter]

Thanks Sentry Duty. Very nice to see a sniper from 1943 that is still mated with its original scope. I don't suppose anyone kept track of the history of this sniper, but perhaps your friend in the museum would like someone on this site to construct a history for the future.

[Seaforth72]

I noticed on my last visit to the PPCLI Museum in the Military Museums in Calgary that the back sight was missing. It is nice to now see the serial number of the rifle, a 1943 BSA (M47) SN AQ2892 and that the No. 32 MK. I scope 4376 by H.B.M. Co. matches the rifle (scope SN on wrist). [I typed out the numbers to aid in future searches as markings in photos are not searcheable.]

Sentryduty, please do ask if they have any provenance (history) on this example. If they have a known history that would be great (in which case it should not have ENGLAND stamped onto it).

[Sentryduty]

Hello Colin,

I did note the backsight as missing when we had this exact rifle on display in the GG Brown building (1 PPCLI) as part of a Korea theme back in 2013. The safety had also been damaged because someone had unwittingly re-installed the bolt with the safety in the "ON" position and used force to push it past. I was able to harvest a good spare from another less important rifle and install it. The Telescope of this rifle is a bit damaged too, the very tip of the pointer is either bent down or broken off, just slightly down from the top. The butt is stamped S51 on the bottom side.

Thank you for typing out the serials, I had meant to but forgot, between posting the photos with my mobile phone and responding from a PC.

When I visit the collections next I will try to research this rifle's accessioning records to see where it came from. From memory, no one has sat down and told the story of this rifle, so it could be a DND/Canadian War Museum donation, or from a private source.

It may be a month or two before I get down there, but I will follow up on this thread.

[Seaforth72]

Photos taken by Colin Stevens (seaforth72) many years ago (standing Ghillie suit photo) and in 2015. Shooting photos through the glass was naturally a problem.

[Roger Payne]

I'm being pedantic here but is that rear top clamp mated to the rest of the bracket? It doesn't appear to be fitted properly. Is it on back to front? But it might be my eyes.........

[Sentryduty]

That number on the white paint in your last photograph is the museum's accessioning number and will be the main key to tracing the immediate history of this rifle.

My memory is foggy from when I worked in RHQ with the museum accounts, but those numbers should breakdown: G= Weapons/Firearms, 52= Taken into collections in 1952, and the remainder should be a date code, and the suffix in brackets is the exact card or record on file usually assigned in the order in which the item was taken into collections.

I might be mis-remembering but I think that is the case.

At any rate that is the main thing I will be using to trace this rifle.