Webley WG Army M1896 .455/476 inch centre-fire revolver, 1899

Made by Webley and Scott, Birmingham, 1899.

This revolver was used by 2nd Lieutenant Roderick MacLeod, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, during the Boer War (1899-1902).

Like many officers, MacLeod (born 1877) purchased his own revolver from a private supplier when he obtained his commission in the 1st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers on 18 October 1899. He was in action almost immediately at the Battle of Colenso (15 December 1899), where he was seriously wounded and left for dead, but was rescued from the battlefield and eventually recovered, being placed on retired pay in November 1905.

In comparison with the standard Webley Mk II service revolver the WG normally had a six-inch barrel which may have improved accuracy.