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William Greener was born in 1806 in Low Felling, County Durham, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His father was a toll gate keeper. William was apprenticed in about 1820 to John Gardner at 130 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. There are reports that when he finished his apprenticeship in about 1828, he moved to London to work for John Manton, and these are probably correct, but there are other reports that in 1822 he started an apprenticeship with John Manton. It is certain that he worked in London with John Manton, but probably only for about 12 months. In about 1828 he married Ann (nee Thorne born in Haydon, Dorset in 1811), and in 1829 he returned to Newcastle to open his own business at 29 Collingwood Street (premises occupied by W R Pape 1862-1902). In 1834 he moved to 48 Groat Market, and in 1835 he wrote his first book, "The Gun" or "A Treatise on the Various Descriptions of Small Fire-Arms". In this book he described himself as the "inventor of an improved method of firing cannon by percussion etc. etc.". The book was dedicated to the Duke of Wellington, and Peter Hawker wrote a testimonial which was printed in the book. He’s interest included a patent for an improved the miners’ safety lamp and he invented an early electric light. He designed and patented a self-righting life boat. In 1835/36 he invented the first bullet designed to expand in the barrel in order to seal the bore. This was one of the major leaps in rifle technology, and he offered it to the Government but, having done so, he could not patent the idea. However, the government awarded him £1000. His invention was finally rejected by the Board of Ordinance who adopted the Minie bullet for service use. In 1838 the firm moved to 60 Pilgrim Street, and in the 1841 census William and Ann were recorded living there with their children, Joseph (Henry) aged 9, William (Wellington) aged 7, Sarah (Ann?) aged 5, Mary (Elizabeth?) aged 3 and Ann (Anna Maria?) aged 1 day. William described himself as a gunsmith. In 1841 William Greener wrote "The Science of Gunnery". By 1844 Greener realised that his success would be limited by the demand for his products, in other words his location. The English gun trade was dominated by Birmingham makers and the Proof House was in Birmingham, so in that year he moved by ox cart to Rifle Hill, Aston New Town. He started in business with three men, the rest of his work being put out to the trade. At this early stage he started to consider opening a shop in London. London has always had a reputation for "Best" guns, mainly because it had a large number of affluent customers, but rents and wages were expensive. In 1846, William opened a showroom in London at 25 Gerrard Street, Soho. In addition to his books, William Greener wrote a number of pamphlets on various subjects. Perhaps the most notable of these was the 1845 pamphlet entitled "The Proof House, the Bane of the Gun Trade". This became part of a campaign which resulted in changes embodied in the Gun Barrel Proof Act in 1855. In 1848 the firm gained an appointment to H R H Prince Albert, this put the firm at the forefront of British gun making. In the 1851 census William and Ann were recorded living in Walsall Road, Aston. By this time Joseph Henry was 18 years old and William Wellington was 16 years old; both were described as gun makers but obviously apprentice gun makers. When he was 17 years old William Wellington caught measles which resulted in him being only partially sighted for the rest of his life but his poor vision resulted in such sensitivity in his fingers that he could detect flaws in his workmen’s work without actually seeing them. Sarah was not recorded at home in this census and daughter, Ann, was named as Anna Maria. Two further sons had been born, Albert John in 1846 and Arthur in 1851. In 1851 William exhibited at the Great Exhibition, and Greener guns, barrels and harpoon guns were awarded prizes. Without doubt, the exhibition helped the firm's reputation and the export market the firm had developed. William and his sons would have seen the new French breech loading guns at the exhibition but, as will be seen below, William's opinion of them differed from those of his sons. In 1852 the London shop moved to 1 Ely Place, Holborn. In 1853 Greener guns were awarded prizes at the New York Exhibition, and in 1855 at the Paris Exhibition. In 1856 the London shop was closed, probably because it was relatively expensive to maintain and most customers placed their orders direct with the Birmingham factory. Instead, a London agent, Daniel B Harvey of 42 Ely Place, was appointed and he took over responsibility for orders, which were probably mainly for export, but his agency was terminated in 1859. On 21 December 1854 William Greener registered patent No. 