British Cartridge Manufacturers

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BRITISH CARTRIDGE MANUFACTURERS, LOADERS AND RETAILERS INCLUDING IRONMONGERS AND GUNSMITHS

C W HARDING

Quiller

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WARNING The loads quoted in this book were taken from original factory data where identical components used in these loads are no longer available. It is also known that the breech pressures, generated by differing brands of black powder when compared on a weight for weight or volume for volume basis, vary considerably. Based on these facts, together with the fact that neither the author, publisher, editor or distributor of this book has control over the potential users choice of such cartridge components, their individual characteristics, or their method of assembly into cartridges nor over the ability or knowledge of potential users, no responsibility either implied or expressed is assumed, should any party attempt to use the cartridge loading data which appears in this book.

Many of the calibres listed in this book are now obsolete and the weapons for which they were designed are in many instances over 100 years old. In view of this a large portion of these small arms will have been subjected to heavy usage or neglect during their working lives, potentially rendering them unsafe to be used. It should also be noted that many of them will have been made and tested solely for use with black powder and should never be used with nitro loads without being specifically reproved for that purpose. In view of this, arms of this nature should be subjected to examination by an experienced gunsmith or an independent Proof House before their owners even consider firing them and the old adage applies, “IF IN ANY DOUBT ABOUT THE GUN OR THE AMMUNITION DO NOT FIRE IT!”

Copyright © 2012 C W Harding First published in the UK in 2012

by Quiller, an imprint of Quiller Publishing Ltd British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 84689 145 8 The right of C W Harding to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988 The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the Publisher, who also disclaims any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

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Quiller An imprint of Quiller Publishing Ltd

Wykey House, Wykey, Shrewsbury, SY4 1JA Tel: 01939 261616 Fax: 01939 261606 E-mail: info@quillerbooks.com Website: www.countrybooksdirect.com

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere and grateful thanks are due to the following persons for the help given to the author in the preparation of this book.

Mr M. Golland, Mr C. Lewis, Mr R. Jones formerly of the National Firearms Centre, Mr J.E. Harding, Mr J. Harding, Mr R.J. Hancox, Proof Master Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House, Mr Alec Morris, the late Mr D. Fearn, Mr J. Buchanan, Miss J. Willetts, Mr Adrian Gamble, Mr E.A. Bush, Mr D.W. Bush, Mrs J. Jarvis, Mr Peter Chapman, Mrs M. Barnett, Mr Hugh Clark, Mr Peter Bontoft, Mr David Bontoft, Mr John Wilson, Ms T. Townsend, Ms N. Skelton, Mr F. Brown, Mr T.G. Crouch, Mr Tom Grange, Mr D. Crow and Mr S. Ings and Mr D. Little, Kynamco.

Particular thanks must go to my wife Sarah who has painstakingly read and corrected the drafts which preceded this book’s acceptance for publication.

Similar thanks must also be extended to the Leeds Royal Armouries Library, Birmingham Library, North East Lincolnshire Archives, Central Library Grimsby, Rio Tinto Zinc and the Birmingham Proof House Museum who permitted me to use material in their collections.

The specimens and illustrations shown in the book are owned by numerous individuals, organisations, museums and companies who allowed them to be photographed or copied and their ownership and locations have in most cases not been revealed for security reasons. Nevertheless my sincere thanks go to those parties and organisations since without their material the book would have been unworthy of publication.

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

4.3.4 11 4.3.5

CHAPTER 2 George Henry Daw 2.1 Daw’s history and his role in the production of centre-fire cartridges 2.2 Examples of Daw’s cartridges 2.3 Examples of headstamps appearing on Daw’s shotgun and metallic cartridges CHAPTER 3 Frederick Joyce and Company of London 3.1 The company’s history 3.2 The gas check patents used by the company 3.3 Registered trade marks 3.4.1 Shotgun cartridges produced by the company 3.4.2 Examples of shotgun cartridges produced by the company 3.4.3 Examples of shotgun cartridge headstamps used by the company 3.5.1 Metallic cartridge production 3.5.2 Examples of Joyce’s metallic ammunition 3.5.3 Examples of headstamps found on metallic ammunition 3.6 Examples of company advertisements CHAPTER 4 Nobel’s 4.1 The personal history of Alfred Nobel 4.2 The company’s management and production sites 4.3 The company’s cartridges 4.3.1 Brand named shotgun cartridges 4.3.2 Known shotgun cartridge introduction dates 4.3.3 Companies for which Nobel’s of Glasgow loaded and which bear Nobel Glasgow headstamps

