Short Magazine Lee-Enfield No 1 Mk III Rifle

Short Magazine Lee-Enfield No 1 Mk III bolt action rifle. Receiver marked with the Lithgow trade mark of a kangaroo within a shield over 1913. The butt disc is stamped 9.14 over 16A1. This rifle is complete with all correct parts including the long range volley sights.

The markings on the butt disc indicate that this rifle was issued to the 16th Australian Infantry (Newcastle, NSW) Regiment in September 1914. It was apparently captured and used by the Turks during the war. After the armistice it was found in the possession of Turkish troops at Batoun on the Black Sea.

The troops evacuating ANZAC employed many ruses to decive the Turks during the evacuation of Gallipoli. Some of them set up rifles designed to fire after the last troops had with drawn. One of those devices was the drip rifle, designed by Lance Corporal W. C. Scurry (later Captain) of the 7th Battalion, AIF. It used the height of water dripping into a tin to pull the rifle's trigger. Its use helped to to convince the Turks that the ANZAC trenches were occupied, while the Australians moved quiety to the beaches. In later years, Captain Scurry re-created the drip rifle assemblege for one of the Memorial's displays.