2693 for a revolver and breech-loader both with an under-lever operated reciprocating barrel, and the combustible alloy cartridges to use in them. James Purdey is generally credited with making the first true "Express" rifle in 1851, although he named them and frequently made them much later. This was a long range rifle with a light bullet and a heavy powder charge (see James Purdey). In 1855 William Wellington claimed to have been the first gun maker to have made an "Express" type rifle. This he called his "Cape Rifle" (not to be confused with the later guns of the same name which had one shotgun barrel and one rifled barrel). The Greener "Cape Rifle" had a two groove barrel with a one in thirty inch twist and a winged bullet. However, in 1832 a Major David Davidson of the Bombay Army had developed an Express type rifle, and a few years later he developed telescopic sights to be used with both rifles and pistols (see David Davidson of Haddington). As mentioned above, William was not impressed with the new breech-loading guns and was not prepared to jeopardise what he saw as a secure and profitable future for his firm by the adoption of new and unproved ideas. His sons, William Wellington in particular, believed that breech loaders would supersede muzzle loaders. Reportedly, this was an irreconcilable difference of opinion that resulted in 1855 in him, probably with financial help from his father, establishing his own business. This was known as W Greener Jnr and the address was given as C/O Bayliss & Son (precise address unknown). At the same time or very shortly afterwards, William Wellington and Joseph also became partners in the firm of W & J Greener. It would appear that William Wellington Greener established a breech loading barrel making firm with the Bayliss family as his main suppliers, and a gun making partnership with his brother, Joseph. The Bayliss family were a very large family, most of them being barrel makers. In 1858 William Greener wrote his third book, "Gunnery". In 1859 William Greener's wife, Ann died. In the 1861 census William was recorded living at 23 Walsall Road with William Wellington, Albert (aged 15 a gun stocker), Arthur (aged 10), and Sarah Ann and Mary E, both of whom were teachers. The firm of W Greener Jnr was recorded in Lench Street from 1858 to 1863, but in 1863 the name changed to W W Greener and he moved to 61-62 Loveday Street, the premises being named the "St Mary's Works". On 10 September 1863 William Wellington patented a sliding bolt single bite snap action breech-loader (No. 2231). In this patent the operating lever fitted round the trigger guard or was itself the trigger guard. This moved a round bolt back and forth in the top of the head of the stock but it made no provision to lock the barrels to the action face. The patent also covered an extractor for pin-fire guns which comprised a lever and slide on top of the barrels which moved to the rear as the gun was opened and extracted the cartridges. On 24 September 1864, William Greener registered patent No. 2349 for a cartridge with a shot or bullet container of less diameter than the case which had a deep seated primer. William Greener may have registered only two gun patents, but he also improved the Davy mining lamp, invented a self-righting lifeboat and a level-crossing gate mechanism, and he invented an electric light. On 7 May 1867 William Wellington registered patent No 1339 for a top lever locking mechanism. This patent mentions a cross-bolt through an extension of the top rib, this eventually became his treble wedge fast grip. On 7 March 1868 he registered patent No 800, this covered a retracting striker design which had a hook on the breast of the hammer which caught the firing pin, which had a lateral projection and a groove to guide it, and on cocking pulled it back. The patent also covered barrels hinged at the side. Albert Greener, a 15 year old stocker in the 1861 census reportedly went to San Francisco in about 1868 and was never heard of again, but guns bearing his name have been seen. Greener, a 15 year old stocker in the 1861 census reportedly went to San Francisco in about 1868 and was never heard of again, but guns bearing his name have been seen. Some of these guns may be genuine and may have been made in Birmingham before he left, but others are forgeries traceable to Liege. In 1867 Joseph Henry Greener was recorded running his own business as a gun and rifle maker at 35 Loveday Street, this appears to have closed in 1869, no doubt because William Greener died on 23 August 1869 at his house in Rother Street, Stratford-on-Avon. Surprisingly, his estate amounted to under £600 but perhaps he had given most of his assets to his family. William Wellington was left out of his father's will. There could be a number of reasons for this apart from him already having received his inheritance in