Apologies for the thread hijack, but Giles Whittome is/was(?) an amazing craftsman and a first rate gentleman.

I purchased my Bland 4-bore in 04 from the estate of Ray Meyer, a noted big bore enthusiast and African hunter. For several years I puzzled over the "GHW" on the leather case, and scoured old books trying to discover who this might have been. One night on a business trip I was reading a DGJ article and the author described buying this same rifle in the Wilkes shop in London in 1962 and making a 44" damascus shot barrel to fit it. It was written by Giles. I googled his email address and sent an inquiry. Ten minutes later he replied with endless details on the rifle.

After that we corresponded briefly and he mailed photo copies of some articles he wrote on it over the years. His letter were all written with a fountain pen and could have passed for calligraphy. He was extremely generous with his time and knowledge.

I've only handled one rifle made by him but assume this one if first rate in every respect.

Bob