Five pointed red star on my No4T chest

[No4Mk1(T)]

Anyone have an idea what a red five pointed star painted on the chest lid of for one of my No.4Mk1(T) would signify? It has a splash of yellow paint covering it now but it's still visable.

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[Roger Payne]

Gotta be honest; I have no idea! Come on someone, educate us!

ATB

[Peter Laidler]

I was thinking 'red star' parcels that used to be a sort of Royal Mail Parcels operated by British Rail. Their parcels had a big red star on them. Just a thought. You could send big and bulky things..........

[Badger]

Both the Star of David and Weedon Repair star are 6 points, not 5 ...

Got a pic?

Regards,
Badger

[Lance]

Just to be creative. Maybe it is one of the two No. 4 T's given to Russian snipers Peter mentions in his book?

[No4Mk1(T)]

Both the Star of David and Weedon Repair star are 6 points, not 5 ...

Got a pic?

Regards,
Badger

Sure Doug:



I had considered the Weedom connection but as you said it is five pointed and not six. It also has no Weedon Repair stamps on the wood work of any kind.

I was thinking 'red star' parcels that used to be a sort of Royal Mail Parcels operated by British Rail. Their parcels had a big red star on them. Just a thought. You could send big and bulky things..........

A definite possibility. As I said the star is covered by yellow paint which I have assumed was applied when the rifle was sold out of service to obliterate military stores markings. I’ve seen this done on several No15 chests. So if this is correct would the British military have shipped the rifle via a civilian postal service when the rifle was still in service and then later cancel the star when it was sold? It’s interesting because other than the red star and yellow paint the chest has never been repainted.

Just to be creative. Maybe it is one of the two No. 4 T's given to Russian snipers Peter mentions in his book?

Very interesting. I’ll have to remember that one. It might be worth and extra grand should I ever sell it however unlikely it may be.

Now just for kicks I took a photo of the old shipping label. Looks like it has done a bit of traveling in it’s time. It started in Ontario, I got it out of Saskatchewan and it now lives on the West Coast not to mention it‘s trip across the Atlantic.

[Warren]

The yellow dot is a mark put on the case my ACME SURPLUS of Toronto. The star appears to be hand drawn and NOT a stencil as NORMALLY would be if military applied.... Might I suggest that it was someone with too much time on their hands. I had a bright blade years ago try to sell me a 4T in the chest with a yellow blob that he claimed signified it was special forces, SOE, SAS etc...... By the way ACME marked the cases in England to prevent another unscrupulous dealer from laying claim to them..... Now you have the story of the yellow blob and MAYBE the red star. I think JohnR picked all the LB rifles out of that shipment and perhaps he will elaborate on my story. That was a long time ago....over 50 years ago and the mind is the second thing to go... :-)##

[Strangely Brown]

Sometimes I think we look too deeply for an answer on signs which are not asrenal made; in my gun battery we marked all the kit for our detachment with a yellow triangle. other detachments marked there's with stars and coloured squares, could it be that in a large armoury these were marked to show what platoon/company they belonged to so acquisition of weapons was quicker?

[Peter Laidler]

I'd thought of that too Strangely. You can see the different markings on the sides of cab doors and tank turrets, such as a yellow triangle, white square and red circle etc etc..

But here's another for you. Look carefully at the end of your No4T and Bren chests and you might find, if they're not painted over by now, 4 little nail holes that form the corners of a rectangle 4" x 1.5". These are the nail holes that hold or held onto the end of the chest a wrapped 2.5" x 5" tinplate label holder with fold-over sides. This was used to hold the packing note or transit label that was slipped into it. These little things could be used a few times until the little fold-over tabs broke off. The holder was then pulled off (usually with a BIG screwdriver or pair of pliers that ripped big divets out of the wood) and you'd nail another transit note holder on..... and so on.

So, if you have some of these spaced nail/tack yoles together with some lumps of wood chiselled out, this is the reason

[Beerhunter]

I'd thought of that too Strangely. You can see the different markings on the sides of cab doors and tank turrets, such as a yellow triangle, white square and red circle etc etc..

But those are the official Squadron Symbols and Call Signs. e.g. A Squadron = Triangle, B Squadron = Square, C Squadron = Circle. There are a few others but I don't remember there having been a star.