the form of finance to establish his own business. Another reason may have included the influence William Wellington may have had over his elder brother, Joseph Henry, in him leaving his father's firm. However, William Wellington, aged 26, was still living with his father in 1861. It has been suggested that the main reason was because William Greener did not approve of W W Greener's wife, Emma (nee Oliver b.1834 in Northumberland and married to William Wellington in 1862). Reportedly, after his father's death William Wellington bought his father's business from the rest of the family, and his brother, Joseph Henry, closed his business but remained a gun maker, the remaining brother living in England, Arthur W Greener, was recorded as a gun maker in the 1901 census and, as he did not have his own business must have remained employed in the family firm. In any event, the works at Aston were reportedly closed and all the machinery and stock were moved to William Wellington’s St Mary’s Works at 61-62 Loveday Street. This had now expanded to St Mary's Square and St Mary's Row. On 7 May 1867 William Wellington registered patent No. 1339 for a locking bolt for breech action guns. In the 1871 census W W Greener and Emma were recorded living in Grange Lane, Erdington, a village on the north western outskirts of Birmingham. They had four sons, William O (Oliver) (b.1862 in Aston), Harry Leyton (b.1864 in Aston), Charles Edward (b.1867 in Erdington), and Frederick (b.1969 in Erdington, and a daughter, Mary (b.1870 in Erdington). In 1871 William Wellington wrote "The Modern Breech Loader". On 19 September 1873 he patented the famous Greener Treble Wedge Fast cross bolt for drop-down and side-opening breech actions (No. 3084). This was an improvement on his patent No. 1339/1867. It employed the Henry Jones under-lever which had a link to a vertical spindle behind the standing breech which moved a cross bolt in and out of the extended top rib. The side-opening shotgun was effectively the first English over / under variation of the side by side shotgun. Patent No. 3090 of 9 September 1874 covered improvements to it. In 1874 William Wellington acquired the business of Joseph Needham and gained the rights to the Needham ejector patent, he patented improvements to it. For some years Greener used the Needham name to market less expensive guns. In 1876 William Wellington wrote "Choke Bore Guns and How to Load for All Kinds of Game". He claimed to be the inventor of choke boring, as did W R Pape of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but neither Pape nor William Wellington actually "invented" choke boring. They both perfected it and proved its worth, and William Wellington more than anyone else, popularised it, but the idea had been fairly common knowledge throughout the gun making world since the early 1800s. In 1875 The Field magazine had organised trials of choked and non-choked guns. These trials proved that choke boring threw tighter patterns at longer ranges. On 21 July 1876 a further trial took place at the Notting Hill Gun Club. This trial was won by cylinder bored guns but it was criticised as worthless and not a true test, because the cylinder bored guns used "concentrators" (paper or wire mesh shot containers) which threw a pattern equivalent to guns bored with half choke. In 1877 a further trial was organised and concentrators were banned. James Purdey put up a 50 guinea silver cup. The choke bore proved to be the winner. On 25 April 1877 patent No. 1623 by William Wellington covered a breech action opening cocking mechanism operated by a barrel bolt, a fixed barrel gun with a pivoting breech block operated by a turning under-lever, shotgun cartridges made in pairs for speed of re-loading, revolver cartridges made in a fixed circle for speed of re-loading, and the famous Greener side safety as well as a heel-plate safety which acted on the triggers. In 1878 the firm re-opened a shop and office in London taking over the firm and premises of Theophilus Murcott at 68 Haymarket. They also opened a shop in Paris at 8 Avenue de l'Opera. A 14 bore double barrelled pin-fire rotary-underlever sporting gun engraved H Greener, London, has been seen. On the 25 February 1879 William Wellington registered patent No. 769. This covered a transverse rotating safety bolt which blocked the striker holes (this referred to 3084/1873 and 1623/1877). On 2 March 1880 patent No. 930 by William Wellington covered the Greener "Facile Princeps" (meaning “easily the first”) barrel cocking hammerless box lock action. Greeners were one of the many gun makers who had been licensed to use the Westley Richards / Anson and Deeley boxlock patent for which they paid 15 shillings per gun, but they had another idea which entailed a sliding rod in the front barrel lump which was held back by a rearward projection on the fore-end iron. The