The Lee-Enfield Rifle
by Major E.G.B. Reynolds
Please be aware that some specialist imagery may take time to load.
This site is for dedicated researchers and is best viewed on desk or laptop.
This book, authored in 1960 by Major Reynolds, became for many years the definitive reference for Lee-Enfield rifles. Long out of print, and expensive to buy as an original copy, the book remains one of the most significant records of Enfield rifles, their origins and history of manufacture. Included are the "non-Lee" rifles, the mid 19th. Century Enfields, the later Enfield Rifle No.3 - the Pattern 1914, known universally as the "P'14",- and a number of other experimental models trialled over the years.
The book is comrehensively illustrated with fine photographs and drawings, many of which are taken from the original Royal Small Arms Factory's drawing archive then held at Enfield Lock. The many drawings include detailed sections of component parts, and exploded diagrams of complete rifles. Reynolds also had access to War Office and Ministry of Supply records that allowed him to include production detail.
Rifleman's copy of the book was gifted by Eddie Reynolds to his brother on the 24th. of March 1960, straight from the production line. His dedication reads ....
To Brother Freddie.
Hoping this book will give him a little of the pleasure it gave me in writing it.
Eddie
The dedication is on page 7 of the PDF and the letter shown opposite was from the descendant from whom the book was acquired in 2011.
These text-searchable documents can be viewed with vertical scrolling
or as flip-pages by clicking the appropriate icon.
Depending upon the number of pages they may take a few moments to load.
Double tap tablet or click 
for full page display.
MAJOR E. G. B. REYNOLDS
Major E. G. B. Reynolds was, for fourteen years, a Technical Officer on the Inspectorate of Armaments Headquarters Staff at the Royal Small Arms Factory, dealing chiefly with the inspection and development of small arms and, in particular, rifles. He was closely connected with the inspection and development of the No. 4 (Lee Enfield) Rifle since it first went into production in 1941 and helped to organize, and take part in, most of the early trials and experiments. Throughout the war, Major Reynolds carried out investigation into rifle defects and accidents.
Major Reynolds' principal hobby for the forty years prior to 1960 was rifle shooting. He was ten times a member of the British team in the annual contest for the Dewar trophy against the U.S.A., Canada , South Africa and Australia and, in 1933, was the first person to make a full score of 400 ex. 400 in that match; a world record. He also gained Full-bore International honours on several occasions, including in the Kolapore, National, Mackinnon, and Britannia Shield contests.
In the World Championships at Stockholm in 1947 he won silver medals for both full-bore and small-bore rifle, and by 1960 held many individual honours including the Bisley All-Comers Aggregate (1957), English Twenty Club Championship (I957), and the Suffolk County Small-Bore Championship. For his World record shoot in 1933 he was made a member of the U.S.A.'s "400'" Club.
Major Reynolds regularly contributed a column to The Shooting Times, which was at the time published every Friday.
Several of his articles are also here on site. One is a brief history of the Colchester Rifle Club, another is of the introduction of a new Target Rifle for the British Army – the L39A1, a third was written for the U.S.A. National Rifle Association’s journal “The Rifleman” on British Enfield Rifles.
He also wrote articles for the British journal "The Rifleman" of the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs (latterly the National Small-bore Rifle Association), at a time when he was involved with the potential introduction of the .22-inch calibre No.5 and No.6 training Lee-Enfield models. He also wrote for the long defunct, but still sought after, “Guns Review” magazine. The editions of that in which many of his articles appeared can be discovered by searching our Guns Review contents listing.
Return to: TOP of PAGE
See this website's Raison d'être