Enfield Canadian Carry Box

1898guns

1898guns

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So I got lucky and ended up with this box at auction... A little lemon oil and now it is beautiful. Belonged to a C.S.M. Harry Rusk of the Cameron Highlanders. I tried some google searches and all I can find are some match results from Connaught... This case was all over the place, when I cleaned it there was residue from a dozen other shipping labels. The one label shows he took a voyage in 1936; another member on here (Tiriaq) had posted on milsups at one point that he had a longbranch that was once owned by this man. Of course the auctioneer thought CSM Rusk was the highest rated marksman in Canada or such but I was not sure if that was normal auction overbravado. Can anyone muster a guess as to the red/white labels were on the back - there are a few pasted one over the other - looks like "Canadian Rifle Team", I have not doubt it went overseas..... perhaps something from a Bisley team ?

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I'm a member of the Regiment, I will show this to the museum staff on Thursday, their archives are very good and will post likely be able to shed some light onto who CSM Rusk was and what he was involved in. A nice piece of history you've got yourself!
 
The 1950 LB I have which is engraved with CSM Rusk's name is in a black leatherette covered single rifle case.
I have a wooden rifle crate similar to the OP's, and the accompanying range box that was used to go to Bisley in the '50s. I'll check on the officer's name.
 
From what I know of the teams back then the DCRA teams went to UK on CF ships and never on a commercial liner. The CF teams to Bisley were different but I can't imagine they went commercial. You never know, could be because a spouse was along or a number of other reasons. I had a #4 that was engraved with a name, can't remember what it was, but he was a Cameron. I contacted the Cameron's but they showed no interest so I sold it for the widow of the owner, Col. John Brick. This box I think was made to his specs and was not issue.

Speaking of spouses along, #### Hampton told me of one trip on a DCRA team when a number of spouses were along on the train ride to Bisley. One of them asked "So what is this strange animal you come here to shoot, the Bisley??".

Tiriaq, did you buy that #4 from me??
 
Yes, I bought the Rusk/Brick rifle from you at Connaught.

Just checked the shipping crate - it is set up for three rifles. Lockable with a hasp, but screwed shut for transport. Holder for the screws inside the lid, for when they are not in use. Lt. Col. G. Patrick, Ottawa, Canadian Rifle Team Bisley 1956.
I bought the crate and range box at Switzer's Auction in Bancroft. Earlier in the sale, there was a vintage spotting scope. Bet it was part of the kit, too bad it was sold separately. I do not recall a TR in the sale.
 
This is amazing. It is reassuring to know that it has been found by somebody who will care for it, and appreciate it's history.
As a former officer, I am very pleased that it didn't end up as somebody's toolbox, or worse yet, firewood.
An amazing find indeed, and a solid piece of Canadian history...

Advance!
 
I searched the Bisley archives and found out that CSM H Rusk competed there 5 times. 1929, 1930, 1932, 1936, 1939. Canada scored highest in 1929 and 1932; Rusk shot his best at 144 in 1936... that was in July '36, so indeed he was on his way on commercial Cunard voyage that left Monteal on June 12th (on the SS Alaunia pictured below) There is a Canadian Pacific label over that 1936 Cunard label, he probably took that Canadian Pacific ship when he went back in '39 - I cannot read the label though.


alaunia(2).jpg


MATCH FIFTY-FIVE - 1929
Fired on Tuesday 16 July 1929
CANADA
Commandant: Lt Col GT Chisholm VD
Captain: Capt WG Colquhoun MC
Coaches: Lt Col RM Blair, Capt A Martin
Reserves: Lt D Fyvie
CSM AC Lucas 46 48 44 138
Sgt JH Regan 46 46 45 137
CSM H Rusk 47 45 44 136
CSM GM Emslie 46 44 45 135
Sgt JWA Sharpe 44 46 45 135
MGnr H Collings 46 48 41 135
Capt JT Steele 42 47 45 134
Lt DT Burke 43 45 45 133
---- ---- ---- ------
360 369 354 1083


MATCH FIFTY-SIX - 1930
CANADA
Captain: Lt Col RM Blair
Adjutant: Lt SW Graham
Coaches: Capt A Martin
Reserves:
Lt J Bowen 47 49 47 143
Lt DT Burke 49 47 46 142
Lt AC Carter 48 48 46 142
CSM GM Emslie 49 46 46 141
Sgt CW Foam 44 46 48 138
CSM H Rusk 45 48 45 138
Sgt JH Regan 45 46 45 136
CSM WA Hawkins 44 45 46 135
---- ---- ---- ------
371 375 369 1115



