Short Magazine Lee-Enfield No 1 Mk III* (SMLE) Rifle

Short Magazine Lee-Enfield No 1 Mk III* bolt action rifle, complete with sling, oil bottle, pullthrough and piece of cleaning gauze. The magazine platform and platform spring are missing. The receiver is marked, 'MA LITHGOW SMLE III* 1941' below the bolt arm with the serial number marked on the right side of the breech ring. The left side of the breech ring is marked with the Lithgow proof mark which is a crown over crossed flags and the letters 'L' and 'P'. The underside of the bolt arm and the receiver are both marked, 'M787'. The rifle is stocked in Coachwood with 'MA SMLE III* 1941 HV' stamped on the right side of the butt and a series of proof marks stamped just to the rear of the bayonet boss.

This rifle was collected by a crew member of HMAS Glenelg while repatriating Australian Prisoners of War from the island of Ambon at the end of the Second World War. In late 1941, Ambon was defended by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Garrison, 'Gull Force' made up of the Australian 8th Division's 2/21Battalion, as well as some divisional artillery and support units. The rifle would have been issued to one of the members of the 8th Division in 1941. The invading Japanese forces landed on the island on 30 January 1942 and the last allied troops on Ambon surrendered on 3 February 1942. After the surrender, more than 300 Australian and Dutch Prisoners of War were chosen at random and executed.