tumblers curved inwards so that they could be cocked by the single cocking stud at the rear end of the sliding rod. Westley Richards sued for infringement of their patent and the case went to appeal at the House of Lords. Westley Richards lost the case on the grounds that the Greener patent was different in that their gun could be cocked without the fore-end attached. On 9 May 1881 William Wellington registered patent No. 2003 for a self-acting ejector (referred to the Needham patent 1205/1874 and the Greener Facile Princeps patent 930/1880 and the Greener patent 1927 /1877). In this patent the ejector mechanism was operated by the front lump. The patent also covered a butt plate safety, an over/under vertical sliding breech block, and a punt gun action together with drawn brass cases for punt guns, harpoon guns, signal guns and small cannons. In 1881 William Wellington wrote "The Gun and Its Development" which went on to nine editions and reprints in the period up to 1910. By this time he was living at "The Cedars", Grange Lane, Aston, and was recorded in the 1881 census. Harry was recorded as Henry (Leyton) Greener and was described as an apprentice gun finisher, Charles Edward and the others were still attending school, but also recorded were Arthur W (b.1873), Ellen G (Helen?) (b.1874) and Winifred E (b.1876). William Oliver Greener, now aged 19 years, was also recorded in the census but he was living next door to The Cedars in a property Henry Oliver, William Wellington’s father-in-law, a retired dairy farmer aged 71 who lived there with his wife, Mary aged 68. William Oliver was described as a journeyman gun maker. On 8 February 1882 William Wellington registered patent No. 609 for a crimped brass shotgun case. On 21 September 1882 William Wellington registered patent No. 4516 for a boxlock safety device and methods of constructing twist barrels from tube. The safety used an inverted U shaped lever on a longitudinal pivot. The lever acted on the sears and as one sear rose the other was held down. By 1884 the Greener factory had expanded, the main entrance to the factory was changed to St Mary's Square and, because the firm had won a number of prizes, the address of the firm changed to Prize Works, St Mary's Square. In 1884 Joseph Henry Greener died in St Albans, Christchurch, New Zealand. When and why he went there is not known. He was the eldest of the of the four brothers, was recorded as a gun maker in the 1851, 1861 and 1871 censuses but was not recorded thereafter. He was married to Elizabeth (nee Osborne and they had three daughters. Probate was granted to William Wellington as lawful attorney to Elizabeth. The estate was valued at £83. On 7 April 1885 William Wellington registered patent No. 4214 for an extended cap chamber to prevent accidental discharge. On 19 May 1885 Harry Greener patented a windage adjustable Vernier rifle sight (No. 6090). In 1888 William Wellington wrote "Modern Shotguns". In 1888 Braendlin Armoury Co was put into voluntary liquidation, but William Wellington bought the company and continued to trade under the name Braendlin Armoury Co. Charles Edward Greener ran it until about 1911. On 29 January 1889 Harry Leyton Greener patented an ejector mechanism with a two part tumbler (No. 1567). This was his "Unique Ejector". On 7 November 1889 William Wellington took out patent No. 17746 for a barrel which was shallow rifled except at the muzzle which was recess-choked. The idea was to make a gun to rival Holland & Holland's Paradox which could fire shot and ball. It was not a success because it did not pattern well. In about 1890 the firm opened branches in a number of countries. There were showrooms at 38 Bolshaya Morskaya, St Petersburg, Russia; 176 Broadway, New York, USA; and in Montreal, Canada (managed by Charles Humphrey Greener). At some later date the firm appointed Henry C Squires & Son of 20 Cortland Street, New York, their sole agents in the USA. On 14 February 1891 Harry Greener patented a coil spring opening cocking mechanism for a breech action (No. 2697). In the 1891 census the Greener family were still living at The Cedars in Grange Lane. Arthur William was described as an 18 year old gun maker's apprentice. William Wellington's father-in-law and neighbour, Henry Oliver, now a widower aged 81, and his son and William Wellington's nephew, Howard (b.1872 in Birmingham and described as a private secretary - to William Wellington?), were both living with the family. Interestingly, visitors in the house on the night of the census were Louisa M Rawbone (b.1860 in Southampton) and her son (?) Cyril E Rawbone (b.1881 in Cape Botony). The Rawbone family were gun makers in Cape Town, South Africa from about 1848 to about 1937. In the same census, William Oliver Greener was recorded as a visitor in the home of William H Bull, a commission agent, who lived at Chigwell