MATCH FIFTY-EIGHT - 1932
Fired on Tuesday 12 July 1932
CANADA
Captain: Lt Col AG Styles DSO
Adjutant: Maj F Gardiner
Coaches: Maj F Richardson, FV Shepherd, Lt JN Dow
Reserves: None
Lt DT Burke 50 49 47 146
Lt AR Sweet 46 49 49 144
Lt GE Matchett 49 49 44 142
CSM H Rusk 45 46 48 139
QMSgt H Burton 48 45 46 139
Capt J Houlden 46 46 46 138
QMSgt A Parnell 46 47 45 138
CSM GM Emslie 46 48 43 137
---- ---- ---- ------
376 379 368 1123



MATCH SIXTY-TWO - 1936
CANADA
Captain: Lt Col ND Dingle
Adjutant: Maj KM Holloway
Coaches:
Reserves;
CSM R Rusk 48 48 48 144
Sgt JR Kier 45 48 49 142
Lt H Parker 46 49 47 142
SQMS FV Shepherd 48 47 43 138
Lt PJ Martinson 43 48 44 135
Sgt JWA Sharpe 44 46 45 135
Sgt Maj R Kiddie 42 48 44 134
Capt SW Graham 47 46 40 133
---- ---- ---- ------
363 380 360 1103

MATCH SIXTY-FIVE - 1939
CANADA
Captain: Col CB Price DSO DCM VD ADC
Adjutant: None
Maj RS Harrison 50 44 49 143
Capt AC Lucas 50 47 45 142
CSM H Rusk 47 48 45 140
Lt S Johnson 45 46 45 136
Cpl T Gregory RCAF 45 47 44 136
Lt CF Kennedy 46 46 43 135
Cpl HD Whitehead 44 49 42 135
Sgt A Parnell 42 48 44 134
---- ---- ---- ------
369 375 357 1101
 
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1898guns said:
MATCH FIFTY-FIVE - 1929
Fired on Tuesday 16 July 1929
CANADA
Commandant: Lt Col GT Chisholm VD
Captain: Capt WG Colquhoun MC
Coaches: Lt Col RM Blair, Capt A Martin
Reserves: Lt D Fyvie
CSM AC Lucas 46 48 44 138
Sgt JH Regan 46 46 45 137
CSM H Rusk 47 45 44 136
CSM GM Emslie 46 44 45 135
Sgt JWA Sharpe 44 46 45 135
MGnr H Collings 46 48 41 135
Capt JT Steele 42 47 45 134
Lt DT Burke 43 45 45 133
---- ---- ---- ------
360 369 354 1083
Click to expand...

- Im pretty sure I just bought a rifle owned by him today!
 
I personally really enjoy it when artifacts like these can be tied to a person, rather than being just generic curios.
I have a Bisley Prize Rifle, a MLE, won by a Canadian at Bisley in 1899. Capt. AP Cartwright from Toronto. Also have a sheet from the London Illustrated News with a photograph of the Canadian Kolapore team for that year. The winner is in the team photo, although not with the prize rifle. One of his team mates, though, is showing off another prize rifle - you can see the silver plaque on the butt.
 
I have the steamer trunk of a Bisley shooter that has many of the same labels that are on the original poster's rifle crate. He also would appear to have gone to Bisley on the Cunard Line, although much later towards the end of the 50s.
 
Nope, although I did buy his DCRA rifle back in the day. It was at the Brandon show, and the guys selling it were charging a fortune for his rifles. One with some mixed wood and one with some nice blond wood. I bought the blond for $225 and later realised it had no bayonet lugs. It was a .308 conversion, so that price turned out to be pretty good.

The trunk I bought was from a lot of stuff I bought through ebay. The shooter was a WO Wiltshire and his wife Phyllis, who shot with the NDHQ rifle team. The barrack box included his blues, his battledress, his shooting jacket and slouch hat, trophy spoons and ashtrays from various competitions, parts of his 455 pistol, parts from 6 of his enfield rifles, 3 or 4 PH5C target sights, spotting telescopes, and some other misc items. The highlight was two sets of laminated enfield wood, one horizontal and one vertical.
 
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Just by happenstance I got a bunch of his No4 wood when I was living in Bdn 9 yrs ago. A friend called from Virden saying that he had discovered a box of old stocks that were being thrown out and might I like them. I said yes and got a number of forends and handgds incl a maple set, a horizontal laminate set, and a Brit forend with a Cunard sticker on it. From that I surmised that the owner might have been a Bisley shooter. Brown's name was on the tattered old box that it all came in.
 
