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**EXTREMELY RARE**MUSEUM QUALITY**Original WW1 1914 Patent British WD BSA M1914 .303 Calibre Lewis Automatic Machine Gun With Regiment Marks ‘1.I.G’ To the 1st Battalion Irish Guards & ‘I.G.D’ To The Irish Guards Dragoons WD Drum Pan Magazine**UK DEACT** - 22442 The 1st Battalion, Irish Guards deployed to France, eight days after the United Kingdom had declared war upon the German Empire, as part of 4th (Guards) Brigade of the 2nd Division, and would remain on the Western Front for the duration of the war. The battalion took part in the Battle of Mons and the subsequent arduous and bloody Great Retreat. The Irish Guards was part of the rearguard during the retreat and took part in a small-scale action at Landrecies against the advancing Germans. The 1st Irish Guards also took part in another rearguard action at the woods near Villers-Cotterets, on 1 September, during the Battle of Le Cateau in which their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. George Morris and the Second-in-Command Major Hubert Crichton were killed. Le Cateau was a successful action that inflicted very heavy losses on the Germans and helped delay their advance towards Paris. At the outbreak of war, the Irish Guards Dragoons were based at Tidworth, part of 2nd Cavalry Brigade within the Cavalry Division and was rapidly deployed to France. During September, the Division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division. The Division remained on the Western Front in France and Flanders throughout the war and took part in most of the major actions where cavalry was used as a mounted mobile force, and also others where the troops were dismounted and effectively served as infantry.
The Division then formed part of the Occupation Force in Germany.
The .303 calibre Lewis gun (or Lewis automatic machine gun) is a World War 1 period light machine gun that was widely used by the British Military. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War. This is an extremely rare, excellent clean WW1 .303 Lewis Light Machine Gun With inlaid brass stock disc and wood markings to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards (1. I.G) weapon number 3 and ‘A’ Squadron Irish Guards Dragoons ‘A above I.G.D and weapon number 3’. The weapon was manufactured by Birmingham Small Arms Co for Arms Automatiques Lewis Belgium and is crisply stamped accordingly (illustrated). It is also marked 'Lewis Auto Gun’ and ‘1914 pat'. It is serial number ‘A 7188’ and has other unmatching numbers. The gun also has WD ordnance inspection marks (all illustrated). It is complete with original bipod with adjustable spiked legs. The bipod bracket is marked ‘Mount Field .303 Lewis Gun Mark III B& Co Ltd Makers Nottingham’. It has the correct swivelling wood carry handle with correct mounting bracket marked ‘Gun Lewis RFI .303’, flip up ladder rear sight, winged fore sight and original removable drum pan magazine. The underside of the magazine has WD marks & ‘.303 Mk VI & VII’. The gun has a steel butt plate & the top of the shoulder stock has a brass screw top trap for oil, the lid of which has an integral cleaning / application brush. The gun has sling swivels. Deactivated to an early UK specification, its original certificate became lost at some point in its life and in 2025 a UK only deactivation certificate was issued without the need for any new deactivation work. The gun cocks & dry fires. The magazine correctly rotates during the cocking and firing process and can be removed. These iconic weapons are extremely rare and this is a fine original example worthy of a museum or serious collectors display. The price includes deactivation certificate & UK delivery. Sn 22442
£9,750.00
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