Cottage, Lavender Hill, Enfield. William, aged 29, was described as an author and journalist, not a gun maker; he was accompanied by his wife, Florence M (b.1863 in Birmingham, and their daughter, Florence G (b.1889 in Harborne, Staffordshire). In the same census Charles Edward Greener was recorded living in Chester Road, Erdington with his wife, Harriet (b.1867 in Leysters, Hereford) and their son, Humphrey (b.1891). They employed a nurse, gardener and domestic servant. From 1888 to 1911 Charles Edward ran the Braendlin Armoury Co. In 1892 the firm started to make bicycles and William Wellington published “The Breechloader and How to Use it”. On 4 October 1893 William Wellington patented an opening cocking mechanism and an ejector mechanism and an intercepting safety together with a stock bolt (patent No. 18558). This may have been his "Emperor" model which had only three parts to the lock. On 4 January 1895 William Wellington registered patent No. 228 for a circular cross bolt. In 1895 the London office had moved to 13-14 Abchurch Lane, it closed in about 1900. The firm was last recorded in 1925. Also in 1895 William Wellington bought the business of William Stevenson Needler at 27 Silver Street, Hull, but it continued to trade under the name of W S Needler. Needler had been a competitor in the manufacture of harpoon guns, and buying Needler's business gave the Greeners direct local contact with whaling ships sailing in and out of Hull. In 1900 the business moved to 19 Paragon Street, and in 1912 it moved to 8 Trinity House Lane, it closed in about 1914. On 30 September 1896 Harry Leyton Greener registered patent No. 21622 for an intercepting safety sear for a boxlock action. On 10 November 1897 Frederick Greener registered patent No. 26147 for an inspection port, loaded indicator and safety device for Martini actions. On 19 February 1898 Harry Leyton Greener patented a single trigger mechanism for breech actions (No 4156); on 15 April 1899 he patented another (No. 7930). On 22 February 1900 he patented a rifle sight with a drift compensation adjustment (No. 3477). On 3 February 1900 the company registered patent No. 2180 for a rifle cartridge clip. In 1900 William Wellington wrote "Sharpshooting for Sport and War". In the 1901 census William Wellington and Emma were recorded at their Welsh holiday home, Tyr Graig, in Llanaber, near Barmouth, Merionethshire. This was not, as one would imagine, a holiday cottage, it was a large house in about 40 acres of land running down to the beach. It is now a small hotel. In the same census William Wellington's former home, "The Cedars" in Grange Lane, was occupied by Harry Leyton Greener and his sisters, Helen G and Winifred E, all unmarried. Harry Leyton was described as a gun maker, he married Ann Elizabeth (nee Pearson b.1874) later in 1901. Arthur W Greener was recorded as a 28 year old gun maker living at a house named Moelfre in Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield, about 8 miles north west of Erdington. Living with him was his wife, Ada Mary (b.1874 in Erdington), no children were recorded. Charles Edward Greener was recorded as a 34 year old gun maker living at Strelna, in Chester Road, Erdington, with Harriet and Humphrey and three other children, Leysters (b.1894), Chloris Mary (b.1896) and Jessie (b.1899). On 8 May 1902 Harry Leyton Greener patented another rifle sight with lateral adjustment (No. 10555). On 29 April 1903 Harry Leyton Greener registered patent No. 9644 for an airgun or air rifle cocked by breaking the barrel. In 1903 Emma Greener died at Tyr Graig in Wales. At some later date William Wellington married Bertha Amelia who was 34 years his junior. On 26 February 1904 Frederick Greener registered patent No. 4729 for an adapter and bolt to convert .303 service rifles for practice with small calibre ammunition. On 7 December 1905 he patented a bolt action safety (No. 25448), and on 8 December a fore-end hand guard with projections that enabled approximate sighting (patent No. 25551). On 26 April 1906 Harry Leyton Greener registered patent No. 9748 for a single trigger (referred to 4156/1898). On 19 January 1907 Frederick Greener registered patent No. 1422 for an off-set barrel conversion which allowed centrefire rifles to fire rimfire ammunition. In 1907 William Wellington and Charles Edward Greener published a book entitled "The Causes of Decay in a British Industry" under the pseudonyms Optifex and Artifex. In 1908 William Wellington wrote "The British Miniature Rifle". On 12 October 1908 Harry Leyton Greener registered patent No. 21516 for improvements to Lyman and Orthoptic disc sights. Arthur W Greener died at Molefre on 22 April 1908. Probate was granted to Ada Mary and the state was valued at £625 9s. 6d. On 19 July 1909 Frederick Greener registered patent No. 16776 for a pivoted folding aperture sight. On 11 May 1910 