Webley Mk. I Belonging to Col. O.A.V. Russell, 2nd Lord Ampthill, Governor of Madras

Serial #34782, .455/.476, 4" barrel with an excellent, bright bore.  This is an Army & Navy Cooperative Society Ltd. retailed revolver that has matching numbers on the frame, barrel, and cylinder.  The metal retains 92-95% of the original bright nickel finish, although there are a few spots of dark freckling on the cylinder.  The checkered, hard rubber bird’s head grips are likewise in excellent shape, and the lock-up is rock solid.  The revolver was used very little, if at all, and the freckling on the cylinder is probably due to prolonged storage in a tropical environment.  The revolver is housed in an original mauve box with virtually intact orange end-label, and is housed with the original brass cleaning rod.  According to the Army & Navy C.S.L. records, Lord Ampthill purchased this revolver (serial #34782) on August 6, 1895, around the time when he was appointed to be assistant private secretary to Mr. Joseph Chamberlain at the Colonial Office.  

Oliver Arthur Villiers Russell was the son of Lord Odo William Leopold Russell PC, GCB, GCMG and Lady Emily Theresa Villiers VA, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, and daughter of the 4th Earl of Clarendon.  He was born on February 19, 1869, at the Palazzo Chigi in Rome, where his father had long been Her Majesty’s representative.  Oliver was educated at Eton (1883 – 1888) and New College, Oxford (1889 – 1891).  He assumed the title of Lord Ampthill when he succeeded his father to the peerage in 1884.  As previously mentioned, Lord Ampthill joined the Colonial Office in 1895, and was one of the British delegates to the International Conference on Sugar Bounties at Brussels in 1898.  In 1900, he was appointed the governor of Madras, India, succeeding Sir Arthur Havelock, and the last Indian Governor appointed during Victoria’s reign.  From April – December of 1904, during the absence of then-Viceroy Lord Curzon, Ampthill was made the pro tem Viceroy and Governor-General of India.  He returned to Great Britain in 1906, whereupon he served on Lord Morley’s Advisory Committee for Indian Students.  A dedicated Freemason, Lord Ampthill had been the District Grand Master of Madras from 1901 – 1906, and was appointed Pro Grand Master of English Freemasonry in 1908.  Lord Ampthill had concurrently served as a Lieutenant in the 1st Royal Devon Yeomanry Cavalry from 1893 – 1897.  He was made an Honorary Captain of the Army in 1900, and then a Major in the 3rd Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment in 1906.  He was promoted to Lt. Colonel in 1908, and saw active duty in France during World War I, commanding the 13th Bn. of the Leicestershire Regiment, and the 8th Bn., of the Bedfordshire Regiment from 1916 – 1917.  From 1917 – 1918 he was the Indian Labour Corps Adviser for GHQ, and was mentioned in dispatches three times.  He was made an Honorary Colonel of the Special Reserve on November 1, 1919.  

His son, Captain John Hugo Russell RN, was involved in a prolonged and scandalous divorce from his wife, Christabel Hulme, in 1921.  Lord Ampthill was a member of Brook’s, Bath, and the British Empire Clubs, and was also president of the famous Magic Circle when he died on July 7, 1935.  This is a splendid example of a boxed Webley Mk. I, and was owned by a very important member of the British aristocracy.  It would make a wonderful addition to any collection.  Antique