4.3.6 4.4.1

15 18

4.4.2 18 4.5 4.6

Examples of the company’s shotgun cartridges Termination dates for several of the former named shotgun cartridges Headstamps on Nobel shotgun cartridges Metallic cartridges produced by the company An unusual cartridge patented for the company by A.V. Newton in 1895 Company adverts and display boards Explosives Trades Ltd staff in 1919

CHAPTER 5 Greenwood & Batley Ltd 5.1 The company’s history and its role in the production of arms and munitions machinery 5.2 Other unrelated machinery produced by the company 5.3 The influence which Greenwood & Batley and its company directors had on other companies involved in cartridge manufacture 5.4 Photographs taken in the factory relating to ammunition production 5.5.1 Metallic ammunition production by the company from 1868 to November 1918 5.5.2 WW1 cartridge production by the company 5.5.3 WWII and post war metallic cartridge production by the company 5.5.4 Examples of metallic cartridges produced by the company 5.5.4.1 Examples of the company’s rifle and machine gun cartridges 5.5.4.2 Examples of the company’s revolver cartridges 5.5.4.3 Examples of the company’s heavy machine gun ammunition 5.5.5 Examples of their headstamps on metallic ammunition

19 24 25 25 27 29 30 31 32 33

48 49 56 56 57 58

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77 79

79 81 83 89 89 92 92 94 94 95

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5.5.5.1 Examples of their headstamps on pistol ammunition 5.5.5.2 Examples of their headstamps on heavy machine gun ammunition 5.5.5.3 Examples of their headstamps on rifle and light machine gun ammunition 5.6.1 Post WWII shotgun ammunition produced by the company 5.6.2 Shotgun cartridges produced by the company for others 5.6.3 Examples of the company’s own shotgun cartridges 5.6.4 Examples of headstamps which appear on Greenwood & Batley shotgun cartridges 5.6.5 Company adverts relating to shotgun cartridges 5.7 The end of the company CHAPTER 6 Trent Guns & Cartridges Ltd 6.1 The company’s history 6.2 Work staff and accidents at the site 6.3 Cartridge production 6.3.1 Shotgun cartridge brands manufactured by the company and the company’s related adverts 6.3.2 Examples of the shotgun cartridges manufactured by the company 6.3.3 Headstamps encountered on their shotgun cartridges CHAPTER 7 Cogswell & Harrison Ltd and the Cogschultze Ammunition & Powder Co. Ltd 7.1.1 The company’s history prior to the formation of Cogschultze 7.1.2 Cogswell & Harrison shotgun cartridge brands 7.1.3 Trade marks registered by Cogswell & Harrison 7.2 The Cogschultze company 7.2.1 The company’s history 7.2.2 Trade marks registered by Cogschultze Ammunition & Powder Co. Ltd 7.2.3 Cartridges made for other gunsmiths

by Cogschultze 7.3 Examples of shotgun cartridges made by the companies 7.4 Examples of headstamps appearing on the companies’ cartridges

CHAPTER 8 Remington & Union Metallic Cartridge Co. Ltd, Brimsdown 8.1 The company’s history in relation to Britain 8.2 The company’s site 8.3 Shotgun cartridges produced by the company 8.3.1 Cartridges loaded for other companies 8.3.2 The company’s own brand names 8.3.2.1 Examples of the company’s cartridges and boxes 8.4 Examples of the company’s adverts 8.5 Examples of headstamps found on the company’s cartridges

