Summary

Colt Government Model semi-automatic pistol, cal. .455 Webley, 7 shot magazine located in butt, chequered wooden grips with vacant diamonds upper and lower. It was presented to Colonel. H.W. Grimwade when he left for the front in 1915 by the staff at Felton Grimwade & Co.

Serial number W 21920, 1913.

Colonel Harold Grimwade was a partner with his two brothers in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing firm of Felton Grimwade & Co. When war broke out in 1914 he left the business to become chief embarkation officer for the Australian Imperial Force in Victoria. In August 1915 he formed the 4th Field Artillery Brigade, taking it to Egypt and France. In 1916 he took command of the 3rd Division Artillery with the rank of brigadier general. He was four times mentioned in dispatches, was appointed C.M.G. (Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George) in 1917, C.B. (Companion of the Order of the Bath) in 1918, and received a Croix de Guerre. He earned two nicknames: in the army 'Grim Death' and in business 'the General'.

The Government Model was a variant of the Model 1911. This pistol was imported from Colt's by Alcock and Pierce, Melbourne. It was shipped to Melbourne on 14 August 1915 as one of 6 similar guns in shipment. See report from Colt Archive Properties, 22 March 2007.

Physical Description

Colt Model 1911 semi-automatic pistol, cal. .455 Webley, 7 shot magazine located in butt, chequered wooden grips with vacant diamonds upper and lower, lanyard ring in butt with attached leather cord. Steel frame and slide in factory blued finish with slight wear around muzzle, The 'W' prefix to the serial number denotes that it was manufactured for the .455 Webley round and made under British contract. Those serial numbers prefixed by a 'C' were made for the .45ACP round.

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