Do they really have dad's service rifle?

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Rossbayo

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How many times have we read on here that someone has their father's, grandfather's or great grandfather's service rifle from WWII ?

Canadian soldiers were required to return govt. property on demobilization weren't they?

I know some Pacific Coast Rangers were offered the purchase of the rifles they were issued, but that was not regular servicemen.
 
In my opinion, the story starts out as, "This Lee Enfield is like the rifle I carried in the war." and later becomes, "This Lee Enfield is the rifle Dad carried in the war."
 
i drill them and pin them then i get the mattechs to weld the breech and muzzle. i see some really nice rifle go through this and no 7's too. breaks my heart.
 
back when I were but a lad......I knew many local vets in my part of southern Ontario who did bring stuff back- more than a few told me that there was generally an announcement when land was in sight on the return leg that all kitbags would be checked, and any weapons found would result in the owner not getting home directly, but that if such weapons existed, they could be piled up on the stern and kicked overboard...some listened and obeyed; others didn't. My father was RCAF P/O and one of his pals brought back a particularly clean Thompson 1928-A1......hearsay; of course.
 
My Grandfather retained his No 4 Enfield from when he was in the Rangers; it's still in the family. He didn't fight for our side in WWII so it's hard to say where his WWII rifle ended up :)
 
angrysoldier said:
i dewat so many at work i doubt that there are many longbranch no 4's left in this country.
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That has to be the single most heart breaking thing I have heard in a long time. What moron in the government or CF decided that dewating them was even an option? Since they were bought with tax dollars they should have to be auctioned off like all other public fund inventory.
 
x westie said:
Im curious,..why are they "Dewating" No. 4 rifles,..the Canadian rangers use the No. 4 rifle, and DND had to look overseas to keep up our No.4 rifle inventory,..and now you say we are turning them into useless junk..:confused::confused:
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I could be wrong, but I think that they wanted to get them as "new" and at the time the Pakistanis were the only ones still producing them. Doesn't make sense to me, but it IS the liberal gov't we're talking about here...:bsFlag:
 
several other outrageous examples......(1) All the OPP early FN-C1's, all the new unfired BAR's that were found in stores when Downsview was closed....so many more. Don't question it, sir : it's the Canadian way! ("if only one life is saved...." with multiple violins in the background,of course)
 
"...required to return..." Yep. No 'souvenirs' either. Especially handguns. Like Rossguy says, kit checks were done and anything found was confiscated.
 
I've heard from a few vets that when the announcement was made about checking for guns as the ships came back to Canada it brought on a mad dash to the deck to start pitching pistols, grenades, etc into the water. More than one vet also told me that when they actually disembarked from some of the ships no inspection was ever done. One fellow told me he was checked and when ordered to, he turned his kit bag upside down and emptied it on the floor. He passed inspection and was allowed to carry on. Fortunately, he was holding his Luger though the canvas with the hand the held the bag upside down :D .

I also dealt with an estate once where the grand kids (Canadians in their 50's) said they had their Dad's "army gun". When they brought it in, it turned out to be an 1889 Schmidt Rubin.
 
I'm fortunate to own my late uncle's personal issue S&W revolver which he carried as a tank fitter from Normandy thru France,Belgium,and Holland to the end in Germany. I also have a matching one which he recovered from a knocked out Sherman tank. He mailed these home in pieces along with a P38.
A lot of guys did take the risk and brought back all kinds of wierd and wonderful stuff. As a kid I saw a Thompson,a Grease Gun (my favourite to shoot),several STENs,an MP44,and many P38s and Lugers. One guy had a nice Mauser "broomhandle" and another had a stone mint Browning HP.
 
Recce21 said:
That has to be the single most heart breaking thing I have heard in a long time. What moron in the government or CF decided that dewating them was even an option? Since they were bought with tax dollars they should have to be auctioned off like all other public fund inventory.
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:agree:

And sounds like the makings of a letter to me.
 
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