Product Details
F. BEESLEY
A PAIR OF 12-BORE BOXLOCK EJECTORS, serial no. 1761 / 2,
30in. nitro reproved barrels, ribs engraved 'F. BEESLEY (FROM PURDEYS) 2 ST. JAMES'S STREET. LONDON. S.W.', and gold-inlaid '1' and '2' at the breech ends, 2 1/2in. chambers, bored approx. 1/4 and 1/2 choke, No.1 gun left wall at 18+, toplevers gold-inlaid '1' and '2', automatic safeties with gold-inlaid 'SAFE' details, intercepting sears, best floral and acanthus scroll engraving, the makers name in central scrolling banners, brushed bright and reblued finish overall, 15 1/8in. figured stocks (slightly cast on for the left shoulder) including 5/8in. wooden extensions, fore-end woods with light damage, weight 6lb. 8oz., in their brass-cornered oak and leather case
Provenance: The vendor has kindly informed us that the guns were formerly the property of Brigadier Nicholas Ridley OBE, a gift to him from his father -in-law at the occasion of his marriage to Isabel Spencer-Nairn. Prior to this they are believed to have been a 21st birthday present to Robert Spencer-Nairn by his father, Major Sir Robert Spencer-Nairn, 1st Bt.
Brigadier Nicholas John Ridley, O.B.E. (25th March 1941 to 20th April 2016) the son of an officer in the Central Indian Horse, was born at Quetta (now in Pakistan) where his father was at the Army Staff College. His mother was the daughter of the college commandant, General Christison. His grandfather, General Sir Philip Christison, was a distinguished corps commander in the Burma Campaign.
Nicholas was educated at Shrewsbury where he was a music scholar and an athlete. In 1962 he was commissioned from Sandhurst into 1st Battalion Queen's Own Highlanders and, having joined D Company, served on operations in Brunei, Borneo and Sarawak during the Confrontation with Indonesia.
After a move to West Berlin as Intelligence Officer he was, on one occasion, captured in East Berlin and endured some 'rough handling' by the communist security services.
In the summer of 1979, he accompanied D Company to Crossmaglen, South Armagh, where he was to extensively experience first-hand the brutality of the conflict at the height of the 'Troubles'. At the end of the tour Ridley was awarded an operational MBE.
In January 1982, he took command of the 1st Battalion Queen's Own Highlanders and, after the Falklands War, they became the first garrison battalion. His men restored order, services and cleanliness to Port Stanley and brought a semblance of normality to the islanders after the trauma of invasion. His period of command included an emergency tour in Northern Ireland and, in 1983, he was advanced to OBE.
After commanding 54 Infantry Brigade, his final posting was as deputy commandant at the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham. He then made a successful career in fundraising for the Florence Nightingale Trust and the Guy's & St Thomas's Hospital Appeal before retiring to Roxburghshire where he became a fundraiser for a number of local charities as well as the Highlanders' Regimental Museum at Fort George, near Inverness.
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Estimate £1,500-2,000
S2