455 automatic pistol, and the Army took every revolver Webley could make. 32 model was adopted by the London Police departments among others.ĭuring WW1, the Navy and Royal Flying Corps accepted the Webley. The company had developed automatic pistols, and after the Sydney Street Outrage a. During this time, up to the Great War, Webley revolvers were taking honors at the shooting matches in England, specifically the NRA matches at Bisley. Revolvers are made at Weaman Street, shotguns are made at Scott's factory, the Premier Works in Lancaster Street. Guns start to sell again by 1909 and all the Webley factories now specialize in their own guns. By 1905 the gun business went sour, the Boer War had ended, and Webley was scrambling to sell guns.īy 1906, the company changed it's name and made more guns than any other English gunmaking concern. He was 65 when he died, and had remarked at one time that the gun business had made him an old man before his time. He was apprenticed by the age of eleven, and manager at Webley by the time he was 20 years old. There was a flap concerning the Royal Irish Constabulary revolvers in 1902, as a pair of arresting officers had their guns fail to fire, but it was found later that the guns and the ammunition was at least 30 years old. After five years of development, the Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver was introduced. In 1901, Webley's push into the asian market was stopped cold by the Boxer Rebellion.
Philip Webley's son Henry retired after the deal was done. W & C Scott & Sons was started in 1834 by William Scott on Weaman Street, and eventually moved to Lancaster Street in Birmingham where they had built the Premier Gun Works, in which they manufactured upper end shotguns. The Webley concern went public in 1897, joining with W & C Scott and Sons and Richard Ellis & Sons to form The Webley & Scott Revolver & Arms Co. By 1893 the company was expanding, with an exhibit at the Chicago Worlds Fair, and addresses in the London area. Soon, the company put the Webley name on all their revolvers, as some lesser competitors were passing their guns off as Webleys, leading to consumer complaints. In 1888 Philip Webley died, and his sons took over the Webley concern. By 1887, Webley's guns were cranked out by machine and soon the British Government adopted Webley's revolvers as the handgun of the British Empire. made a gutsy move having the machinery locally made, which turned out well for them and for Birmingham. Trying to modernize their machinery like Enfield and Mauser had done using American machinery didn't work out, and Philip and his son T.W. Doing it without machines had been done, but couldn't realize the output needed for success. The good thing was that the solution took care of both problems, making guns by machine using mass production techniques enabled making all parts identical. There was also the problem of interchangeable parts, a new concept that was quickly taking root. There wasn't a problem with quality, as Webley's guns could be compared to the best, they just couldn't make them fast enough by hand. Building guns by hand just wouldn't do any longer. The Webleys could see the writing on the wall. Philip's sons, Thomas and Henry, eventually join and inherit the business.īy 1853, Philip and his brother were making percussion revolvers, but competing with Colt was tough, who had a factory in London making revolvers using mass production techniques. Philip Webley set up shop at 84 Weaman Street, in Birmingham, which eventually grows and occupies most of the surrounding area. William Davis was a respected gun parts maker in Birmingham, and was even present at the Battle of Waterloo. In 1845, Philip bought out the bullet mould and gun accessory business of William Davis, whose daughter, Caroline, he married in 1838. By 1840 Philip was already supplying the Government Board of Ordnance and the East India Company with gun parts and tools. He joined his brother, James, in 1835 to start a gun implement and tool business in Birmingham, home to so many other gunmaking companies. This may not be a practical path to being a CEO today, but then it was the normal way. He, along with most other future managers of his company, started their careers the hard way, making, fitting and filing on gunparts and building guns by hand. started with a young gunmaker's apprentice, Philip Webley.
The British gunmaking concern known as Webley & Scott Ltd.
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