No speculation, from my conversation with Frank Wiseman who now owns the Skimmin & Wood brand or his sons now own the brand because Frank was quite advanced in years when I talked with him.
Sam Skimmin was a marketeer, he marketed guns all over the world in places such as New Zealand. He also developed tooling for the 2" 12 gauge action and marketed the gun. Those actions were jobbed out in Birmingham where the trade had gun makers that would specialized in stocks, barrels or what have you. Purchase the action, engrave and mark, put barrels and stock and sell.
I have an A&F 2' 12, have an original 1939 A&F catalog listing the gun in two grades, so listed in A&F records and made for A&F by Tolley.
Frank Wiseman's father worked fro Sam Skimmin off and on over the years and Sam gave him work when things were tough. When I asked Frank about Skimmin & Wood records, he replied, "You know, we had a War"! Lost in the Blitz.
I asked Frank if he could make me a new 2" 12 and he replied that the tooling was lost.
Rumor is that barrels may have been proofed and then honed to lighten the gun further, who knows?
What I do know is that the 2" Brit boxlock 12, will not pass this way again.-Dick
http://www.fjwiseman.co.uk/about.html
