St. Bernard's stamp on S&W 455

Kirk1701

Kirk1701

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U.S.S. Enterprise, Deck 5, 3F-121
Accuracy Plus in Peterborough has a S&W Hand Ejector in .455 with British proofs and "ST.B" markings, which they interpret as "St. Bernard's." Who are the "St. Bernard's?" The Canadian Scottish had a St. Bernard as a mascot, but wouldn't this revolver have the C-broad arrow then? It's certainly a pretty revolver. If we could trace the markings, it would be all the prettier.


 
I'd be surprised if it has anything to do with St Bernard or any other saint. The arty guys pray to St Barbara though.
Doubt the CS had anything to do with it either. You have no evidence of such ownership. Wouldn't have a CF stamp if it was owned by an officer. Brit and Canadian officers had to buy their own handgun for W.W. I. Any date stamps on it?
 
There is a community here in Newfoundland with that name. I don't know if it is maybe linked to the RNR ?
 
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About 1000 S&W Hand Ejectors Mk II, got out of the factory with out military markings, according to a letter I received from S&W in the 70s.
I owned a private purchase Mk II at that time.
 
There are a lot of places called "St. B." in Canada.

Saint Boniface, now a part of Metro Winnipeg, was a city of its own at that time, had its own police force.

THAT is where I would start looking, anyway.
 
smellie said:
There are a lot of places called "St. B." in Canada.

Saint Boniface, now a part of Metro Winnipeg, was a city of its own at that time, had its own police force.

THAT is where I would start looking, anyway.
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Pfft, St. Bernard's must have at least 3 Punts and 2 skiffs!
 
sail32 said:
About 1000 S&W Hand Ejectors Mk II, got out of the factory with out military markings, according to a letter I received from S&W in the 70s.
I owned a private purchase Mk II at that time.
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Sorry, you've misinterpreted or misremembered the substance of your S&W letter.

Approximately 1000 S&W .44 Hand Ejectors (MkI's or Triple Locks) were rechambered and rebarreled at the factory to .455. These guns DO NOT have caliber markings on the barrels. S&W considers these guns to be a .44 Hand Ejector MkI chambered in .455.

S&W consider them to be a (totally!???) separate model from the .455 Hand Ejector MkI "Triple Locks" which were manufactured as .455 Hand Ejector MkI guns.

The gun in the OP is commonly known as "Second Model Hand Ejector"; guns which were from the start manufactured in .455 for British (and Canadian) government purchase during WWI.

NONE of these guns had Canadian or British military markings applied by the S&W factory...in fact the only S&W large frames which did (that I'm aware of) were US Property marked M.1917's and the Brazilian M.1937 purchase of M.1917 revolvers....some of which show US military inspection marks indicating 1917-19 manufacture of the original parts.
 
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Without my old reference books that is quite possible.
It is possible they meant a 1000 revolvers that did not go to the British and Canadian purchasing commission in New York, but were available for private purchase.
Mine had no military markings and came with a military holster with a name and rank on the inside, but with no serial number to check, who knows.

GrantRCanada provides a link for people who want to information on their S&W revolvers.

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?15805-S-amp-w-Mk-Ii-455&

The link shows the type of revolver I mentioned, a .455 S&W Hand Ejector Mk II 2nd model, the first revolver shown.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-ha...455-mk-ii-hand-ejector-2nd-model-69234-a.html
 
The serial number would be helpful, no doubt. This one has the "sold out of service" marks, so it's definitely a wartime piece. The "St.B" is the mystery. It'd be cool to be able to trace it to Canada or Newfoundland. That would determine my interest level in the piece.
 
Mystery solved

I've been curious about this revolver too, but had been waiting for a reference book (Clive Law's Small Arms Unit Marks) to be delivered and, it appears, the book solves the mystery.

The St. B. Refers to St. Bee's school, in west Cumbria, which includes several VC winners among its alumnae and had a robust cadet corp in both wars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bees_School

A revolver with perhaps a great deal of history behind it.
 
RangeRover said:
I've been curious about this revolver too, but had been waiting for a reference book (Clive Law's Small Arms Unit Marks) to be delivered and, it appears, the book solves the mystery.

The St. B. Refers to St. Bee's school, in west Cumbria, which includes several VC winners among its alumnae and had a robust cadet corp in both wars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bees_School

A revolver with perhaps a great deal of history behind it.
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That's fascinating. If it doesn't have Canadian provenance, I'm not interested, but there are many English collectors out there.
 
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