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Mention Webleys in South Africa
and most locals these days will probably think of the 0,38" S&W
revolvers used by the South African Police (SAP) in the second half of the
20th century. Overseas firearms and
military enthusiasts will probably think of the 0,455" revolvers used in
the Anglo-Boer War at the very end of the previous century. However, the link between Webley and SA
goes back to long before that conflict, and embraces much more than just the
police and some military forces.
Over it's long history the firm
of P Webley & Son, and the later Webley & Scott, made a massive range
of pistols, revolvers, rifles, air weapons and shotguns. In SA all of these, and particularly the
handguns, were used by explorers, farmers, police, soldiers, mining
companies, banks, Boer commandos, target shooters, colonial forces and ordinary
citizens wanting a firearm for self-protection.
This Special Interest Group web
page seeks to record some of that history, and to serve as a catalyst to
discover more information. The main
emphasis is on the pistols and revolvers, since most Webley rifles were sold
under other company's names, and shotguns are of no interest (!). The page is
maintained by Peter J Smith, who welcomes ANY information concerning Webleys
in SA: types; dates; users; retailers; holsters, accessories, training; etc;
etc.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WEBLEY COMPANY
James and Phillip Webley were
brothers who both served apprenticeships in the gun trade in Birmingham,
England, in the 1820s and 1830s.
After some time in business together they set up on their own
designing and making percussion revolvers.
When James died suddenly in 1856, Philip absorbed his business, as he
had that of William Davis (who made bullet moulds and gun tools) after the
latter's death and Philip's marriage to his daughter Caroline. Moulds associated with early Webley
revolvers can sometimes be found with the trademark WD.
During the 1860s Philip was
joined by Thomas and Henry Webley, two of his four sons (and two
daughters). Both these two sons had
also completed their apprenticeships in the gun trade, by now a major
industry in Birmingham. The business
was then registered as P Webley & Son of Birmingham and London (although
there were two sons) and the Winged Bullet with the initials W & S was
adopted as a trade mark. The adoption
of a new Webley solid frame revolver design by the Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC) in 1868 set the company firmly on the route towards becoming the
largest and ultimately the sole revolver manufacturer in England.
The next major event was the
adoption of the break open 0,455" Webley Service revolver by the British
Army in 1887. The company then had an
association with the War Office for the next 40 or more years and ,after a
period of bitterness in the late 1920s and 1930s, again during the Second
World War.
In 1897 there was an
amalgamation with Richard Ellis & Son and W & C Scott & Sons
(both shotgun makers) to form The Webley & Scott Revolver & Arms
Company Limited. In 1906 this company
simplified its name to Messrs Webley & Scott Limited, but the famous
Winged Bullet trademark continued to be used and, fortunately (?) the
initials W & S remained applicable.
Several patterns of winged bullet were used over the years, but all
are instantly recognisable as the trade mark of the premier English gun
manufacturer.
In 1911 the London Metropolitan
Police adopted the Webley & Scott 0,32" pistol, which lead to
extensive sales to police forces around the Empire. Then in 1912 the Royal Navy adopted the big 0,455" Self
Loading pistol; the only British pistol to have been adopted for British
military service to this day.
Regrettably, the increasingly
repressive anti-gun legislation in the United Kingdom, starting with the
Firearms Act of 1920, progressively killed Webley's home market and they were
faced with increasing competition and import restrictions in overseas markets. The firm branched out into air pistols,
and then air rifles, in the mid 1920s in an effort to sustain business, but
the decline had already set in. A row
with the War Office over design rights regarding the new Enfield 0,38 Service
revolver and its ammunition, in the development of which Webley had played a
major part, severed that association and further reduced Webley's
market.
The Second World War saw the
War Office having to beg Webley to make and sell them Mark IV 0,38"
S&W revolvers and 11/2" Signal Pistols, but after the war Webley
were left with only the police market at home and around the Empire, itself
in decline, and the rapidly shrinking civilian market. Air guns became an increasing part of the
business, and in 1979 the last revolver was made.
Various mergers and changes of
ownership followed in the 1980s, along with the sale of the shotgun
business. Now, in the 21st Century,
the name of Webley & Scott still exists as a maker of air guns, but
cannot in any honesty claim any direct lineage with the company that Philip
founded all those years ago.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTIONS
The first Webleys to appear in
South Africa undoubtedly came with their owners. Percussion revolvers dating from 1859 and 1860 are known, for
example. Private imports by people
from Britain continued over the years and the peak must surely have been
before and during the Anglo-Boer War.
British Army officers were required to provide their own handgun
(Private Purchase), and most choose a Webley revolver chambering the
Government 0,455" cartridge.
Many of these pistols (the correct British nomenclature is Pistol,
Revolver) were retailed by the famous Army & Navy Cooperative Stores
Limited and can be found marked Army & Navy CSL.
However, the gun trade
developed rapidly in South Africa, and by the mid 1870s retailers were
stocking and selling Webley revolvers (see below). During the 1890s Thomas Webley paid several visits to South
Africa and actively promoted the sale of Webley products to both
"official" and commercial customers.
Various Colonial forces were
equipped with Webley revolvers and the Cape Government ownership mark C^G is commonly found on a wide variety of
models. The British Army was of
course the major user of Webley revolvers, and many of these remain in South
Africa as surplus or "liberated".
When South Africa ceased to be
a colony, with the Union in 1910, the police and Army (Union Defence Force or
UDF) carried on using British firearms.
