OK Kiddies .... get your warm flannel nighties on and snuggle down in yo' li'l truckle beddies ... then Grandpa will tell you a tale about the Good Fairy of Bisley.
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a small village where lived a fair-haired young boy. Back in the mid-30's the boy had learned to shoot air rifles, starting with his trusty Haenel break-barrel ... in fact he was fast becoming noted for his success in the weekly matches held in the back yard of the Nags' Head pub. Mentored by "Grandpa" Joe Norris, the head gamekeeper for the old Duke of Bedford, himself an umpteen times World Champion clay pigeon shooter, the lad was developing a good feel for a trigger. His father had promised him one of the top BSA underlever models for his 10th birthday if he won the junior inter-pub league that year.
And so it came to pass ! Then one day, a travelling fair - Carnival to all you Colonials - came to the village and set up in Bell Close. There were Merry-Go-Rounds, and Swings, Coconut Shies and all sorts of stands where one could attempt to drop rings over bottle necks to win a tawdry prize, or roll pennies down a chute to land on a numbererd square. Oh Bliss ... there was even a stand where one could shoot an air-rifle at metal ducks "swimming" across a backstop. But ... best of all ... for adults only, there was another stand where one could shoot real rifles ! With "Grandpa" Joe in close attendance, vouching for his skils, the lad was allowed to handle and actually shoot his first real rifle ... as I recall it was a BSA 12 Martini, the foreruner of those to come later l. Among the other rifles the lad tried during that week was a Winchester Gallery pump model.
A couple or three years later, when the lad became an Aircraft Apprentice at the RAF #1 S of TT, he found himself again handling and shooting the good old BSA Model12/15 and Model15 Martini's in serious competition. When WW2 ended, and rifles again became available for private ownership, his first one was one of the "new" BSA Mk2 Martini's. Later, in the early '50's, after being invalided out of the RAF, he emigrated to Canada ... his old BSA being confiscated by the British Police before leaving ... where he acquired another Mk2 BSA, which was to be his last. In a fit of weakness, and under some outside pressure, he agreed to give up his Martini in exchange for one of the new Walther KKM models to prepare for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
Now close yo' eyes and maybe the Good Fairy of Bisley will leave a BSA Ultra under yo' pillow while you sleep !
Mick
