Probably over 35 years ago I was walking around a small, local gun show in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio and blundered onto a table that had an almost mint 1916 dated Webley MkVI pistol on it. I had been looking for a Mk VI for quite awhile for my WWII Pistol collection, sorted by country and including primary, secondary and reserve pistols for each country. The serial number is 2498XX and ALL serial numbered parts match on it and I believe the price was a whopping $115 back then. The only gotcha was the fact that the pistol cylinder had been shaved to permit .45ACP cartridges to be fired in half moon clips, instead of .455 cartridges, which were very scarce back then. The shaving was done very nicely though and the serial number on the cylinder is still fully readable, with only the very bottom edge being trimmed off. I always say a desired pistol in the hand is worth two in the bush, so I bought it with the expectations of upgrading it to an unshaved version later, but that never happened, so here she is.
I took photos of the pistol in various lighting conditions, so the finish color will be accurate and the markings are easily readable, since my cheapy, digital camera is very temperamental. My wife has told me that it pays to accessorize so over the years I have bought a ton of P37, WWII dated, British/Canadian web gear and other pistol accessories for this pistol along with my Webley MkIV and S&W 38/200 pistols. I have taken a photo of a complete mint P37 WWII British pistol belt rig, with belt, holster, ammo pouches, braces and canteen. All ready to be worn by a British officer in combat. Notice, I took the 12 round box of .455 ammo and placed it into the ammo pouch and it fit well. I had read that a second box should also fit in the pouch which I believe is correct with a test I did. I am also including a photo of a mannequin I call “Tommy”, who is wearing the pistol belt for reference. Amazingly, back in those days, the WWII British and Canadian marked P37 web equipment was plentiful and dirt cheap, so I stocked up. The last photo I took shows various holster and ammo pouch examples. Starting from left side is a blue, Canadian RAF holster and Ammo Pouch, next to the right is a khaki, British holster and Pouch and all the way to the right is a Canadian, Khaki holster and pouch. At the top of the photo is a holster that was identified in Eugene Benders book, Military Holsters of WWII as a WWII British shoulder holster. The MkVI fits into this mint holster like a glove, but there are no markings on it which to me is unusual and I wonder if Eugene Bender may have misidentified it in his book.
As always I am open to any advice, comments, discussions, opinions, etc. to this topic.
Bob
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I took photos of the pistol in various lighting conditions, so the finish color will be accurate and the markings are easily readable, since my cheapy, digital camera is very temperamental. My wife has told me that it pays to accessorize so over the years I have bought a ton of P37, WWII dated, British/Canadian web gear and other pistol accessories for this pistol along with my Webley MkIV and S&W 38/200 pistols. I have taken a photo of a complete mint P37 WWII British pistol belt rig, with belt, holster, ammo pouches, braces and canteen. All ready to be worn by a British officer in combat. Notice, I took the 12 round box of .455 ammo and placed it into the ammo pouch and it fit well. I had read that a second box should also fit in the pouch which I believe is correct with a test I did. I am also including a photo of a mannequin I call “Tommy”, who is wearing the pistol belt for reference. Amazingly, back in those days, the WWII British and Canadian marked P37 web equipment was plentiful and dirt cheap, so I stocked up. The last photo I took shows various holster and ammo pouch examples. Starting from left side is a blue, Canadian RAF holster and Ammo Pouch, next to the right is a khaki, British holster and Pouch and all the way to the right is a Canadian, Khaki holster and pouch. At the top of the photo is a holster that was identified in Eugene Benders book, Military Holsters of WWII as a WWII British shoulder holster. The MkVI fits into this mint holster like a glove, but there are no markings on it which to me is unusual and I wonder if Eugene Bender may have misidentified it in his book.
As always I am open to any advice, comments, discussions, opinions, etc. to this topic.
Bob