95 95 96 97 97 99 100

126 127 128 128 130 131 133 135

CHAPTER 9 The Hull Cartridge Company Ltd and its forerunner company Turner Carbides Ltd 9.1 The company history 136 9.2.1 The company’s cartridges 142 9.2.2 Examples of headstamps which have appeared on the company’s early cartridges 144

100 100

102 107 107

CHAPTER 10 Messrs Jas. R. Watson & Co. 10.1 The company history 10.2 Known dates when cartridge brand names were introduced by the company 10.3 Companies for which Jas R. Watson loaded cartridges 10.4 Examples of the company adverts 10.5 Specimens of the company’s cartridges 10.6 Examples of the company’s headstamps

107 112 115

116

CHAPTER 11 Pneumatic Cartridge Company Ltd 11.1 The company’s history 11.2 Patents and trade marks taken out by the company 11.3 Specimens of cartridges produced by the company 11.4 Examples of the company headstamps

117 120 120 120 121

145 147 148 148 151 152

153 153 154 157

121 CHAPTER 12 Page-Wood & Co, T. Page-Wood, T. Page-Wood Ltd and the Patent National Cartridge Co. Ltd 12.1 The companies’ histories 158

123 125

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12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5

Company loading machines Shotgun cartridges loaded by the company Advert used by the company Examples headstamps which appear on the companies’ cartridges

CHAPTER 13 Schultze Gunpowder Co. Ltd 13.1 The company’s history 13.2 The origins of the original factory site at Eyeworth 13.3 The Schultze factories and their management 13.4 Name change to the Smokeless Powder & Ammunition Co. 13.5 The company’s links with the EC Powder Company 13.6 The company’s links with Cogswell & Harrison and the emergence of Cogshultze 13.7 Acquisition of the company by Eley Bros. Ltd, and its final absorption into the Nobel owned group of companies 13.8 Plans of he Schultze site at Fritham and the only remaining evidence of its former existence 13.9 Work staff and recorded accidents at the site 13.10 Examples of adverts used by the company 13.11 Notes on the company’s cartridge production 13.12 Examples of the company’s cartridges 13.13 Examples of headstamps encountered on shotgun cartridges loaded with Schultze powders CHAPTER 14 John Hall & Son 14.1 The company’s history 14.2 Company adverts 14.3 Powders produced by the company 14.4 Specimens of the cartridges loaded by the company CHAPTER 15 The EC Powder Company Ltd 15.1 The company’s history, its sites and management 15.2 Cartridges loaded by the company

159

15.3

160 161

Examples of headstamps on cartridges used by the company

CHAPTER 16 The New Explosives Company Ltd 16.1 The history of the company and its management 16.2.1 Cartridge brand names used by the company and where appropriate their registered trade marks 16.2.2 Cartridge production 16.2.3 Examples of the company’s shotgun cartridges 16.3 Examples of headstamps encountered on cases loaded by the company

162

163 163 164

209

210 213 213 216 217

177 CHAPTER 17 The Smokeless Powder Company and Smokeless Powder & Ammunition Co. Ltd 17.1 The companies’ histories 17.2 Specimens of company adverts 17.3 Copy of the company’s 1900 sales catalogue 17.4 Examples of the company’s shotgun cartridges 17.5 Examples of the company’s loaded metallic cartridges

178 179 180 180

218 221 222 226 226

CHAPTER 18 The Normal Powder Syndicate Ltd, Normal Powder Co. and the New Normal Ammunition Co. 18.1 The companies’ histories 227 18.2.1 Cartridges loaded or supplied by the company 232 18.2.2 Examples of the companies’ shotgun cartridges 233 18.3 Examples of adverts used by the companies 233 18.4 Examples of headstamps encountered on Normal and on New Normal Ammunition Co. shotgun cartridges 241

182 186 193 194 198

199 202 203

CHAPTER 19 Luck’s Explosives Ltd and Henrite Explosives Ltd, London 19.1 The company history 242 19.2 Cartridge production 243 19.3 Company adverts 244 19.4 Cartridge headstamps used by Luck’s Explosives Ltd and Henrite Explosives Ltd 244

