Historically, it is quite interesting.
BSA did not get a contract to make rifles again (they had produced a huge number in 1914-18) until AFTER the disastrous pull-out from Dunkirk in 1940, when the Government decided that the Army had to become a LOT bigger.... and they were about 130,000 rifles short for the men they already had...... and the Government factory was in such condition that it could not produce ANY rifles. Once the Government decided that they needed rifles, BSA charged into full production. They had a limited number of Bodies already built, but nothing like enough even to meet the existing emergency.
The first rifles they produced were very well-finished and were marked like this one. Later rifles were marked just plain B (for Birmingham) or used one of the new CODES for the BSA factory. After the Luftwaffe paid a very special visit to the factory, they got SERIOUS about local defence AND concealment of the existing factory..... and then began DECENTRALISING production. In the end, parts were produced by (literally) hundreds of small shops and only brought together for assembly. BSA erected a NEW factory at Shirley to produce the Number 4 Rifle and also provided skilled and management staff for the Government's two new factories at Fazakerley and Maltby.
Nevertheless, production of the time-tested Number 1 Mark III* continued at Small Heath until early 1943.
YOUR rifle is from the very earliest BSA World War II production..... and it shows it in the good workmanship and the full PROPER markings.
If it were in MY collection, it would be a Keeper just for its history!
