Product Details
WEBLEY & SCOTT, BIRMINGHAM
A .455 (AUTOMATIC) SEMI-AUTOMATIC SERVICE-PISTOL, MODEL '.455MKI (N) SELF LOADING', serial no. 6665,
for 1916, with 5in. exposed barrel, square profile slide marked on the left 'WEBLEY & SCOTT LTD, PISTOL SELF-LOADING .455 MKI (N)' together with the date and the 'winged bullet' trademark, blade fore-sight, dove-tailed rear-sight, blued frame with exposed hammer and grip-safe to the back-strap, chequered hard-rubber grips (one small chip), lanyard ring at heel, traces of finish
Provenance: Ralph William Keatley was born in Aldershot on 28th January 1891. His father, Charles Keatley (b.1858 London) was a Troop Sergeant Major in the 20th Hussars. His mother, Ellen was born in Reading in 1865. By the time of the 1901 census Charles Keatley was listed as an "army pensioner" and "wardrobe dealer."
Ralph William Keatley joined the same regiment as his father, the 20th Hussars as a regular soldier before World War One and on the 19th November 1915 was promoted from Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers. On the 19th June 1917 he was promoted to Lieutenant. He was later employed as a Captain from the 1st November 1917.
He survived the war and left the army at the end of it. He married Elizabeth K. Dolan in September 1917 and had a son Sergeant Colin Ralph Keatley who was unfortunately killed in an accident as a trainee pilot in the RAF on the 24th September 1940.
He worked on the highways as a surveyor with Norfolk County Council and lived in Mitford. He died aged 88 in March 1979 at East Dereham, Norfolk.
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Estimate £1,000-1,500
S5 - Sold as a Section 5 Firearm under the 1968 Firearms Act, Sections 7.3 and 7.1 Eligible
Unless prior arrangement has been made, two weeks after the Sealed bid sale, all Section 5 (and Section 7.1 / 7.3) items will be moved to a Section 5 carriers where storage charges will be incurred.
Goods will not be released until all outstanding charges have been met. Collection will be by arrangement.