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Parker-Hiscock Magazine - A Primer 

Magazine, .22-inch rifle, Mark I


Parker-Hiscock Magazine with notes about E.J. Hiscock, Parker-Hale and production during WWI (1914-1919),

 

 

Scarce. Unique. Innovative. Finicky. Fussy. A 'must-have' item for collectors. Usually worth more that the rifle they're on. All of these are true of the Parker-Hiscock magazine.

 

 

Parker-Hiscock Magazine with notes production history, serializtion and the magazine body.

 

 

A spring loaded, five-round .22 caliber magazine developed as a training aid for new recruits during World War i (1914-1919).

 

 

Parker-Hiscock Magazine with notes about serializtion and the magazine body.

 

 

All magazines have a four-digit serial number with a letter "G" prefix. (Why "G"? No one knows.)

 

 

View of disassembled Parker-Hiscock Magazine. The webpage includes a link to a YouTube video.

 

 

The best assembly / disassembly instructions can be found on a YouTube video by JollyGreenSlugg (Australia). A link is here.

 

 

Parker-Hiscock Magazine with notes about serial numbers of the major components parts.

 

 

 

 

 

Top and side views of the Parker-Hiscock Magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

Photos of the patent numbers found atop the Parker-Hiscock Magazine with notes.

 

 

 

 

 

Photos of the inspection markings and Singer Manufacturing Co. (Glasgow, Scotland) manufacturing marks typically found on the Parker-Hiscock Magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

Postcard image of the Singer Manufacturing Company, Glasgow, Scotland, clock and records from the Ministry of Muntitions war-time transformation of manufacturing, including production of the Parker-Hiscock Magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

Photos of Singer Manufacturing markings found on the Parker-Hiscock Magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

Photos of Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield manufacturing marks found on the case of the Parker-Hiscock Magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

The standard Lee-Enfield .22 caliber bolthead must be altered for the Parker-Hiscock Magazine to function.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of Air Training Cadets at rifle practice during WWII (1939-1945). Imperial War Museum photo CH9567. The Parker-Hiscock magazine, the only military .22 caliber repeating magazine ever desigend for the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle, was declared obsolete and recalled from service in 1920. It was not until 1948 that a .22 caliber repeating rifle, the new Rifle No.7 Mark I, would see British service. Only 2500 No.7 rifles were built, all for the Royal Air Force.

 

Photo notes: Imperial War Museum photo CH9567. Royal Air Force - the Air Training Corps, 1941-1945. Cadets of No 228 (Bromley) Squadron ATC receive instruction in firing the .303 Lee-Enfield rifle on the firing range at RAF Biggin Hill, Kent. Creator: Miller (P/O) Royal Air Force official photographer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes & Sources

Lusiuk, Lance; A Collectors View: The Lee-Enfield .22-inch R.F. Rifles; 2022, Andover, CT, USA.
ISBN: 979-8-9850373-2-6.   See Chapter 12, The Parker-Hiscock Magazine, pages 77 - 81.

 

 

List of Changes in British War Material in Relation to Edged Weapons, Firearms and Associated Ammunition and Accoutrements. Skennerton, Ian, editor. 1998. Published by the author, Labrador, Australia. ISBN 0-9597-49-38-9

A five-volume collection of LoC's pertaining primarily to the Lee-Enfield rifle and associated bayonets, ammunition and accoutrements.

 

For specifics about the Parker-Hiscock magazine, see:

Loc 17621 - Magazine, .22-inch rifle, Mark I.    21 Dec 1915 Indroduction

LoC 23766 - Magazine, .22-inch rifle, Mark I.    8 Nov 1920. Obsolete