1 of 3598

[Jack Cronkhite]

3598 Canadian soldiers died at the WW I battle of Vimy Ridge. 0ne, as yet unknown to me and possibly never to be determined by me, bought an 1899 made Parker Brothers 12 gauge VH in 1901. He used it but did not abuse it until he mobilized in the war effort. He never made it home. The family never used the gun subsequently. In 2017 or 2018 an elderly gentleman bought the gun from the granddaughter of the original owner. He did not use it and decided to part with it by way of auction. As luck would have it I came across the auction and had the high bid but did not meet the reserve. The auction house contacted the owner who decided to accept my bid. I made my bid based more on the story of this gun than a need for another VH. I knew from auction pictures that it was in nice condition. Once in hand it is near pristine but for minor wear. The barrel bores are mirror the case colours are vivid. It matches the specs in the serialization book. The pistol grip cap and the DHBP are like new. This gun, owned by a Canadian soldier who paid the ultimate price, is a fitting companion piece to the Borden DHE owned by the man who brokered the creation of the Canadian Army. Research letter ordered. I want to determine the name of the soldier. Unfortunately the elderly gentleman cannot recall the name of the widow lady he bought it from a mere couple years ago. When I think about that I might be hard pressed to recall names of those I have purchased from. At least there are only 3598 names to find and sift through. May or may not win but feel the need to discover the original owner and any story that might go with that discovery. Pictures will follow in the fullness of time. Cheers Jack

[Randy G Roberts]

Good luck Jack. Sounds like you have the makings of a fabulous Parker Page's article if you can put it all together. I understand exactly where you are coming from. The more I deal with these old Parkers, the more I become obsessed with their history. They don't require a movie star or famous athlete, it's just cool to put it all together. Once again, GOOD LUCK!

[charlie cleveland]

jack I hope you put all of this together I have a soft spot for this gun....charlie

[Bill Murphy]

Jack, what does the PGCA letter say?

[Jack Cronkhite]

Not yet received. It would be nice if it was a direct order but I doubt that will be the case. Likely one of several going to some retailer but I can always hope. Cheers Jack

[keavin nelson]

:corn:Pictures would be great when you get the letter!

[Jack Cronkhite]

Pictures are a work in progress. Once I have the research letter, which I expect won’t have the soldier’s name, the work begins. I have an XL spreadsheet supplied by the Canadian War Museum with the names (and a lot more) of every soldier who died on the dates of the Vimy ridge offensive. Some may also have died elsewhere. I’m hoping to zero in on hometowns near the retailer who actually sold the gun in 1901. That may get me some decent possibilities. If I could jog the memory a bit with the gentleman who sold it to me, I might be able to work backwards through ancestry.com. That might get me close as well. Hoping for the best. Cheers Jack

[John Dallas]

The hunt is half the fun!

[Jack Cronkhite]

The gun matches the information provided in the research letter. It left the factory in an order to the E. K. Tryon Jr. & Co. of Philadelphia PA. From there it made its way to Canada but that is a cold trail in a search for the original owner. I read other posts about Tryon and so far it appears no gun sale records are available or known. It would be most useful if such a source surfaced. In simpler times mail order guns easily made it to Canada. Those days are so long gone. It seems my only hope is to work with the seller on any information that can be recalled about the purchase and the Vimy story. I know I have the name of the original owner in the spreadsheet but there are thousands of names. Still continue to scratch away.

Pictures of the gun are HERE (http://parkerguns.org/forums/album.php?albumid=1008)

[Garth Gustafson]

Just a thought Jack, but if the gentleman paid by check and he saved his canceled checks or even the check register, he might have the lady’s name in his records. I hope you make the connection. Good Luck!

[Tom Pellegrini]

I worked three blocks from where this place was. Older guys I worked with talked about going there and it was quite a unique place from the stories.

[charlie cleveland]

wish it was still there.....charlie