Luger wanted letter from RCMP 1942...For the war effort!!

I suspect that there would be lots of Parabellum pistols around the Ottawa area, that they wouldn't have to get one from Vancouver.

If it's serial number is 33343, then it would be a commercial one
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I phant'sy that some clandestine types would prefer one that didn't have a military connection.
 
enefgee said:
I've seen this type of letter before, I'm pretty sure they wanted Lugers specifically for a reason. The same government was handing out rifles and ammunition to loggers on the West Coast. Different time, different attitudes - you could also ask for a permit to carry from the local police station - and get one, even in the city. The last Chief's Letter (permission to carry a pistol) I saw was dated 1970 - and the guy who showed it to me was a former member of the SS.
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"For personal protection"
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The one I referred to was for a Walther PP (go figure, he was former SS) in Vancouver for Personal Protection. A handwritten note on the form noted "concealed only". He worked in a pawn shop on the hundred block. It was signed by the Chief, in ink.
 
enefgee said:
The one I referred to was for a Walther PP (go figure, he was former SS) in Vancouver for Personal Protection. A handwritten note on the form noted "concealed only". He worked in a pawn shop on the hundred block. It was signed by the Chief, in ink.
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Sorry, I was just showing the ones issued to my great grandfather around the same time.
 
purple said:
I remember talk of the local RCMP harassing an older guy who owned a splendid pair of Bisley Colt revolvers to the point where they became the property of the pesky RCMP type.:rey2
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I would have smashed it to kingdom come with a 20lbs sledge hammer then hand it to them when they knock on my door!
 
Falconflyer said:
I think a lot of people here are confusing gun confiscation with helping the war effort, different times and a different problem.
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Yes. I also find it interesting how the letter was written -- there's no "I'd appreciate your help", it's simply assumed. The option is on whether you want some sort of compensation or not, not whether you'd be willing to do it or not.
 
enefgee said:
I've seen this type of letter before, I'm pretty sure they wanted Lugers specifically for a reason. The same government was handing out rifles and ammunition to loggers on the West Coast. Different time, different attitudes - you could also ask for a permit to carry from the local police station - and get one, even in the city. The last Chief's Letter (permission to carry a pistol) I saw was dated 1970 - and the guy who showed it to me was a former member of the SS.
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There was a story that Dr Morton Shulman (Toronto) was one of the few Canadian 'citizens' not employed by Police or Military who had a 'permit to carry' . Now, in Toronto, you have to be a gang member to carry a concealed firearm.
 
AP said:
There was a story that Dr Morton Shulman (Toronto) was one of the few Canadian 'citizens' not employed by Police or Military who had a 'permit to carry' . Now, in Toronto, you have to be a gang member to carry a concealed firearm.
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There was also the (in)famous story of Toronto police "politician-buddy" Norm Gardner; "one law for me, another for thee"... :canadaFlag:
 
Similar appeals were launched in England for SOE. This is a transcription of a letter I came across at a market some years ago, in a box of otherwise unrelated ephemera

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Some folks here seem to think this 1942 letter is the granddaddy to Justys May 1 OIC...................not even close. The world and Canada back then was a different beast then the 2020 version we currently have. Everybody was expected to step up and just about all citizens WANTED to step up for the war effort, be it collecting scrap paper, metal pots and pans (to make that tank or fighter plane that was going to take down Hitler and his hordes) or sending Canada's sons and daughters off to war. And this was all after the grind of living through the 1930s and the great depression. While people whine on about being "Covid fatigued" today back in the dark days of 1942 the Axis had a string of victories and really did look like they would prevail and victory over the nazis was not a sure thing with no "end date" to see that day. Thanks OP, and others, for posting these forms and letters that cast some light on that point of time in Canada's history.

Worth a read as we are all students of history to some degree as Milsurp owners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Resources_Mobilization_Act

Just think how dire and bleak things where when citizens of Canada would be considered "resources" as I said a far, far, different time and outlook back then.
 
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XRCD011 said:
all citizens WANTED to step up for the war effort, be it collecting scrap paper, metal pots and pans (to make that tank or fighter plane that was going to take down Hitler and his hordes) or sending Canada's sons and daughters off to war.
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My grandfather told me that when he was a kid it was a nickel to see a movie or free if you brought in a metal coat hanger for the war effort.
 
Falconflyer said:
I think a lot of people here are confusing gun confiscation with helping the war effort, different times and a different problem.
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The UK's WW2 "wartime socialism" and rationing continued into the mid-1950's, and Canada's WW1 "temporary" income tax continues to this day... :wave:


Never buy the Government rubbish about "temporary expedient measures"... :yingyang:
 
ArmedGinger said:
Sorry, I was just showing the ones issued to my great grandfather around the same time.
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Not at all, these are very interesting - artifacts from a time when shooters weren't the enemy of the police, or suspected of being a threat to society. I only caught the very end of that era, so seeing further evidence that it was in fact a reality is fascinating. I once took a pistol to be verified by the local RCMP detachment (which used to be a thing) and the Mountie working at the desk was very enthusiastic about the gun, he thought it was great. That was probably the last time I heard an RCMP member being enthusiastic about shooting, in uniform, in a detachment. A few years later, everything changed for the worse. It's one of the things I like about shooting in the US, shooting with the local PD, Sheriffs and even Fed guys, and just enjoying shooting. I once shot at a range in Florida with a DEA agent, a County Deputy and a city SWAT guy- all were fantastic shooters and genuinely great guys. Sadly, that doesn't happen here at home any more.
 
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