Page 16 - WAD BEYOND GLOBAL June 2020

FEATURE

SHERLOCK HOLMES

AND THE WEBLEY

REVOLVERS

By Dr. Daniel J. Benny
Private Investigator

In the Sherlock Holmes Cannon, there is mention of Sherlock Holmes carrying a revolver. Various Sherlockian researchers have
Identified several Webley revolvers that Sherlock Holmes may have carried to include the Webley .422, the Webley .450 Bull Dog
and the Webley .450 Short Barreled Metropolitan Police Revolver. These three Webley revolvers will be the focus of this singular
investigation.

Webley .422
The Webley .422 revolver first appeared in 1868 as a standard weapon
for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). The weapon was manufactured in
Birmingham, England. Because of its larger size it was used for open carry
by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). The .422 was too large to be utilized
as a concealed carry revolver by the Metropolitan Police Scotland Yard
detectives. The uniformed Metropolitan Police did not carry a firearm. Webley .422

Webley .450 Bull Dog
The .450 Webley Bull Dog revolver first appeared in 1868 as a concealable
weapon for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). In 1878 Webley registered
the trademark. The designation has come to designate any short-barreled
double-action revolver with a swing-out ejector rod with a small grip.

Because of its small size the Webley Bull Dog revolver was used as a
concealed carry revolver by private individuals in England and the United
States. A Webley .450 Bull Dog sadly was used to assassinate United States
President James A. Garfield on July 2, 1881.
Webley .450 Bull Dog.

Webley .450 Short Barreled Metropolitan Police Revolver
The Metropolitan Police Revolvers began production 1883 in Birmingham,
England. This revolver was an update to the 1868 Webley Royal Irish
Constabulary (R.I.C.) The updated model was adopted by the London
Metropolitan Police in October 1883 for concealed carry by Scotland Yard
Detectives.

Webley.450 Short Barreled Metropolitan Police Revolver advertisement with
extractions from The Standard, May 10th, 1884 and the Birmingham Daily Mail,
May 21, 1884.

14 W.A.D Beyond Global