Jump to content

Silly Picture Thread.


Phil Perry

Recommended Posts

Ok, so Birmingham was the birthplace of not only Spitfires, but Land Rover?

 

Not only does it NOT sound like a junkyard... but my equivalent of Mecca... I shall henceforth genuflect in the direction of Birmingham at least thrice a day.

 

My ultimate machinery wet dream would be a shiny black long wheelbase Defender 110 towing a custom trailer holding my Spitfire and its wings. Oops... dammit, where's those tissues??

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nah, Phil. Can't be a Birmingham screwdriver. About 40 years ago, my grandad told me that's a American screwdriver.

Sounds like the Aussies had the same sense of humour Pete,. . .my Grandad Perry used to work for Webley & Scott gunmakers right on the borderline of Birmingham and West Bromwich . . .he was the first person whom I heard mention the Brum screwdriver term, he called any industry in Brum 'Tinbashers' . He retired in 1954. He DID say that every day after work, all the staff and workers were body searched to make sure that they were not nicking gunbits. . .so Grandad must have actually Bought his OR. . . .'Acquired' it during his military service in WW2 !

 

He told me that the .45 cal Webley revolver, was standard issue to army officers during both wars it 'Broke' in the middle to allow the chambers to be reloaded, I can't remember the model, which is indicative of my memory degradation as I have always been interested in firearms. This model had a strong steel ring on the base of the butt which was for a 'clip on' lanyard. I saw many illustrations and photographs of officers leading their men out of the trenches and 'Going over the top' waving one of these things around. . . .

 

At my Uncle's farm near Wellington ( Shropshire ) my Dad used to shoot rabbits, but also often took that revolver and fired it at targets a few times. . . he used to allow me to fire the .22 rabbit rifle, ( Also a Webley ) but I couldn't hold the revolver as it was too damned heavy ! !

 

I do not recall what happened to it, as the public were disarmed by legislation at some time in the early 1960s I believe. . .so that the only way to actually 'Own' firearms was to be a member of gun club. I was a member of several and at one stage I had seven assorted hand weapons on my 'Ticket' and used to shoot nearly every week, as well as reload my own ammunition.

 

This all ended after the two shooting tragedies in the UK,after which legislation was rapidly introduced where guns using expanding ammunition were banned from public ownership.

 

However, it is still possible to own black powder weapons, long or short. . . .

 

Sorry about the thread drift BTW. . . .

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...