大象传媒

From the age of 14 my late father worked for what was later to become the NCB and at 22 was promoted to Lamproom Foreman at Bickershaw colliery which made him exempt from joining the forces during WW2. As a result, the nearest he could get to any 'action' was Dads Army or as he officially referred to it The Home Guards! This was a unit attached to the pit which was owned by a Major Hart. To get to my point the 'Major' had arranged for my Dad and his friend to try out some Royal Enfield 303 rifle ammunition which he had 'commandeered' from an army acquaintance and so it was on the following Sunday morning that the Major, my dad and his friend were at the Rifle Range with the old but 'as new condition' World war 1 Royal Enfield rifles, - (which were the only rifles that the Home Guards were allowed to be issued with), and a box of ammunition. The honour of the first shot went to my dad and he duly loaded a single round, aimed the rifle and shot but to his utter shock and surprise the bullet had completely missed the large target and had hit the embankment some several feet above and behind the targets, I recall my dad saying to me " it kicked like a mule",this caused my dad much embarrassment, for he prided himself as a 'crack-shot', (he had owned several guns during his youth, some legally, others not!) and so was reasonably familiar with the reaction from guns being fired. The Major took the rifle and checked the barrel and general condition of the rifle and gave it back saying - "try again, you are not used to these weapons man! You have only used small arms before", my father dutifully reloaded the rifle and fired another shot aiming very low in an attempt to register a 'hit' but to no avail, the rifle kicked even more violently than the first time, the round hit the uppermost edge of the target! After my father complained a second time about the severe 'kick-back', the Major took the rifle and handed it to my fathers friend and instructed him to try a shot at the targets, the man took the weapon and loaded another round, took slow aim and fired, the rifle exploded and severely lacerated the mans face and my dad told me that with the severity of his injuries, was lucky to escape with his life! The rifle barrel had split into many strands and looked like "an inside-out umbrella with the cloth missing". My fathers friend eventually made a full recovery after extensive treatment and several visits to the local hospital! Now, bearing in mind that the rifle was in very good condition mechanically and the ammunition was eventually proven to be faultless - yet there is a simple and valid mechanical reason why the accident happened. Can anybody give the reason?
I would be happy to reply to any further questions that any reader may wish to ask!

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