Milsurp After Hours

Trying to determine if one state marking on the Cadet is more common than others. I have both the Vic and NSW, and wondered if other states are more or less common...

Cheers,

Warren

Hi Warren,

I don't really know, a BSA catalogue of 1912 says it shipped 70,000 cadets to OZ.

I don't know how they were marked after Federation, the most common pre federation ones I've seen have been NSW, but that just could be that that is just where the bulk came from.

My last Cadet a NSW Westley Richards actually came here via New Zealand.

Ill post a link to this thread on the British Rifle forum, see if any of the colonials can help.

My Cadet has no state markings or serial number at all. Perhaps it never got issued?

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Regards

Peter.

Or it was 'lifted' from the factory or was put together by an Armourer who had access to new bodies?

Any internal numbers?

On numbers issued, NSW and VIC are going to be the most numerous for the simple reason that they are/were the most populous states.

I can't recall having ever seen one marked for other that those two states.

Try a question on

http://www.synect.com/forum/

Someone there is sure to have some info.

I believe the issue of the .310 Martini Cadet rifles was a Commonwealth Government inititative (so post federation obviously) and they were issued to the Cadets in all states, so markings for all states should be around. How common the various State markings would be down to the size of the Cadet units in each State - which may or may not relate to population size.

Like Eoin I have only seen NSW and VIC markings but have heard of QLD ones.

NSW also introduced (pre-federation) the .310 Westley Richards Cadet Martini which would skew the figures in favour of NSW marked rifles.

A lot of these rifles were re-issued to the militia (CMF) in 1942 so may be marked for more than one state.

Trivia - Australia developed a copper jacketed round for the .310 Cadet during WW2 because the use of the full lead projectile would have contravened the Hague Convention

Thanks for the info. So little is known about the BSA 310 Cadet in other Commonwealth countries. Most have been re-chambered to a more readily available cartridge in other countries.

And hundreds, if not thousands, were re chambered in .32 Winchester (.32-20) in the late 1950s by Smith's Sports Store in Sydney because the Police insisted that they were in a military calibre.

Yair I know ...stupid.

But that's the way things were.

The late Mick Smith bought 25,000 of them as I remember for about 5/- each from the Government.

I did the initial inspection for him and he gave me 10 pounds for my trouble plus cab fare out to the Botany Ordnance depot and back. (a tenner was about a week's wages )

There, as the rep of SSS, I was royally received and treated to biscuits and tea by the officers. Little did they know that I was a lowly RAEME Craftsman on a day off.

Mick also offered me a couple of hundred of them at a very good price...but what would I want with them...like a lot of other people I thought Mick was going to be left with a pile of unsaleable rifles on his hands...Ha! should have known better