doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com London and Portsmouth suggestions for Gun shops.

I am going abroad to study this summer at the various Western Front Cemetary(s). Any suggestions for must see gun shops in these two British cities? Also Amsterdam? Thanks for any help.

H

If you're looking around Cassino, must look is the nearby German cemetery, must have been designed by a poet, never seen anything like it. Good luck.

London ? Easy, Ray Ward, holland and holland, purdeys, rigbys, the beretta gallery.

when you get into Somerset/Dorset area ask around for some local made hard, but not fizzy Cider..you will enjoy it..medium dry would do it
Great for washing down the Pasties,lol
franc

By the Western Front I presume First World War areas. If that's the case then Ypres museum at the old Cloth Hall is a must visit along with the nearby Menin Gate and stop there for the Last Post ceremony which takes place each evening.

Now on to Portsmouth. Depends on how much you want to travel out from there. Tony Kennedy at Launston, Cornwall, Sportarm, Dorchester, Dorset, The sportsman's Gun Centre with one branch in Wardon Hill, Dorset and one in Exeter, Devon, and Coombe Farm Sporting, Crewkerne, Somerset. They are probably the larger ones and all have extensive websites, and I'm sure someone more local to that area of the south west of England will come up with a few more. Good luck and prepare to be somewhat moved on the Western Front in Belgium and France. Best advice is to read what you can about it all first so as to get the most out of your visit. Lagopus.....

Wellington Tunnels, Memorial to the Battle of Arras

Portsmouth is a desert for decent gun shops. Actually, its a desert for most things! (Sorry Pompey). Except of course, you must visit HMS Victory, Nelson's battleship used at Trafalgar, 1806, as well as the Mary Rose, one of Henry VIII's war ships.

London - ask Holland & Holland and Boss if you can visit their workshops, far more interesting than the shop.

Tim

Isn't the William Evans shop in London also?

A sparkler for your paper, gunluvr---and lost in all the grief---is the magnificent Vimy Ridge monument where Canada took a commanding position in one innovative assault that had defied British and French divisions for months, earning our sparsely populated country a separate signature on the armistice papers. According to leading British military historians, Canadian formations in the First World War were the best of both sides. (Your profs will know you did your homework!)

A factory tour by one of the makers could probably be arranged.
As lagopus says above, try and visit the Menin Gate. I had one of the most moving experiences of my life there. I didn't hang around to hear the last post as I was very conscious of the fact that standing under a huge arched monument to over 50,000 soldiers who have no grave, while the bugles sounded would have reduced a grown man who thinks he's tough to tears.
If possible, try and visit a German cemetery too, the vast majority were young men who were fed propaganda, given a gun and told to kill the enemy.
It brings it home what a waste of life the whole horrible episode was.
On a lighter note, when in London, the natural history museum is a must. Even if the exhibits aren't of interest, the building itself is a work of art.
Enjoy your stay in Blighty.

The imperial war museum and also HMS Belfast are both in central london too. A visit to 221b baker street is worth it too if you love victorian times.