Webley WG Army Model, my first antique

marshole

marshole

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Campbell River, BC
Hello everyone,

I recently aquired my first antique, a Webley WG Army Model. I purchased this through a friend of mine named Steve (gutinater), on Gunbroker. We had been looking for a suitable WG for me for quite some time, and were happy to get this particular Webley. It is in original condition, and the cylinder has not been modified. I would not be in possesion of this beautiful revolver without Steve's help. You can view pictures of it here:

http://s1072.photobucket.com/user/Marsholio/library/

I received some bullets from Jethunter to load in 455 MK II brass that I have. I am using Unique powder and loading a charge of 4.2 grains with 250 gr RNHP bullets. Looking forward to going to the range this weekend.

I also received an antique letter for my WG, which has a serial number in the mid 11000 range. The Technician at the CFC mentioned it was manufactured in 1896 according to thier records. I also requested a search on the Webley through a UK research firm. It was sold to Army & Navy C.S.L. in 1898 and subsequently sold to A.H. Bridges Esq. in 1899. If anyone could suggest any avenues that I may find out additional information about Mr. Bridges, I would appreciate it.

I have been a member of CGN for about a year and have used the forums extensively for help on information regarding antiques. Thanks everyone and I just wished to share my new antique in this thread.

Marcel



there is the first of your 3 photos mooncoon
 
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That is a beauty. I know very little about them, but the 'American' style grips are interesting. Congrats.
 
Hi Marcel
Well done, you have found yourself an excellent example. The British always referred to the square grips as "Target grips", the "Birds head" grips are more common, I have always thought the square grips add a certain "class", a super piece of old history there.|
 
Army and Navy Co-Operative Society handled just about anything and everything. Most of their customers were military or Civil Service, lot of them posted all over the Empire.

If your Mr. Bridges was military, he should be somewhere on the Army List or the Navy List for that period. Being that he uses "Esq." rather than a RANK, there is a good chance that he was Civil Service. There were a LOT of Colonies back then, so you start with the biggest: India.... and work from there. The Colonial Office might be able to direct you toward a reference in the Archives at Kew.

Very nice old piece!
 
And a little tip on finding the man. Start with the passenger lists for the British shipping lines around the time this pistol was sold, P&O being the most obvious - if you have some idea when it was sold. Officers and colonial officials typically went to outfitters, as Smellie mentions, before going on foreign postings to be "kitted out" and not long before their departures. It's just a smaller group of people to have to search through, and the port of destination and whatever other info is on the list, will tell you more about who the man was and where he was going.

A piece from the very apex of Empire: 1897 was Queen Victoria's diamond Jubilee, around the time that Kipling wrote his "Recessional". I spoke one or two ex-Imperial officials years ago, who of course were very old men then and from a later era than this. They plainly believed in the value of what they had done, however small their part was in the great machine, and I fully agreed with them.

Let us know what you find out.
 
Glad you love the Gun Marcel! You guys need to see this gun in person to appreciate the beauty it's 85% original bluing minty bores and cylinders flawless almost tiger striped wood grips and the action is like that of a brand new gun. Sometimes you Get lucky and the gun you buy is even nicer than described by the seller, unfortunately that is rarely the case.

Steve
 
Wow, that is a great looking example, most are not. I can also attest what exceptional shooters the WGs are. Enjoy

This is an old pic of mine.
wwg1.jpg
 
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