“A belief widely held regarding a certain precaution for safety in handling rifles was exposed as a mistake in the course of an inquest, held in Palmerston North to-day, into the death of a soldier who accidentally shot himself on October 15th. A Government arms expert Snr.Sgt. G. G. Kelly, when giving evidence, said it was not generally known that the firing-pin of the Lee-Enfield rifle (all models) is in contact with the cap or primer of the cartridge in the chamber when the action is uncocked. "Some users think that the application of the safety catch at this position makes the rifle safe," he added. "This is a mistake, as a blow on the rear end of the cocking piece of the S.M.L.E. model knocks the safety catch to the 'off ' position, and if the blow is heavy enough, discharges the cartridge. If the rifle is carried loaded in rough country, the only safe position is at half-cock. It is then impossible to discharge the rifle by any means other than by exposing the weapon to extreme heat. Under the circumstances it is clear that the soldier in this case carried his rifle loaded and un-cocked. He may have had the safety catch applied, but as I have already said this would not have prevented accidental discharge where a blow on the rear of the cocking piece was sharp enough. I could not unseat the scar of the exhibit rifle by bumping the weapon with considerable force butt downward on the floor. Witness then demonstrated with a rifle and blank cartridge to prove his assertion. The Coroner (Mr A. J. Graham) said it was quite clear from this evidence that the only safe way to carry a rifle was in the way described try the expert. The inquest related to the death of Private H. E. Cann, while engaged in bush training. Corporal K. Brown save evidence that deceased was going down a hill in company with other soldiers and was using his rifle to steady himself, with the butt end on the ground. Witness heard a shot and saw Cann slide to the bottom of the slope. There was a bullet hole in the back of his head. The instructions given were that the rifle was to be carried with nothing in the chamber or at the half-cock. It was his opinion that the rifle must have been fully cocked with a round in the chamber, and with the safety catch either off or on, and something caught in the trigger and discharged the rifle. There had been no skylarking. Senr -Sgt. Kelly gave evidence of tests he had made with deceased's rifle and also a demonstration of safety methods. The Coroner returned a verdict that deceased met his death from a bullet wound in the head caused by the accidental discharge of a service rifle. It would appear, he added, that the tragedy came about through deceased's disobedience of instructions given in regard to the carrying of the rifle. The Coroner added that when tragedies of this nature occurred, the information should be conveyed by the military authorities to the nearest police station. The tragedy should have been reported at Taihape, and there had been no occasion to bring the body to Palmerston North.”

[Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIII, Issue 3, 2 December 1942, Page 5]