Since I'm on a South African kick of late, South African No4 wood?

[Mk VII]

That's why they never got used - there was something wrong with them. Something I've occasionally noticed with other surviving 'unused' items.

[Roger Payne]

Have you come across any documentation to confirm that James, or is it rather what you suspect? It certainly sounds feasible to me. I'd much rather work with a well used wartime original.

[Brian Dick]

I don't know that there's anything wrong with them other than the fact they are oversize. I've fitted quite a few sets and they are terribly time consuming but turn out well in the end. The forends are especially oversize as already mentioned in this thread. I'll also take a good used forend over these any day.

[Roger Payne]

I've also encountered the problem of the nose cap metalwork fouling the foresight protector on most occasions that I've used this wood, which made me wonder if there might be something to the notion that they are perhaps slightly defective (though remediable).

[Garandy]

Before I file these two forends into my parts bin, have we established who made them/who they were made for based on the markings I posted?