Harry Leyton Greener patented his "Empire" model opening cocking hinge pin mechanism (patent No. 12012). Similar to the "Emperor" it had only three parts to the lock but the V mainspring protruded through the knuckle was was acted upon by the fore-end which pushed it back to cock the locks. up to 1965 17,000 were made the early ones with 3" long actions were all non-ejectors, from 1925 "Short Empires" were made and later an ejector version (mostly Southgate) was available. The "Blue Rock" pigeon version of the model had 2 3/4" chambers and was loaded with 1 1/4oz of shot fired through 30" full choke or 3/4 choke barrels. It weighed 7 3/4lbs and had a pigeon engraved on the top rib. On 14 May 1910 he filed his patent for a dovetailed barrel lump which slid in longitudinally from the front and incorporated a top key (patent No. 3569). The 1911 census records William and Bertha Amelia living at The Cedars with a cook and a housemaid. William was 76 years old and described himself as a gun maker. When he retired later in 1911 Harry Leyton Greener (aged 47) and Charles Edward Greener (aged 44) took over the running of the business although Frederick and Arthur William were still partners. The 1911 census also records Charles Edward living at The Rookery, Hortopp Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield with Harriet, their daughters and Humphrey aged 20 described as a gun maker. The family employed a cook, a housemaid and a farmer’s boy working on the farm. At this time the company registered an elephant's head as a trade mark, this reason for this was because Charles Edward was in London and was called in by police to shoot a escaped elephant outside Charing Cross Station. William Oliver Greener was recorded in the 1911 census living at 2 Kent Villas, Kent Gardens, Ealing, London with his daughter and son. In 1886 he had married Florence M (b.1863). William himself died on 10 August 1935 in Salcombe, Devon leaving an estate valued at £632 16s. 5d. Harry Leyton Greener was recorded in this 1911 census living at Blakenalls, Grange Lane, Erdington with his wife Annie and five children including Harry Leyton (Harry Leyton (II) b.1904). On 27 February 1914 Harry Leyton Greener registered patent No. 5090 for a sear and intercepting sear in a sidelock which were independently located; on 3 March he registered patent No. 5391 to convert a large calibre rifle for use with small calibre ammunition; and on 14 March 1914 patent No. 6491 covered a safety for humane killers. By 1914 the firm claimed that their factory was the largest in the UK, it occupied 37,000 square feet. It was in 1914 that William Wellington published his last book, "Sharpshooting for War and Defense". From the start of the First World War the company was involved in munitions production, and the manufacture of sporting guns ceased. In December 1914 they opened a separate factory at The Tower, Bagot Street, to make Belgian type Mauser actioned rifles and bayonets. These premises were formerly an old government factory (National Rifle Factory no. 2) which had been closed for several years. In 1916 a further 3 1/2 acre factory site was acquired in Garrison Lane to make other munitions, machine gun parts, signal pistols, SMLE rifles, bomb release mechanisms and naval gun barrels. The firm of B H Pottier & Co was taken over, they manufactured bayonets for the short Lee Enfield rifles. From 1916 to 1928 the London showroom was at 29 Pall Mall. On 9 March 1918 the company registered patent No. 130670 for triple ball cartridges. In 1920 the firm became a limited liability company and the name changed to W W Greener Ltd. From 1920 to 1930 the company had a shop at Bull Ring, Ludlow, Shropshire. The purpose of this is unknown, perhaps it was just a shop that one of the family managed as a sideline. On 24 March 1921 Harry Leyton Greener patented an automatic rotating safety for a Martini action (No. 181154). On 19 August 1921 he patented a detachable fore-end that gave additional heat protection (No. 187078). The Greener Martini action was used by the company in their GP shotguns from 1922 to 1998, their EG shotguns (Egyptian Ghaffir Police Force) from 1922 to 1938, their Police model shotguns from 1922 to 1967. It was used in rifled actions from the late 1960s to 1967. Egyptian Police guns found their way into criminal hands and ammunition was readily available. Leyton Greener invented a special cartridge and modified the guns. The cartridge seems to have been made of Bakelite and would break if dropped or fired. The description is not clear but the cartridges apparently had a central “point” with a circular groove around it. Two points on either side of the primer apparently allowed the primer to fire. How the guns were modified is not known. As there were guns in the hands of criminals and normal cartridges were available modifying the guns