Purdey No 208 is to be sold at auction this October. The fourth oldest Purdey known, all proceeds from the sale are to be donated to The Gunmakers’ Company Charitable Trust. Established by the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers in 2003, the Trust was founded to support training in gunmaking skills.

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PURDEY NO 208

Purdey No 208, the fourth oldest surviving Purdey known, is to be sold at auction this October with all proceeds being donated to The Gunmaker’s Company Charitable Trust. Exquisitely made and in superb condition, the Purdey No 208 has been donated by David Trevallion, who worked as a stock maker at Purdey’s in the 1950’s and 60’s.

David Trevallion trained for five years under Purdey head stocker, Bill O’Brien, from 1953 at Purdey’s Irongate wharf factory and then went on to be a stock maker at Purdey’s in the 1950’s and 60’s. In the early 1970’s he left Purdey’s and moved to the United States. Settling in Maine, Trevallion became a highly reputable stocker, known for his fine workmanship on the best quality guns of any make.

Purdey No 208 was gifted to Trevallion by his master, Bill O’Brien, who had restored the gun in the 1960’s. Now to help ensure the continuity of the trade at which he has excelled for so long, Trevallion is selling Purdey No 208 at auction with all proceeds of the sale to be donated to The Gunmakers’ Company Charitable Trust. The auctioneers will be James D. Julia Inc. of Fairfield, Maine and the gun will be a feature of their October auction.

THE GUNMAKERS’ COMPANY CHARITABLE TRUST

Since 1637, The Worshipful Company of Gunmakers has worked to ensure the safety of firearms and to promote the craft and technology of gunmaking. In 2003 The Gunmaker’s Company Charitable Trust was established to support training in gunmaking skills. Apprentice gunmakers are supported by The Trust with busaries of £5,000 a year, usually for three years each. These busaries are critical to overcoming the initial economic obstacles to bringing new recruits into gunmaking.

Apprentices are trained in the traditional craft skills as well as in the use of CNC and CAD machines and their particular application in the manufacture of fine quality guns and rifles. Suitably qualified members of the Livery oversee training to ensure a well-rounded range of gunmaking skills are mastered, to a level that will be recognised and valued across the trade. At the end of training, apprentices must demonstrate their skills to a panel of Master Gunmakers’ to be certificated as a fully proficient gunmaker.

Find out more about The Gunmakers’ Company Charitable Trust and how you can donate by reading their brochure.