Rob442

I don't believe I ever suggested that these markings were done at the factory during the war but soon after. The title of my post suggests that it could be a presentation gun, possibly to some town, dignitary or similar so not necessarily an individuals personal weapon. Nobody can know for sure unless further information turns up, until then, anything is possible.

I hear what you are saying but it is nothing more than your personal opinion, I do not believe it is possible to say for sure that there is no chance these markings were done at the factory. Unless someone has personal knowledge of this particular gun together with proof that these engravings were added recently then anything is possible.

Yes, I used to own one just like it. My guess is that they found some action tubes from the early production that were unused due to specifications changing and they used up whatever they had as the need increased. I say this because the one I used to own had two pilot holes drilled into the underside of the body to be milled together to make a slot for the tipping lever. These were never joined up so I guess the body had been put aside before completion following the design change to delete this feature.

I'd say that yours is the original British manufactured stock that has been "customized" by the Egyptians!

Thanks Richard Thought that might be the case.

More replacement stocks.

Just wanted to post some pictures of a couple of interesting Lanchester stocks that I've come across. I'm guessing that these are Egyptian replacements as the dimensions are not quite the same as the standard spec. They are often a bit deeper in the forend, most noticeably in the trigger area where part of the guard is covered. Many of these stocks are much lighter in colour and have thinner more simplified finger grooves of single depth rather than the deeper forward area on factory stocks. I have more pics of similar stocks which I will post when I find them.

I know he purchased from a military museum some time ago so may still do that. Many years ago I purchased a very nice smooth jacket Russian Maxim from him that had all WW1 parts and no Finnish stamps, quite possibly a WW1 capture.

When I was offered this gun many years ago, it was in near mint condition and was being sold by Regimentals. Apparently Baptys bought it back and as far as I know, it's been with them ever since.

Hi Nick, It was from Battleflag Militaria.

Colt Thompson Ser no 3386 is currently up for sale by D&B Militaria in the UK. The gun is deactivated to UK Old Spec with fully moving parts priced at £20,000. This is the same gun as featured in the Gale and Polden British Home Guard manual and was previously owned by the London movie prop house Baptys. I had the opportunity to purchase this gun about 20-25 years ago for £2000 and at that time it was housed in an FBI case complete with drum and stick mags. I turned it down back then as I wasn't sure if it was a 1928 that had been altered and engraved to look like a 1921 as I knew Baptys would alter guns for film use.

I get what you're saying but there was no story with this gun and the price was no more than a standard M1A1 so no incentive to go to all that trouble. I had never noticed how the patina had formed around the engraving until I took these pics in direct sunlight. I've seen how paint finishes can be made to look old and also many refinished guns but I don't believe that to be the case here. As I say, where's the incentive?

Thanks for the kind words. The gun is a new style deactivation, the rear part of the bolt moves but doesn't lock back. My only problem with what you say regarding the engraving being relatively recent is the way the patina has formed around the engraving and not under it. If you look closely at the roll stamped lettering below the rear sight, you can see that the patina has formed around the lettering in exactly the same way. The font also seems to be almost identical to the original Thompson markings which made me wonder if it had been returned to the factory to have this applied immediately following the war. All this is speculation of course but I think its highly unlikely that all the patina on the gun occurred recently. I may never find the truth about this gun but I have a gut feeling about it so that's good enough for now.

Deactivation rules are more strict over here than they used to be but externally, the guns remain intact. Magazines can be removed and the trigger and selector levers usually still move but the front part of the bolt is now welded into the breech and the rear part no longer locks in the cocked position. This is a small price to pay to be able to own these incredible pieces of history relatively intact and licence free.

Thanks and it is deactivated.