A Great Uncle of mine brought home a Spandau MG with pressed steel sled mount from WW1 in a very inovative way;
As an enlisted man, he was part of a column who were waiting to board trains in France at the end of the war. There was a large collection of tripod mounted MGs of various makes and models on the train platform, all with tags on them. Upon making inquiries, it was learned that these were all souvenirs being shipped home for high-ranking officers!
Well, my uncle said #*@ this and went over an picked an MG he liked, wereupon he proceeded to scratch out the name on the tag and placed his own name and address on the reverse side. This was done as a typical enlisted man's joke. Imagine his surprise when he returned to his familie's home and foung the gun waiting there for him! It had beaten him home and probably traveled in more style and comfort than he did! This gun later ended up painted silver and chained to the flagpole at the local post office as a display. Sometime in the 1970s the local police realized it was a live, unregistered gun and carted it away. I remember seeing it outside the PO as a youth and hearing the story of it's acquisition from my Uncle.
Too bad he did not register it during the 68 amnesty. It would have been great to own.
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