Diggin through an old family album

hunter5425

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Regina SK
I was looking through the family album about trips to BC to visit the in-laws and came across a picture I'll always cherish. My wife's great uncle Bert and I always kept in touch and hung around together when I was on the island so we made sure to make the trip for his 100th birthday. During the party to my surprise he gifted me his 1926 Parker shotgun he bought when he was 38 and working for CN rail. Bert was born in England in 1888 and lived a colorful life as a sketch artist, a newspaperman and a railwayman and had a love for adventure and family. He never married and was very close to my wife who was his favourite niece, in fact for 2 years after his passing he'd arranged for Christmas gifts to be sent to her. He was very healthy till the last month of his life at 1 month short of his 108th birthday. The gun is a common Trojan in very good condition but I wouldn't trade it for a Purdey.

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Thanks for sharing! I agree, sometimes the sentiments behind a rifle can make it much more valuable than the highest quality rifles made. My great-grandfather's Winchester Model 1907 in 351 self-loader and my grandfather's Winchester Model 88 in .284 Win may not be worth much monetarily, but as pieces of family history, they are priceless.
 
He was a great guy, we talked for many hours about the history he'd seen like reading about the Wright brothers when he was 15 while living in Ramsgate England as well as hearing on the radio about Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic after he moved to Canada with his brothers.
 
That's great! I hope I live that great a life!
I will be leaving my guns to my 2nd youngest nephew, he had a love of hunting and shooting all types of guns :)
Have no heir, you have to think who to pass on the leagacy!
Thanks for sharing!
 
Great story! My Dad was born in 1900, but only lived until 1965. Even he saw a lot of changes. Two ugly world wars, Korean War, the 1930's Depression, etc.. He worked on the Queen Mary in dry dock in Victoria, preparing her to be a troop transport.

Your old uncle would have seen a huge change just in coming from England to Canada. Vast distances, hardly any people in the open country. Railroading in the mountains would have been an eyeopener.

Thanks for posting those pics.
 
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