A number of contracts were signed with Webley over many, many years
for revolvers and pistols, and some of these subsequently passed to the
Prison Service (GDPS).
CIVILIAN USAGE
Establishing details of
civilian usage is naturally considerably more difficult than for
"official" issue. Most
information can only be surmised from the range of models found in the
country, enhanced by any details learnt from people selling a gun that has
been in the family since new, or at least for some considerable time.
Formal Target Shooting
It is clear that Webley
revolvers and single shot pistols were used in formal target shooting around
the 1950s-1970s. A number of Mk IV
0,22" LR target revolvers, and some in 0,38" S&W, are found
with modifications that typify such usage by shooters who knew just what they
wanted from a target pistol; examples are trigger shoes, coloured sights (of
questionable real value), weighted butts, worked over trigger pulls,
etc. Single shot 0,22" LR free
pistols also turn up from time to time, again showing signs of user or
gunsmith modifications. The trade
mark overlaid W and R of well known South African gunsmith WJC (Bill) Richie
has been found on some of these pistols.
Self Protection
During the 1950s and 1960s a
considerable number of Mk IV pocket models in 0,38" S&W, and even
0,32" S&W Long, were purchased by civilians for self
protection. Most of these revolvers
seemed to have spent the next decades in the sock drawer, or even in the
original box, since they are frequently found in near mint condition. Many have the somewhat superfluous (on a
double action revolver) square push button safety.
Of course in earlier years
revolvers and pistols were also obtained for self protection. A particularly nice story is of the recent
owner's mother who was given a Number 2 revolver in 0,380 CF for her 21st
birthday in 1920; she subsequently used it to chase an adulterous husband out
of the house and out of her life! It
is interesting to note that the No 2 ceased production by 1914, but was
available new in 1920. No doubt the
intervening Great War had something to do with this.
Private Purchase
Air Pistols and Rifles
RETAILERS AND WHOLESALERS
Known dealers are (wholesalers
marked W):
J Greaves, Kingwilliam's
Town (guns so marked)
A P Walshe of Kimberley &
Johannesburg (guns so marked)
J F King, Durban (guns so marked)
J F King, D'Urban (guns so marked)
W Rawbone & Co, Cape
Town (?)
Stein & Hunter, Port
Elizabeth
Shimwell Bros, Johannesburg (?)
COLONIAL FORCES USAGE
Cape Police
Guns marked C.P.
Known models are No 5 New Model Army Express.
Natal Police
Guns marked N.P.
Known models are Service Mk IV.
Cape Mounted Rifles
Guns probably marked C.M.R. Models(s) unknown, but probably one or more Service Marks.
South African Constabulary
Guns marked S.A.C. and often the abbreviated
year, eg '06. Known models are
Service Mk I, Service Mk IV.
M.H ?
Guns marked M.H. and C^G. Known models are
Service Mk II.
Cape Government (Unit or
Force unknown)
Guns marked C^G.
Known models are Service Mk I* (?), Mk II, Mk IV.
South African Light Horse
Guns marked S.A.L.H. Known models are Service Mk II.
ARMY USAGE
Union Defence Force
Guns marked with ^ in U.
Very many types of Webley and other makes are found with the Union
property mark (^ in U), but
it seems unlikely that all of these were issue guns. The assumption is that many were civilian
guns impounded during W W II and marked by over zealous armourers. Any information in this regard would be
appreciated. Known issue models are
Service Mk IV with 4" and 6" barrel, Service Mk VI, 9mm Browning
Long Military & Police pistol (SA was the only country to adopt this
pistol for service issue).
Military & Police 9mm BL Pistol
British and Empire Forces
British Army guns are marked
with the whole gamut of inspection, proof and ownership marks, with the Broad
Arrow on most parts. Often the back
strap carries regimental markings and sometimes an issue date. The regimental markings can usually be
linked to units known to have served in SA, mostly during the Anglo-Boer
War. Known models are Service Mk I,
I*, II, III, IV, V and VI. The Second
World War "War Finish" 0,38 S&W Mk IV revolvers often
encountered bear post 1955 Birmingham commercial proof marks. These guns appear to be re-furbished
surplus arms retailed by the UK firm Parker-Hale in the early 1960s.
Empire unit markings may also
be found; an example is a Mk I with New South Wales Government markings.
POLICE USAGE
South African Police
Guns marked S.A.P. Known models are Mk III 0,38" S&W Pocket, Mk IV
0,38" S&W with 4" and 5" barrel, Service Mk VI with
4" barrel and fixed foresight (These were some of the last Mk VI made;
the SA High Commission ordered 200 in 1935), Mk IV 1 1/2" Signal
Pistols; the UDF 9mm pistol is also believed to have been used by the SAP.
MARK VI with 4" Barrel
Railway Police
Guns marked S.A.R.^ S.A.S Known models are Mk IV 0,32" S&W
Long with 4" barrel.
COMPANY AND INSTITUTIONAL USAGE
Gevangenis Diens/Prison
Service
Guns marked G.D.P.S. Also found with M
in U, being the property mark of
the Republic of SA (after 1964) Known
models are Mk VI with 4" barrel, ex SAP (S.A.P. mark cancelled or milled out).
Standard Bank (of SA)
Guns marked STANDARD BANK. Known models are No 5 Express in 360 Rook,
Mk III 38 Pocket, 7,65mm Pistol Model 1908.
Crown Deep Ltd
Guns marked CROWN DEEP, Ltd. . This gold mining company used at least one
type of Webley, the RIC Model 1883 in 0,455".
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