More Ross markings

JTF#

JTF#

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hello

I rescued another ross from a local gun show and it had these markings on it. I know the plant proof and the serial number and date but the ones I don't know are the two little letters at the side of the date and the little circle that looks like OEF with 15 under it?

can anyone help?

thanks
Trevor



 
You read that as serial number 714HZ of 1916, friend.

The 714 is the actual serial, the HZ is the LETTER BLOCK it was in. They started, theoretically, at AA and went for 999 rifles, then changed to AB for 999 rifles, then to AC..... and when they wore out the alphabet they were supposed to start at BA. Things didn't work out quite the way they planned, so serials were restarted at a later Letter Group.

Your little circle is actually CEF 15. It stands for the 15th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which is the formation which used this rifle in combat.

I can guarantee one thing, Friend: if you check the combat history of the 15th Battalion, you will be SHOCKED. And I very much doubt that you will EVER want to part with this rifle.

Some guys just got horseshoes EVERYwhere!
 
226 Ross on display

Speaking of Ross Rifles which can be TRACED to a known formation, I was extremely fortunate in being able to obtain a commercially-chopped Mark III which had not been sanded hard enough to obliterate the issue markings.

I purchased it because it was marked to the 226th Battalion, which is one of the precursors to my own former Regiment, the XII Manitoba Dragoons.

This is just to advise anyone who might be passing through Brandon, Manitoba, that this rifle is now on display at the 26th Field Artillery/XII Manitoba Dragoons Museum in the Brandon Armoury on Victoria Avenue in Brandon. It will remain there until June 1, 2015 and then return here for a range session and maintenance, then it will go back to the Museum so others might see it. If you are passing through Brandon and wish to see this rifle, contact John (Ballsofice154) and he will be happy to give you the (literally) guided tour. They have a LOT of neat stuff..... 5 Pickelhauben, TuF, several tons of other goodies.
 
Smellie, why are some rifles marked 15 CEF and some, like mine, 48 H.?

uGpYNYy.jpg
 
Serial looks like 800 DF over 1914 to my old eyes.

First Company, 48th Highlanders.

Regimental marking rather than Battalion. Many Battalions were made up of drafts from several Regiments.

Some Regiments had troops in more than a single Battalion. XII Manitoba Dragoons was one such Regiment, 48th Highlanders was another.

It appears to have been a PPCLI rifle earlier, which definitely would fit the date of manufacture. They were the first Canadian troops in, then as now.

Don't show that one to Janice; she will hornswoggle you out of it! Her Grandfather was in the Pats when they formed up.
 
Go to 1:24. Didn't we have Lt. Col. Bent's pistol on here a few months back?

Pretty damn snappy drill too. They'd had plenty of experience by then.
 
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cantom said:
Mike- Is that a full length specimen? any more pics of it including the whole thing?

A nice early one, 1914.
Click to expand...

It is Cantom, although it has its problems. The magazine has been damaged and is non-functional amongst some other mostly mechanical things, cosmetically it is in great shape.


OP7lXfY.jpg


VTOACBE.jpg
 
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smellie said:
...Your little circle is actually CEF 15. It stands for the 15th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which is the formation which used this rifle in combat.

I can guarantee one thing, Friend: if you check the combat history of the 15th Battalion, you will be SHOCKED. And I very much doubt that you will EVER want to part with this rifle.

Some guys just got horseshoes EVERYwhere!
Click to expand...


On another forum, a poster maintained that CEF 15 referred to a CEF rifle issued in 1915, not a rifle issued to the 15th BN, CEF.
I always was of the opinion that this was a BN mark; now I wonder.
I have Mk. III rifles CEF15 (illegible serial date) and CEF16 (1915 serial date). Both are DA marked, and are therefore ones that were exchanged, and passed on to the RN.
Are there rifles with CEF XX marks which could not possibly be dates? eg - CEF 13, CEF 19, etc. If CEF XX refers to specific BN issue, there should be rifles with numbers corresponding to all the BNs of the First Division, at least.
 
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