doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Westley Richards T-Series S/S

I was fortunate to inherit my Grandfathers Westley Richards shotgun.

When researching it - I came across this forum and thought some would find this interesting.

The gun was ordered in the last couple of weeks before WW1 through a UK Trade exporter, it was held up because of the war, and then finished October 22nd 1919. I am still awaiting written confirmation of the order date from Westley Richards, but have based this assumption on the proximity to T6390, ordered on July 21st 1914 (see https://www.westleyrichards.com/blo...WxxHFO88mP3TgwCGF1i1Khs0NRHSfDs1aIYVicZ4). Mine is just 19 serial numbers away (T6409)

It was ordered custom spec for a G.R. Forman of Napier (New Zealand). From what I can tell he owned a successful higher end Ironmonger (hardware store - thus the link with the Trade Exporter in the UK). Most T-series guns (but not all) were sold with lower levels of embellishment and were sold to Trade (retailers). This gun is slightly unusual in that it was ordered via a UK trade shipper (as opposed to buying from the local New Zealand Westley Richards agents) in order to get custom changes make. I have attached the ledger - and am in the process of working with Westley Richards to try and obtain the Factory and order book details.

It is interesting to see that it was was listed as a ditto of the previous serial number T6408. This gun was ordered with our ejectors, which (at some point in the process) was changed from non ejector (the non is crossed out in the ledger), and "cone to ejector" added to the spec. but was for a completely different recipient. I can't quite work this out.

Looks like the original purchaser lost his money with a combination with the Great Depression and the Napier earthquake which (from what I can find) destroyed his store. My Grandfather (who was a keen shooter - and an accomplished jockey) purchased it just prior to WW2 on the basis of "Im probably going to die anyway - so might as well enjoy a nice gun before I go".

He survived - although he had a hell of a war as a POW and was on the ill fated Nino Boxio, and returned to New Zealand where he remained a keen shooter for many years. his has been in my family ever since.

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Welcome to the Forum!

Splendid that you still have your grandfather’s lovely gun, and delighted that he survived his ordeal and returned to enjoy his purchase.

Thank you for your most informative post, and the article from “Explora”.

I have long wondered if the T prefix signifies “made in the Trade” or “made for the Trade”?

Reading their article the answer seems to be “either or both (and on occasion perhaps neither?)”.



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My own example ( yes, I know it needs re-jointing and, no, it was not me who thought it was a good idea to use a scratch card to clean the outside of the barrrels) is a T52xx dating from1912.

It has a Greener style cross-bolt rather than the WR dolls head and the marking on the top extension would appear to have been applied when it was made.

My guess is that the intriguing “Ford’s Hammerless Warrior’s Gun” was stamped on after it arrived in Pietermaritzburg?

Thank you for the welcome.

Yes - the T-series seems to be many and varied. I think the common factor between them all is the parting out. The "Best" were made full in-house at Westley Richards - T-Series were sent in part to outworkers. You can see this in common on the register - both the Action and the finishing were parted out.

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I hadn't seen markings like that so I popped it through Claude along with my research. It gave me the following:

MarkingWhat it means"WESTLEY RICHARDS & Co, BIRMINGHAM"The maker's mark — but note it says Birmingham, not London.

WR ran both: Birmingham was the factory (where guns were actually built), London (New Bond Street) was the flagship retail address. Seeing "Birmingham" on the rib rather than "London" is common on trade/export-line guns rather than guns sold through the London shop."

MADE FOR FORD BROS, MARITZBURG"This is the important one — a retailer stamp. Ford Bros were a gun dealer in Pietermaritzburg (Maritzburg), Natal, South Africa. This confirms the gun wasn't sold direct by Westley Richards to an end customer — it was built for a colonial retailer, who then sold it under their own shopfront.

"FORD'S HAMMERLESS WARRIOR'S GUN"This is Ford Bros' own house trade name for the model — not a Westley Richards model name at all. Colonial dealers often did this: buy a batch of guns from a British maker, then slap on their own catchy branding to sell locally.

"Warrior's Gun" is clearly aimed at the colonial/frontier market — evocative, a bit marketing-department, very of its era."

SPECIAL QUALITY" with the △ triangle markA grade/quality designation — similar in spirit to the numbered grades we found on the T-prefix guns, but this looks like it may be Ford Bros' own grading system rather than Westley Richards' internal one, since it's stamped alongside their retail branding rather than the maker's details. Worth confirming once we can see proof marks properly.

Same maker, but built purely for the colonial export trade under someone else's shop name, rather than sold under the Westley Richards name itself. It's the gun-trade equivalent of a supermarket own-brand — still made properly, but the branding belongs to the retailer, not the factory.

If you have any other marking - happy to pop them in my research engine.

I have to disagree with Claude on the SPECIAL △ QUALITY" Trade Mark, which was clearly applied before export.

the triangle is a well known Westley Richards Trade Mark, and I believe it is often accompanied by the words “Special Quality” (which should not be taken to mean “best quality”) on their guns.

Was this mentioned?

The 'T' Prefix Serial Number Books, from The Explora:

https://www.westleyrichards.com/blo...RuDOR1bZBzWSLXfISB0fDOdtWNvPZdy6MAO1O-zi

OWD