W.E.S.

[BEAR]

I have a grasping groove "S" stock that I have had for many years. I could find no stamps except a "P" stamp behind the trigger cutout. Last night I had a florescent table light on and I spotted a very faint W.E.S. stamp on the left wrist. When I turned off the lamp I could not see it and I can't get a picture.
Question: Is this a Springfield or Rock Island stock and is there a listed inspector W.E.S. (okay, okay it was 2 questions)?

Thanks

[Rick the Librarian]

Springfield - the inspector is W.E. Strong. It was thought at one time that the inspector worked there (or at least used his inspector stamp) during WWI but I've since seen WES on several pre-WWI stocks from the 1908-1910 period, as well. Picture attached below- a stock mounted on a 1920 SA M1903.

PA020022.jpg

[Sunray]

W. E. Strong at Springfield.

http://m1903.com/isstamps.htm

[Johnny P]

Don't know if it is the same person, but a W. E. Strong was assigned to inspection duties at Colt in 1916 while the regular inspector, Frank Hosmer, was temporarily assigned to San Antonio Arsenal. Mr. Strong would have been a Springfield Armory employee.

Probably what you are seeing is where grease and grime got into the fibers of the wood from the original stamp, and even though the stamp is gone the discoloration in the wood remains. Some almost look like an ink stamp.

[Rick the Librarian]

That would make sense, Johnny - To my knowledge, Strong's stamp isn't seen on M1903s in that period when he may have been at Colt. It shows up relatively "early" and then again, during WWI. Maybe he got recalled when war started.

[BEAR]

Don't know if it is the same person, but a W. E. Strong was assigned to inspection duties at Colt in 1916 while the regular inspector, Frank Hosmer, was temporarily assigned to San Antonio Arsenal. Mr. Strong would have been a Springfield Armory employee.

Probably what you are seeing is where grease and grime got into the fibers of the wood from the original stamp, and even though the stamp is gone the discoloration in the wood remains. Some almost look like an ink stamp.

Yes, it does give the impression of being inked on. The surrounding box does not show at all. The "W" is only half visible and the the "E" is mostly a guess (although the spacing between letters is equal). The "S" is the clearest of all the letters and the periods are all visible.
The stamp is located in the same area as Rick's photo.
Thanks for all the replies.