January 1, 2005    

Enfield-Stuff
            A web site about Lee-Enfield rifles and the men who carried them.
     
 
 
 
Tools for Collectors - Selected Bibliography
  
   

Selected References & Bibliography
Serious collectors rely on a variety of tools.  There is no substitute for well-researched documentation confirmed by several independent sources.  Below is a partial list of some of the tools we have come to rely on.  Publications, materials and websites topically specific to individuals, regiments, countries and events discussed on any Enfield-Stuff web page are found on the bottom of that specific web page.

ARMS & ACCOUTREMENTS

SKENNERTON, IAN D.                       WWW.SKENNERTON.COM

LES The Lee-Enfield Story, 1993. The standard reference on Lee-Metford and Lee- Enfield rifles. Describes in detail the Lee-Metford, Lee-Enfield, SMLE, No.4 and No.5 series, .22RF Trainers, Bayonets, Accessories & Markings.
TBA The Broad Arrow, British & Empire Factory Production, Proof, Inspection, Armourers, Unit & Issue Markings. 2001.

 

STRATTON, CHARLES R.                    ORDER AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS HERE

BER-1 British Enfield Rifles Volume 1: SMLE (No.1) Rifles Mk I & Mk III, 1997. North Cape Publications, Tustin, CA 92781. Detailed part-by-part descriptions, with illustrations. Includes information on Ishapore 2A/2A1 rifles. Gives model/date/serial number applicability of parts variations. Easy-to-read quick reference for collectors.
BER-2 British Enfield Rifles Volume 2: Lee-Enfield No.4 & No.5 Rifles,1999. North Cape Publications, Tustin, CA 92781. Contains extensive serial number data and information. Detailed part-by-part descriptions, with illustrations. Includes a chapter on Sniper and Competition rifles. Has appendixes on E.A.L. rifles and Pakistani No. 4 Mk 2 rifles. Gives model/date/serial number applicability of parts variations. Easy-to-read quick reference for collectors
BER-4 British Enfield Rifles Volume 4: The Pattern 1914 and US Model 1917 Rifles,2000. North Cape Publications, Tustin, CA 92781. First major reference text on P-14 Rifles in 18 years. Most extensive reference in print for U.S. M1917 Rifles. Detailed part-by-part descriptions, with illustrations. Never-before-published info on parts interchangeability. Appendixes on P-1913 and Rem Mod 30 and M1934 rifles. Allows you to look at your rifle and know what you have.
   
HNDBK-3 Richard A Hoffman & Noel P. Schott, Handbook of Military Rifle Marks 1866 - 1950, 3rd Edition, 2002. Mapleleaf Militaria Publications, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.  A must-have illustrated guide for identifying military codes and marks found on rifles of seventy different nations.
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OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS & PUBLICATIONS

LoC List of Changes in British War Materials in Relation to Edged Weapons, Firearms and Associated Ammunition and Accoutrements.  Ian Skennerton, Editor. Volumes 1-5, with index. 1979. Covering the period 1860 - 1920, this is the original text from the monthly bulletins issued by the War Office concerning the arms and accoutrements, from cutlasses to chambers pots, in British Service. The ultimate reference source, with original woodcuts and line drawings. Fascinating reading.
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WORLD WAR ONE

WW1-01 The MacMillian Dictionary of The First World War, 1995. Stephen Pope & Elizabeth-Anne Wheal.  MacMillian Reference Books. If you can only have one reference book handy, this one should be a contender.
WW1-02 Gould, Robert W., Locations of British Calvary, Infantry and Machine Gun Units 1914-1924, 1977, Heraldene Ltd.  A hard-to-find small press publishing, it does just what it says - accounts for the location of British units 1914-1920.
WW1-03 Cox, Reginald H.W., Military Badges of the British Empire 1914-1918, 1982, Standard Art Book Co., Chicago, IL.  While focused on badges, this book is invaluable as a reference for the location of EVERY military unit in the Empire, 1914-1918, all colonies, dependencies, outposts, Dominions, Protectorates and Commonwealths, including women's units and auxiliaries, all told some 1,761 units are included.
WW1-04 Haythornthwaite, Philip J., The World War One Source Book, 1998, Brockhampton Press, London.

WESTLAKE, RAY                              Pen & Sword Books

WEST-01 British Battalions in France & Belgium - 1914, 1994, Leo Cooper, London (an imprint of Pen & Sword Books). A comprehensive account of the whereabouts of the 143 British infantry battalions that served in France and Belgium, beginning with the opening shots of WWI in August 1914 until December 1914.
WEST-02 British Battalions on the Somme - 1916, 1994, Leo Cooper, London (an imprint of Pen & Sword Books). A account of the whereabouts, battles and engagements of the 616 British infantry battalions involved in the (First) Battle of the Somme (1 July - 18 November, 1916).
WEST-03 British Regiments at Gallipoli, 1996, Leo Cooper, London. Beginning on that that day in 1915 when the unit left the United Kingdom for overseas service and ending with the evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula in January 1916, a detailed account of the whereabouts of every infantry battalion and yeomanry regiment during their service on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
WEST-04 British Battalions on the Western Front - January - June 1915, 1996, Leo Cooper, London. A comprehensive account of the 291 infantry battalions that served in France and Belgium through June 1915.
WEST-05 Collecting Metal Shoulder Titles, 2nd Edition, 1996, Leo Cooper, London. Rifle and bayonet collectors will find the tables and notes of regimental codes along with the capsule regimental history (1881 - 1961) make this book well worth having.

 

WORLD WAR TWO

WW2-01 The MacMillian Dictionary of The Second World War, 1997. Elizabeth-Anne Wheal & Stephen Pope.  MacMillian Reference Books. If you can only have one reference book handy, this one should be a contender.
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RELATED READING

KAR Page, Malcolm, A History of The King's African Rifles and East African Forces, 1998. Pen & Sword Books
FT-3 Morris, Jan, Farewell the Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat, 1978, Farber & Farber Ltd., London.  The third volume of of the Pax Britannica trilogy, this book opens with Queen Victoria's Jubilee shortly before the Second South African (Anglo-Boer) War (1899) and closes with the death of the last great Imperial Lion, Winston Churchill, in 1965.  A fascinating read with many small anecdotes not usually found in a wide-ranging history text. Recommended.