1915 ey marked enfield and 1926 rfi sl mark info/help

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rempel429

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So I picked this rifle up about 3 weeks ago, it's a sporter with the original fore stock cut down
I understand that the ey meant emergency use and the sl meant single loader as applied by rfi, now did that mean they modified it to chamber one round with no magazine? The reason I ask is before I tore it down the other day I noticed four holes that have been filled below the action about an inch from top of the wood line, upon disassembly I noticed they went through both sides of the recierver as well. Like they would hold the feed ramp of the mag from moving, just wondering if this is common?
Also it has the original, bolt recierver barrel and sight and is still chambered in 303, so it wouldn't have been turned into a shotgun, all the searches of single shot lee enfield net me those converted shotguns for prison use, so what I'm wondering is if this conversion is common, and why would they have done it in the first place, I think know why they would have converted it back though.

Anyway enfield gurus thanks for your help
 
A mystery for sure. Somebody who knows will be along. I have a 1937 GRI .303 (Ishapore) that was converted to .410 (Ishapore) in 1942, then back to a .303 sometime later, seemingly after 1948. As was pointed out by a fellow CGN'r, it was shown as cancelled in .410 by a small diamond stamped at each side of ".410" on the wrist. To top it off, I bought it with new wood, indicating that it may have been sportered, or had really ugly wood. (likely brought back from the dead - sporter).

Some of these old rifles have a twisted trail of history behind them, don't they? I am not altogether sure the wrist stamp on the ".410" side are authentic or original, but not sure they aren't either.

I'll try to get some decent pics and the guys on here can have at it.
 
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"Single Loader" rifles were built-up, mostly in India, during repairs and issued as guard rifles or to units considered "unreliable", thus giving them less firepower should they decide to turn around in the middle of a fight.

This may sound awfully ugly, but the practice was more common than one might think.... and it transcended borders and even cultures. As an example, my own Mother was named Arrowsmith and proud of it..... until she discovered that properly it is Clan MacGregor...... and was changed when the very NAME "MacGregor" was BANNED for evermore, the cause being switching sides in the middle of a fight once too often! Read Scott's "Rob Roy" some time; it is a novel but rooted quite firmly in historical fact!

As to Lee-Enfields, I don''t think anything would surprise me. As long as the Body survived within specs and was strong enough, they seem to have been switched-about from one calibre or one configuration to another with amazing alacrity. Much of this, without doubt, stems from the paucity of funding voted for the military by Parliament since the ending of the Civil War period in 1660 and culminating with the amazing and shocking screw-ups of the early 20th Century. I have one here which has an 1897 Body date, 1908 rebuild markings and a 1943 barrel, also another which started as a Mark III, became a Mark III*, reverted to a Mark III* BAR, went to a Mark III again and finally lost its Cutoff (again) early in War 2..... making it a Mark III Star Bar Star!

It's fun!
 
Hello. India used stuff over and over. RFI conversion to single loading was a plate in the mag well riveted to the body by the 4 pins or rivets. A distrusted unit or border unit would receive a SL rifle. No mag in this rifle. You don't want your enemies to steal a repeating firearm. I have seen Snider cavalry carbines with a ring attached behind the trigger guard and handcuffs with 12" of chain attached to the ring. The idea was on border patrol the snider would be handcuffed to the saddle of the horse so if the bad guys knocked the man off the horse would run away with the gun. Not sure if that worked cause all your pals had to do was get the horse cause it came with a gun. EY is a classification of firearms - it doesn't mean unserviceable. Just like DP. RFI would have reconverted some SL rifles to mag loading when needed for the 'good' troops. Class system in military units existed in all colonies - Canada no exception. I betcha SL and Ey rifles can be seen in use today on TV.
 
Yeah, they are fun for sure the more Of them I buy the more I learn, does any one know where there is a picture of one with the conversion in place?

My wife says enfields are my first love, I'm not entirely sure she is wrong

Thanks guys
 
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