Common Knowledge or Received Wisdom?

[Peter Laidler]

But back to where we started........... I spoke to a 1936 era Armourer apprentice colleague this weekend who started his time as an old Ordnance Corps Armourer as opposed to us later , post 1942 REME Armourers. Cut-Offs. He says that so far as his and general military training in particular was concerned, there was no instruction on the use of the cut-off beyond the fact that it should be closed for Drill purposes only but open for all other purposes such as weaapon training and shooting.

As far as the Armouring side of life, then, as he told me many years ago, where a cut-off was fitted, then it remained simply to fill the slot. Nothing more or less. But when a new fore-end was fitted, it if was a later pattern high sided fore-end which would cover the existing slot, then the cut-off was removed and '...returned to Ordnance through the usual channels....' The same applied to other improved features.

He also clarified another point - or blurred the point........... Once the cut-off was removed and a high side fore-end was fitted, then that fact alone DID NOT alter the status of the rifle as marked on the body. It was STILL a Mk3 rifle as marked on the body because it is the BODY that identified the Mk/type of rifle and NOT the absence of a cut-off. So a Mk3 rifle, marked as a Mk3 will always remain a Mk3. Already I can see this raising eyebrows but I say it as I was told. And rifles in service were never retro modified except where it was '....in the extingencies of the service.....' and he quotes using an obsolete part when a current part isn't available

As for the volley fire sights remaining in UK service at unit level, then these were all slowly removed, the hole simply plugged and contours made off good.