I am researching the history of one of my guns and need some assistance with possible additional Information sources.

My O/U was #2 of a pair ordered in 1913. The price was 50 Guineas and a pair of SxS in trade. The customer was an army officer from Cornwall. I have researched the internet materials available to me and have discovered the following:

My officer was part of the 22nd mountain Battery (Derajat) and served in India and east Africa. He is listed variously as 2nd Lt., captain, and major. The same year that he ordered the O/U pair, he flew a Bristol Boxkite. He was sickened with a fever in the E African campaign, but survived. He was mentioned in dispatches in the Battle of Tanga in November, 1914. He was twice reinstated in 1928 & 1930 and retired in 1945.

I have been unable to locate his obituary and would like to know more about the original owner of my O\U, Capt. James Herbert Marmaduke Stevenson. What a great name!

If anyone can point me to some additional resources, I would be most appreciative.

Owen, deaths of British citizens abroad and in India are on-line. Couldn't find anything. But if he retired from the Army...he had to draw a pension. And at some point that pension stopped. The Army would seem to be the best place to start. I had a similar problem with the original owner of my .20 bore William Evans - have his birth, history as a young man...nothing else.

British officers of that period were often 2nd (or later) sons. The first born inherited, so his younger brother(s) often ended up in military service. We're talking noble families, so you might focus your research on British peers and see what you can find under Stevenson. Our British contributors can probably offer more specific advice. Good luck!

Found James Herbert Marmaduke Stevenson died 13th October 1954 age 69 Westminster, County of London. Died at Westminster Hospital. Address at death 8B New Cavendish Street London.

Born 22ND January 1885, Baptism 15th March 1885, Parents James Marmaduke and Rosetta Ann Stevenson. Father was a bank messenger and they lived at 12 Connaught Street London.

With father being a bank messenger, seems unlikely a peerage search would do much good.

Thanks so much for the helpful information. I have continued my research and now believe that I have identified the wrong "J. H. M. Stevenson!" I pulled the "Medal Record" of this officer at the National Archives. Written in the margin was "James Hugh Macdonald Stevenson". I believe this to be the correct purchaser and the soldier involved in most of the above exploits.

Stevenson is a popular name. (The nobility is something of a red herring, I suspect. Even in Victorian times GB was not full of nobility, you know!)

I have found a JOHN Hugh Macdonald Stevenson in the 1911 census, as a Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery, based at Shoeburyness, Essex. However, he was born in Middlesex.

Can you please confirm the actual information you have on this chap, perhaps what is written on the gun case or from the firm's records (which firm, by the way?) Where does Cornwall feature? Then I may be able to dig a little deeper for you.

Tim

I would think there were not many 50 Guineas British over unders for sale in 1913. I, too, wonder what the maker was.

Here is Mr. Stevenson's Medal Card. Two soldiers used the same initialed name (see lower right corner), both officers (one A.S.C and the other R.A.). After further research, I am uncertain as to who ordered the gun. I think the only solution is to research both individuals and contact the families. Any help is appreciated.

The price of 50 Guineas was for a pair of new Edwinson Green O/U's, less a traded-in pair of SxS.

On the cover letter from Mr. Potter, he references a customer from Cornwall, but I cannot confirm the attachment of either man to that region.

Of the two, I would start with the Gunner (Royal Artillery). He would be more likely to come from a moneyed family than someone serving in the Army Service Corps (ASC). I hasten to add I am making a huge assumption there, which is not to denigrate anyone who served in the ASC. Its just that the RA attracted officers from a broad range of backgrounds, whereas the ASC in general attracted those from a less privileged background.

If your man came from Cornwall it would be helpful in tracking him down. Neither of the two chaps above may end up being correct, given what little you have to go on right now.

My understanding is that Edwinson Green made very few U/Os and that a pair would be super-rare.

Tim

A mid level officer could afford to pay 50 guineas plus part exchange, which echoes the many orders in gunmakers' ledgers from armed forces personnel. At 100 guineas for a best SXS, the price was a fraction of the annual salary of an officer.

Back then there was far more handwork and larger inventories yet salaried people could afford best quality. Now, despite the cost cutting use of CNC prices are through the roof, they are in fact multiples of current officer pay. And that is telling.

Re tracing the officer's history, suggest you contact his regiment's historic record keeper. Most regiments have one.

Just to say my sole British regimental history, "Regimental Fire" of the Honourable Artillery Company, lists no officers named Stevenson.

Whilst the HAC might appear to be part of the RA, they are a separate entity and now a specialist unit. Officers would therefore have had HAC after their names, whereas Gunner officers had the RA moniker after theirs.

The RA is one of the largest support arms of the British army and is, I suspect, of limited help in tracking down the correct individual here. That's why I feel any Cornish connection may prove to be more pertinent.

Tim