Charles Lancaster .280 Flanged Nitro Express

This rifle is prominently displayed in a full-page photograph appearing in Don Masters' work, ATKIN, GRANT & LANG, Safari Press, 2005.

The caption reads, "A .280 hammerless "B" grade, body action (boxlock), nonfouling, smooth oval bore, double-barrel nonejector rifle, No. 013487, built for Lord Charles Fitzmaurice in 1912 by Charles Lancaster & Co. The rifle is fitted with 26-inch chopper lump barrels with matte sight rib, and open sights. (Courtesy of Christie's Images Limited 2003)"

History tells us that Lord Charles Fitzmaurice (Charles George Francis Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice), was the third child of Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, War Secretary during the Second Boer War.

Lord Charles Fitzmaurice was a confidant to King George V and accompanied the royal party to India in 1911. He was killed in action at the First Battle of Ypres on October 30, 1914. Perhaps that tragic death explains how this rifle has been handed down through the decades in its remarkable high condition.

Curl