Tinker,

yes, it is the retaining screw of the extractor. The hole on the front sight base, on the other hand, seems to be a bit trickier.

At first I thought also that the fastening screw of the sight base is missing or broken, but as I've examined it further I'm inclined to suggest that this is not the case. There is no thread or any kind of countersink, and the bottom of the hole is perfectly smooth and flat, and not rusty. Doesn't look like a broken screw.

It sure is difficult to say much about these kinds of things on the basis of a single photo, I admit. The best bet so far is that it has something to do with a moonsight. The dimensions of the whole front sight are however, so minuscule (blade height is 3mm or 1/8", and the base length is 18mm or 11/16") that it is doubtful that there is room for any permanently attached folding night sight. Of course it sounds highly impractical that the sight would have been separate and has been attached (maybe to the hole?) only when needed, but the current sight+base is tiny indeed.

I got great information on Mr. CB Westmacott from the IGC board - and there seems to be material on this fellow in the web also.

As I've now examined the case more thoroughly, it revealed that the interiors of the case have been rather crudely redone. I try to find out more about the man behind the name. As I said, I assume that the case it not originally from this rifle, but you never know...

Here are the photos on the rifle case. Can any of you figure out the lower text. Last word is Reg't, or something like that, where the letter "t" is small superscript ("Regiment" maybe?). The first word is really blurred, and I can't suggest anything on that. It may start with a "1st", but I'm not sure.

Regards,
Saku