Re: Enfield Pageant of Motoring May 2009

Posted by Dave Kenney On 2009/6/7 14:11:39

Eric, You maybe know this but in the early days of WW1 the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force of which my grandfather was a member was equipped with the Canadian made Ross rifle. It was a straight pull design and was a very accurate rifle in.303 British calibre also. Problem was that when they CEF went into battle at Ypres in 1915 problems began to show up. The rifles would jam when subjected to the mud of trench warfare or the ammo was not exact. Many Canadians died because of the rifles jamming during the battles. My grandfather like many others threw his Ross away and retrieved an Enfield from a fallen British "Tommy" or so he told me. The CEF was subsequently issued Enfields. They are one rugged piece of ordinance and served the British and the Commonwealth well for almost a century.