203

204 208

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CHAPTER 20 Messrs Curtis’s & Harvey 20.1 The company’s history 20.2 The company’s management structure 20.3 Accidents at the company premises 20.4 Trade marks registered by the company and introduction dates for their shotgun cartridges and powders 20.5.1 Examples of the company’s shotgun cartridges 20.6 Examples of adverts by the company 20.7 Examples of the types of powder manufactured by the company 20.8 Examples of headstamps found on cartridges loaded by them or on those of other companies who used their powders CHAPTER 21 Charles Hellis, Charles Hellis & Sons Ltd, Charles Rosson, Rosson & Son, C.S. Rosson & Co. Ltd, Hellis-Rosson Ltd and The Anglia Cartridge Co. 21.1 History of the companies 21.2 Photographs inside the Hellis-Rosson Factory at Taverham 21.3 Cartridges produced by the companies 21.3.1 Brands produced by C. Hellis, C Hellis & Sons and C. Hellis & Sons Ltd 21.3.2 Brands produced by Hellis-Rosson Ltd 21.3.3 Brands produced by the Anglia Cartridge Company 21.3.4 Brands produced by Rosson Derby 21.3.5 Brands produced by Rosson & Son, Derby 21.3.6 Brands produced by C.S. Rosson & Co. Ltd, Norwich 21.4 Examples of advertisements by Hellis 21.5 Examples of these companies’ shotgun cartridges 21.6 Examples of headstamps used by these companies

22.1 22.2

The Nitrokol Powder Co. The Abbey Improved Chilled Shot Co. Ltd 22.3 Latimer Clark Muirhead & Co. 22.4 The Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Company Ltd 22.4.1 The company’s history 22.4.2 Company adverts and extracts from an undated price list whose contents date it between 1901 and 1902 22.5 Dyer & Robson 22.6 Frank Dyke & Co. 22.7 Modern Arms Co. Ltd 22.8 Hercules Arms Co. 22.9 The Practice Cartridge Syndicate Ltd, The Miniature Ammunition Co. Ltd, The Morris Aiming Tube & Ammunition Co. Ltd and The Re-loading Miniature Ammunition Co. Ltd 22.10 William Soper of Reading 22.11 The Progressive Cartridge Co, Chandlersford, Hampshire 22.12 The Cornwall Cartridge Works, Liskeard, Cornwall 22.13 Kent Cartridge Co. 22.14 Club Cartridge Company Ltd 22.15 Eskdale Gun and Cartridge Co. 22.16 Thames Ammunition Works Ltd

245 248 248 249 250 251 254

255

256 257 260 260 260

CHAPTER 23 Brands of shotgun cartridges which once originated from gunmakers, gunsmiths, ironmongers and other retailers in the UK 23.1 An overview of their activities 23.2 Examples of the names of companies which appear on paper tube shotgun cartridges which do not apparently use related brand names 23.3 Examples of the names of companies which appear on paper tube shotgun cartridges together with some of their related brand names 23.4 Examples of these companies’ shotgun cartridges

260 260 260 260 261 262 265

CHAPTER 22 The smaller and lesser known cartridge manufacturers and loaders of the UK together with brief notes on the more recent cartridge loading companies

Index

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267 267 267 268 268 270 272 273 276 276

277 278 280 280 280 280 280 280

281

284

289 302 323

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CHAPTER 6

Trent Guns & Cartridges Ltd 6.1 The company’s history

T

he first reference I can find to this company occurred in the Sporting Goods Review in May 1929 where it stated that Trent Guns & Cartridges Ltd had recently built a very large cartridge loading factory with up to date loading equipment in Grimsby.

The company owes its origins to a family named King. The founding member, namely Ald. Thomas King started a Liverine group of companies in the 1880s. He was a Grimsby man and by the 1930s his three sons had expanded the original business considerably. They decided to split the original company into three separate units. Clover Dairies was taken by his eldest son Harold King, the Trent Gun & Cartridge was taken over by Claude King whilst Hendric King, the youngest son, stayed with Henry Bright & Sons, who specialised in the manufacture of piccalilli and Ticklers plum and apple jam.

