Canadian Parkers

[John Gardner]

Quick thank you to the research committee on the fast turn around on my Parker letters.

I am on Vancouver Island in BC and it is interesting to note that out of these eight letters, five were for Parkers originally shipped to Canada and one was to Seattle (which is pretty close).

I would have thought most of the guns would have migrated up here over the years from the USA as Parkers don't seem that common in these woods - I saw less than a handful recently at Canada's largest antique gun show and only one of interest.

Conversely I have several Colt letters from the same era and, thus far, only two were for guns directly shipped from the factory to Canada and they were WWI orders.

Thanks to this forum two new Parkers are about to acquire Canadian 'citizenship' and I hope to see a few more Parkers 'imigrate' in the next while.

[Researcher]

Great to hear of some Parkers residing on Vancouver Island. The one I hope may appear there one day is the AAH Pigeon Gun (# 81122) that Noel E. Money bought in 1895 when he was shooting with his Father, Capt. A.W. Money, for their American E.C. & Schultze Powder Company. Noel went off to fight for Queen & Country in the Boer War and was replaced on the shooting circuit by his younger brother Harold B. Money, later known as "De Shootinest Gent'man." About 1903, Noel returned to England, married and settled down. Then in 1913, Noel, his Wife Maud and their two children moved to Vancouver Island where he built the Qualicum Beach Hotel and Golf Course. Noel served King & Country again in The Great War when he attained the rank of Brigadier while serving with General Allenby in Palistine.

Noel's journals survive in the rare books collection in the library of the Irving K. Barber Learning Center at the University of British Columbia.