Interesting article entitled, “The Guns Of Royals” over at Sporting Classics, Featuring the Churchill Side by Sides
by Doug Tate | Dec 6, 2019 | FIREARMS, RARE & UNIQUE GUNS, Slider
Safari was once a rite of passage for Royals. In 1921, the Prince of Wales shot sandgrouse, jungle fowl, pea hens and parrots with a pair of 16-bore Purdeys while touring the sub-continent. But the day before he met Wallace Simpson in 1931, he ordered a pair of Churchill best Premier Quality sidelock ejectors with signature XXV barrels and shortly thereafter sold his Purdeys.
The XXV had been favorably received and Churchill strenuously promoted it as a “revolutionary development . . . better balanced, far less tiring to use and carry, more comfortable to handle and quicker to shoot.” He cunningly pioneered his short guns as ideal for “average or poor shots with higher aspirations.”
Robert Churchill combined his short barrels with a special high tapered rib that gave the shooter an optical impression of length.
These E.J. Churchill guns were built for the Prince of Wales who went on to become King Edward VIII. The newspaper story covers his abdication from the throne so he could marry an American. PHOTO COURTESY MORPHY AUCTIONS.
Despite controversy, XXVs were a hit. Both boxlocks and sidelocks in every quality were offered, and more celebrated gunmakers paid Churchill the ultimate compliment by offering short-barreled, lightweight guns of their own. Neither Robert Churchill nor The Prince of Wales were tall, and part of the appeal of stubby, lightweight guns may have been the ease with which they could be handled by men of smaller stature.
They can still be ordered today, as an alternative to the two other London best gun makers, Purdey or Holland & Holland.