The cartridge company was originally situated Mr Thomas King within the Liverine companies’ yard in Fraser (REPRODUCED WITH KIND PERMISSION OF MRS M. BARNETT) Street, Grimsby (at the Eleanor Street and Weelsby Street corner) and this is where their shot tower was to appear, which for many years stood as a local land mark. By 1936 the main section of the factory had moved to Welholme Road, Grimsby; however the shot tower remained in situ and continued production to supply the new site.

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TRENT GUNS & CARTRIDGES LTD

ABOVE: Architect’s sketch dated 1931 showing the site for the shot tower and original factory (REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION OF RIO TINTO)

RIGHT:

This is a copy of the architect’s drawing of the shot tower. It stood 185 feet tall. Running along the top of the handrail was a 2½" gas pipe to take the heating supply to the top of the tower where the lead ingots were melted then fell like rain drops to the base where they were collected. The base had 14" concrete piles, two on each corner, to which the structure was bolted (REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION OF RIO TINTO)

OPPOSITE: Mr Claude King, the owner of Trent Guns & Cartridge Company with his wife and children (REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF MRS M. BARNETT)

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The new site where the cartridge cases where manufactured, printed and loaded was initially relatively compact as shown in the architect’s drawing, however it was to be later extended by adding more bays to the original structure.

An examination of the Police Watch Committee Minutes revealed that on 9 July 1930 the company was granted a licence to keep mixed explosives at the site of Bargate Farm, Scartho which is near Grimsby. These minutes also show three separate licences being renewed in May 1932, whilst in July the same year a further application was granted for the site at Bargate Farm. From subsequent enquiries it appears that the name Bargate Farm was an erroneous title since a farm bearing this name did not exist before, during or after this period. The only evidence of the location of the company’s explosives magazines was found on the planning application file dated 1934 which indicates its presence some distance off Patrick Street.

The cartridge company’s site off Welholme Road (REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE ARCHIVES)

BELOW: The company’s site in Welholme Road

(REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE ARCHIVES)

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TRENT GUNS & CARTRIDGES LTD

Site map of company’s explosives store

(REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE ARCHIVES)

During WWII the company was involved in the manufacture of fuses used in mortar bombs and 35mm shells. This work employed ten female staff who were sent to replace ten men from Gateshead, who, apparently were more interested in sleeping during the night shift rather than working.

Their actions resulted in the return of 10,000,000 defective fuses for the ladies to rectify.

In the spring of 1946 the company applied for an Explosives Licence to enable its cartridges to be made on the site in Welholme Road; however on 19 March just before the Watch Committee gave it their initial decision, Architect’s drawing of company’s explosives store (REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE ARCHIVES)

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the Managing Director Mr Claude King, aged 62 years and who resided in Abbey Park Road, Grimsby, shot himself in the head whilst in his office at the factory. The subsequent Coroner’s enquiry returned a verdict that Mr King had died of self inflicted gunshot wounds in the head, whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed through illness. Although Mr King suffered from diabetes, other witnesses stated that he had been depressed by the new restrictions imposed on this type of industry during the change over from war to peace time working and that he had been unable to acquire the new machinery he needed for cartridge production. Clearly Mr King had grounds for his concerns, since shortly afterwards the new application for an Explosives Licence for the Welholme Road site was turned down by the North East Lincolnshire Council, although it had the full backing of a Government Department.

At the end of the war the company continued to manufacture shotgun cartridges. However the drop in demand and the competition from its main rival, ICI, resulted in the company concentrating on the manufacture of lead pipes which it had been involved in for some time before WWII with a company entitled Trent Lead Pipe Co., of Welholme East, Grimsby. This company was certainly listed back in the 1936 Grimsby Directory and presumably existed before this date. Plastic and copper piping were however soon to replace lead and with that came the scare associated with lead poisoning when people drank tap water which had passed through lead piping. Finally in the spring of 1953 Trent Guns & Cartridges Limited went into liquidation and closed in 1954.

