Gentlemen:

While looking for something else I ran across this one, and thought I would get it out for a few pics as it is one of the rather scarce Australian contract Pre-Victory British Service Revolvers. 8000 of these revolvers were purchased for Australia by the British Purchasing Commission.

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When WW2 Australian Smiths are encountered by American collectors today they are typically somewhat later production Lend Lease guns that went through the FTR rebuild process in the 1950s, have phosphate re-finishes and were imported back to the USA in the 1990s. They are interesting and historical guns but good examples are not tough to find.

This one is not a Lend Lease gun. Rather, it was a direct purchase and was shipped August 4, 1941 to Sydney, Australia.

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It is serialed 808741. With its original blue finish it is also somewhat unusual in having no Australian property markings. It also bears none of the post-war commercial proof marks which so often deface British and Empire guns. It must have returned to the USA before 1968 because it shows no importer markings either.

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The factory letter tells the story.

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Seen here with it is what I am going to call an Australian private purchase holster. Well constructed and with edge lacing it was made in Australia. It fits the 5 inch revolver perfectly.

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The maker was one G. V. Edgley, whom I believe was Gerald Vivian Edgley. He lived in Townsville, a city on the north coast of Australia which was the site of major Australian and Allied military bases, including US bases. Townsville was attacked and bombed three times by the Japanese. It is worth remembering that the Japanese came very close to cutting the supply route from the USA to Australia. That changed with Allied victories in 1942 at the Battle of the Coral Sea and a place called Guadalcanal.

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A private purchase holster like this may have been necessary if the P-37 web holsters were not available. This one shows slots on the back for a leg strap which has gone missing.

The holster bears the inked initials BFM on the loop but no other identifiers can be seen. Thus, we are left to speculate as to what service this holster might have provided and how it came to end up here in the USA. I purchased it many years ago.

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Mated with the revolver I think they make for a nice pair. They serve to remind us of the mortal danger which faced our Australian ally in 1941-42 and the vital role that Smith & Wesson revolvers played in that world wide conflict.

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Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215

Superb specimen, Charlie.

That may actually not be unusual.

After first noticing it on my Australian, a pre-Victory (767114) shipped to the BPC in NYC 5/12/41 and getting Enfield stamps in Britain before somehow entering Australian service, I've been looking at the pictures of every Australian Lithgow FTR'd BSR I've been able to find, and it looks like the common D^D property mark was applied at the same time as the FTR stamps, not before or during the guns' active service. If you look at the close-up, it is obvious the property mark was struck into the new finish like the other markings.

I have not seen enough of the quite rare left-side A^F mark to confirm that one, but I'm fairly confident that most Australian BSR's had no country-specific markings until the FTR, and your gun avoided that.

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Hello Burk:

Thanks for your comments. I think you are probably correct about Australian property markings most likely being applied at the time of FTR post-war.

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Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215

Most probably allocated to Australia by the London Munitions Assignment Board, as was my early British purchase with a later South African UDF number.

Peter

Interesting possibilty, Peter. I was not aware of that.

Since until early 1942 pretty much the entire Australian contribution to the Commonwealth's war effort was deployed to North Africa and the Middle East (the four divisions of the 2nd AIF), my assumption had been that the gun made it into Australian hands simply as a matter of re-supply of Allied forces there fom Britain.

I actually wasn't aware London centrally allocated resources to other Commonwealth countries also. Do you know whether this applied to the later Australian-service Lend-lease guns also, i.e., did they travel to Britain first and then 'round the globe to Australia, or did we ship those directly?

Very nice find. Thanks for sharing.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Great pre victory Charlie! That sure is a tough one to find in that shape without the markings. I've had a few British issue without markings, but never had or even seen an Aussie one that escaped overhaul and stampings. The holster is a prize as well. Nice rig and thanks for showing.

There were two Boards; one in London and one in N America (not sure where). The former controlled things for the British Empire/Commonwealth and the other Canada and the USA. See the attachment. Note that at present I only have page one; I need to go back to the Defence Force archives.

I believe that London controlled items such as S&W revolvers were shipped from the UK, but could be wrong.

Peter

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