and cartridges seems like shutting the door after the horse has bolted. On 25 July 1921 William Wellington died at The Cedars, Erdington, aged 86. He was buried in Llanaber, presumably next to his first wife Emma. Probate was granted to his widow Bertha Amelia the estate being valued at £95,977 17s. 1d.. On 10 June 1922 Harry Leyton Greener patented an adaption to the Martini action so that large bore shotgun cartridges could be used (patent No. 203412). In 1923 the company claimed that not only was their factory the largest in the UK, it was the largest sporting gun factory in the world. In 1927 the company registered patent No. 274932 for a bottle-necked cartridge said to reduce recoil and improve shot patterns. From 1928 to 1965 the showroom in London was located at 40 Pall Mall. On 27 May 1929 Harry Leyton Greener died leaving an estate valued at £42,033 0s.11d. During the Second World War the company renovated and repaired First World War P14 and P17 rifles, they also made Verey signalling pistols, fuse pistols, Sten gun silencers, and aeroplane parts. After the war there was a shortage of materials for gun making, only Empire and GP guns could be made, and the company turned to manufacturing parts for the motor industry. Charles Edward Greener died on 1 January 1950 leaving an estate valued at £21,260 4s. 7d. He had run virtually all the "business side" of the company, and Harry Leyton (II) took over from him with Humphrey looking after the manufacturing side. In 1965 the company was sold to Webley & Scott Ltd. The Pall Mall showroom closed and William Kempster, the manager, left to open his own business in Lambs Conduit Street. In 1973 Webley & Scott were taken over by the Harris & Sheldon Group Ltd. Webley & Scott continued to make a few Greener guns up to 1979, but after that date the name was not used. The total production Greener guns from 1829 to 1979 had been about 75,000. In 1985 rights to the W W Greener Ltd name (also J V Needham and T Murcott) were acquired by Graham Greener, David Dryhurst and Ken Richardson who re-established W W Greener at 1 Belmont Row, Birmingham. The company now trades as W W Greener (Sporting Guns) Ltd; the administrative offices are at Stoppers Hill, Brinkworth, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 5AW; Tel +44 (0) 1666 510351. In 1994 the company opened a workshop at Barnt Green, Worcestershire. Richard Tandy recently joined the Board of Directors. Internet Gun Club has some details of serial numbers which we have not published. Please put details of your gun and its serial number in the appropriate forum and we will reply with what information we have. Other: Greener's "Sporting Life" cartridges were the most popular (post 1910 and 1920), after 1926 some were made by Eley Kynoch. Tubular ignition ensured no blowback. Any powder or load could be ordered, and a waterproof Pegamiod case was available). The firm also sold cartridges under the names Brass (20 bore post 1910) "Dead Shot" (post 1910 and 1927) "Dwarf" (2 inch post 1910) "Empire" (post 1927) "Greener Brass" (post 1927) "Paragon" (Eley Kynoch) "Pheasant" (post 1900) "Police Gun E-K" "Sporting Life" (Schultze 12 bore post 1900, E C powder post 1910: 32, 28, 24 and 20 bore post 1910) Steel lined Gastight (post 1910) The Webley General Purpose was originally design as a police riot gun for the Egyptian Ghafir police in 1922. Two models were made for the civilian market and the name Gaffer gun was soon given to these models by the gamekeepers, farmers and foresters who bought these inexpensive utility weapons. In the following years up to 1998 approximately 100000 Gaffer guns were manufactured. The Webley GP was built on a modified Martini action which was also used by Greener. The action was arranged differently so that one could view the interior of the barrel from the breech end when the breech block was lowered. It has an automatic safety catch with bolting tumbler and an ejector to propel fired cases from the gun. Many variants of the GP were made including a single barrel trap gun, the multi choke, the light harpoon gun and the line throwing gun. This gun was singled out by Gough Thomas in his book for its balance between the hands, the best sporting single shot 12ga there is. (Ref: Dictionary of Guns and Gunmakers by John Walter, Internet Gun Club, British Gun makers – Boothroyd's directory, Nigel Brown's big book of Birmingham gun maker, British Gunmakers Vol 2 p100 by Nigel Brown, Post office directory Birmingham – 1878, A Concise Dictionary of Guns and Gun makers p218 – John Walter, Kelley’s directory, London Gun Makers Association, British Gun Makers. Nigel Brown, Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House, Records of Birmingham gun makers, Dictionary of Guns and Gunmakers p218 by John Walter, Ref: Internet Club.)

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