Good score on the wood. Expect to start getting PMs from the usual scoundrels trying to pry the laminated wood from you.

A friend bought Bill Browns slouch cap and I believe some of the shooting certificates he had won. He was referred to as Bisley Bill in these parts, and known for using about 10 minutes to take a shot.
 
Thanks to all for this input in this thread.

Skoal32: Thanks in advance to checking with the museum staff. I appreciate the effort and the compliment.

Tiriaq: What are the chances I can convince you to post or PM me pics of the crate and range box you speak of, and perhaps the 1950 LB that bears this mans name? Strictly for interests sake.

chofo: Thanks for that!

stencollector: I would love to see pics of the steamer trunk that you have! Did all that come as one lot on ebay ?


And I love this one:
"So what is this strange animal you come here to shoot, the Bisley??"

While on the subject of Bisley, for those that do not have it already, here is a link to a .pdf file of Bisley teams and scores from 1900-1949. It is very handy to search for names by using ctrl+F - it lists all participants within the teams.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=...15fwAfQiSeQ04LmhA&sig2=qZWsmIhQnkJq7b0hZKiBdg
 
1898guns said:
Thanks to all for this input in this thread.

Skoal32: Thanks in advance to checking with the museum staff. I appreciate the effort and the compliment.

Tiriaq: What are the chances I can convince you to post or PM me pics of the crate and range box you speak of, and perhaps the 1950 LB that bears this mans name? Strictly for interests sake.

chofo: Thanks for that!

stencollector: I would love to see pics of the steamer trunk that you have! Did all that come as one lot on ebay ?


And I love this one:
"So what is this strange animal you come here to shoot, the Bisley??"

While on the subject of Bisley, for those that do not have it already, here is a link to a .pdf file of Bisley teams and scores from 1900-1949. It is very handy to search for names by using ctrl+F - it lists all participants within the teams.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=...15fwAfQiSeQ04LmhA&sig2=qZWsmIhQnkJq7b0hZKiBdg
Click to expand...

This is not the list of members of the national Teams. It is the results of the Rajah of Kolapore Imperial Challenge Cup Match. This is a match consisting of 8 shooters on two targets (coached) at 300, 500 and 600 yards. I am sitting here looking at the 1938 Canadian Kolapore Team picture. They won! The Kolapore is one of the important prestigious matches at Bisley. We don't win it very often.

I have shot it quite a few times, but only won it once.
 
Everything came in one lot off ebay, with the exception of the 3 sights which, although the seller showed them in this lot, he sold them in another lot, which I also got. After I won the lot, the seller indicated he would have to decide if he was going to follow through with the auction because it went for a lot less than they expected. To top it off, a few items that were in the photos were not shipped to me. I had to ask him to find those items and ship them as well. I suspect the seller was not familiar with how things were done on ebay.

Here are some photos of the chest. Unfortunately whoever in his family stripped his rifles and put the wood in the chest did not figure out that you could lay it left to right, and instead cut the forestocks to fit front to back.

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stencollector said:
Good score on the wood. Expect to start getting PMs from the usual scoundrels trying to pry the laminated wood from you.

A friend bought Bill Browns slouch cap and I believe some of the shooting certificates he had won. He was referred to as Bisley Bill in these parts, and known for using about 10 minutes to take a shot.
Click to expand...

The maple set found a home on a 1945 LB. The laminated forend was center bedded. I've installed it and the matching handgds on a 1943LB which was rebuilt at Long Branch with a rebuild date of 12/46. Of course I didn't have a laminate butt for it, but found an LB butt with some matching figure which seems to match not too badly. Both of these rifles were Indian surplus with a jumble of parts on them, but they cleaned up amazingly well and look very nice with all LB parts.
 
purple said:
The maple set found a home on a 1945 LB. The laminated forend was center bedded. I've installed it and the matching handgds on a 1943LB which was rebuilt at Long Branch with a rebuild date of 12/46. Of course I didn't have a laminate butt for it, but found an LB butt with some matching figure which seems to match not too badly. Both of these rifles were Indian surplus with a jumble of parts on them, but they cleaned up amazingly well and look very nice with all LB parts.
Click to expand...

That makes 3 sets of laminate that I know of missing their butt stocks. I have one, yours, and a friend also has a DCRA rifle with laminate forestock and handguards but not a laminate buttstock.
 
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