Sunday 28^th May 2023.

A dozen Bristol HA members visited the Vickers Machine Gun collection at a secret location in Wiltshire. For security reasons we thought we might have to be blindfolded for the last part of the journey. A big thanks to Dave Voisey for inviting us and Rich Fisher for showing us around.

In the three hour visit Rich treated us to live firing demonstrations using a Vickers MG, Bren gun and Lee Enfield. The Vickers machine gun was used by the British Army from 1912 until 1968. Rich gave a brilliant talk about the manufacturing process. This included how the gun was simplified to cope with a shortage of skilled labour. The mighty Vickers company lasted from 1828 until 1999 and built guns, ships, aircraft and much more. Rich showed us how the gun was assembled using parts from all over the country including ammunition belts made by a curtain tape manufacturer. Before 1914 the Germans had to pay Vickers who held the licence for the Maxim-Vickers gun when they produced their version of the gun.

Vickers machine guns were a major British export. Rich showed us Vickers machine guns that had been supplied to many countries including the USA, Egypt, Turkey and Chile. The machinations of the arms trade in the 1930s was investigated by the Fabian Society who showed how the arms manufacturers, banks and diplomatic service worked together.

In the First World War a Vickers machine gun had a crew of eight. Richard went through the different skills that were required by members of the team which included a numerate rangefinder, an athletic ammunition carrier and horse handlers. When the gun jammed (we were firing blanks) he showed us how it had to be rapidly dismantled and reassembled.

The museum is a kind of prism through which we can study many aspects of British history in the first half of the twentieth century. It was quite a unique visit and the whole Bristol HA crew were captivated by Rich’s demonstrations and explanations.