Send A Gun To Defend A British Home

by
posted on June 14, 2023
Send A Gun To Defend A British Home F

In the years leading up to America’s involvement in World War II, national defense and preparedness were the watchwords of NRA and expressed through the pages of The American Rifleman. A group of Americans, headed by C. Suydam Cutting of New York City, created the American Committee for the Defense of British Homes to gather firearms and ship them to Great Britain for use by its defenders.

The committee’s most conspicuous appeal for donations was a full-page advertisement in the November 1940 issue of The American Rifleman beseeching all NRA members to contribute as many pistols, rifles, shotguns and binoculars that they could spare to the embattled British cause. The grim plight of the British people was emphasized by a direct appeal to NRA members from a British military spokesman: “Send us anything that shoots,” he pleaded.

An advertisement in the November 1940 issue of American Rifleman asking readers to "Send A Gun To Defend A British Home."

By the end of the war, NRA members alone—without any promise of compensation and with little hope that the guns would ever be returned—had selflessly donated more than 7,000 small arms for shipment to Great Britain. Perhaps the most famous such gun was one of the few that actually was sent back—a Model 1903 target rifle that had been owned by Maj. John W. Hession.

We know it belonged to Hession, a pre-eminent high-power shooter in his day, because on it he included his name, a list of his competitive accomplishments and a placard stating that, “For obvious reasons the return of this rifle after Germany is defeated would be deeply appreciated.”

Latest

Military Armament MAC DS pistol right-side view black gun on pebbles.
Military Armament MAC DS pistol right-side view black gun on pebbles.

Military Armament Corporation Introduces New MAC 9 DS Models

Military Armament Corporation expanded its line of M1911-style, double-stack handguns with its new Double-Stack Duty, D-Comp and Comp designs.

Preview: MTM Case-Gard Ruger 10/22 Extended Mag Can

Made in the U.S.A., the O-ring-sealed Mag Can from MTM Case-Gard stows one of the most important parts of the semi-automatic carbine—the magazine—twelve BX-25-pattern extended magazines, to be exact.

Gun Of The Week: EAA Witness2311 Brat

Built on M1911 principles and imported by European American Armory Corp., the EAA Girsan Witnesss2311 Brat is a unique take on the double-stack, 2011-style pistol.

The Armed Citizen® March 28, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

John C. Garand: His Compensation & Other Accomplishments

Much gratitude has been, and is given, to the man who created the M1 Garand. But folklore suggests John C. Garand did all the work for free. Let us dispel that notion.

John Rigby & Co. Celebrates 250th Anniversary

John Rigby—born in 1758—founded his famed gunmaking firm, John Rigby & Co., in 1775, and year 2025 marks the company's semiquincentennial celebration.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.