The old company’s site was acquired by Birds Eye Foods and the shot tower was demolished.

Abbey Park Road, Grimsby (PHOTOGRAPH USED COURTESY OF THE EAST LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL LIBRARY SERVICE)

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6.2 Work staff and accidents at the site In 1936 Mabel Low, aged 29 years, of 106 Elsenham Road, Little Coates, the forewoman at the factory received a fatal injury to her stomach when a .410" double barrelled shot pistol discharged one of its barrels into her lower body. Although two other ladies were in the room at the time they did not see what happened and it was surmised that the loaded and presumably cocked pistol was under some sacks and discharged when she threw some more sacks on top of it.

At 7.45am on 12 January 1942 a violent explosion ran through the factory killing two of the female members of staff, both aged 15 years, namely Hilda Mary Baker of Wintringham Street and Pauline Lee of Lord Street, both Grimsby residents. Wartime censorship prevented the emergence of the exact cause of the explosion, however it was known that the two ladies were in the act of entering the detonator building when the explosion occurred killing them instantaneously.

A former entry in the Bygones section of the Grimsby Telegraph reported that in 1937 a Joan Swithinbank, aged 17 years was employed by the company as their saleswoman. Her job entailed travelling around the country on a Francis Barnett motorcycle. Her salary was £2 per week plus petrol. Her duties included visiting Customs & Excise offices in order to identify parties holding gun licences and, having obtained the information, she would send it back to the factory, where colleagues would then send details and lists of their products to these potential customers. It is also recorded that the Works Manager was a Ted Damms, whilst a Jack Sowden was in charge of the lead machine which made the material for the shot tower. By 1946 the new Works Manager was a Roy Wildman of 23 Rialto Avenue, Grimsby.

6.3 Cartridge production 6.3.1 Shotgun cartridge brands manufactured by the company and the company’s related adverts It was claimed in one of the company’s adverts that at the time of its issue they were one of the only two companies making sporting cartridges cases in Britain. Although not stated in the advert the second producer must at that time have been ICI. During the company’s production period it made the following branded and unbranded shotgun cartridges: A.E.C. Rook, Best Smokeless, Deep Shell, Favourite, London, .410" Short (2"), .410" Long (2½"), unnamed, Spartan Deep Shell, Spartan, Super Range, Smokeless Air Lord, Supply Cert and Cosmo.

From remaining specimens it appears that the company mainly produced cartridges in the common calibres of 12 bore, 16 bore and .410" and to-date I have yet to encounter specimens in other gauges. Clearly the company were not averse at some period to importing foreign cases and loading them in Grimsby with their own shot.

The cartridges produced by the company were made for the cheap end of the market although their advertising material claimed some of their specimens were steel lined and were being offered at the same price as most of their competitors’ unlined cartridges.

‘Spartan’ and ‘London’ brand cartridges were made by Trent for the Cartridge Syndicate Ltd, 20–23 Holborn, London EC1. An advert printed in 1935 stated that this syndicate had been formed the previous year to supply gamekeepers and sportsmen with cartridges at lower prices than they had been accustomed to.

Unlike their competitors, this company does not appear to have made many cartridges for other gunsmiths or ironmongers; or if they did they did not normally permit those parties to have their names printed on the tubes. The only examples I have encountered were A.H. Martin of Cross Ash, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, (where his name was added under a Trent Best Smoke107

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less marking) and one marked ‘Favourite Loaded in Ireland with High Grade Smokeless Powder’, where the case was made for an unknown customer, together with a specimen made bearing the name F.C. Oakey, Stafford with a trade brand name of ‘The O.K.’.

During the WWII the company obtained some contracts for shotgun cartridges from the War Office; specimens will be encountered with WD arrows on their cases which were made either for issue to the Home Guard or for training RAF pilots and rear gunners.

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