These guns were made for Lord Irwin when he became Viceroy of India in 1926. A barrel of one of the guns burst when his eldest son was shooting duck in Kashmir. No one was hurt, but the guns were immediately returned to Purdey's and the grave accident was discussed behind locked doors with the late Mr. Lawrence and his son (then a very young man and sworn to secrecy). The damaged gun was re-barrelled and used by the Viceroy in India and later at home after he became Lord Halifax. His most memorable shooting expedition was combined with a diplomatic visit to Hitler when Field Marshal Goering introduced him to the sport (not very congenial to a keen follower of hounds) of shooting foxes.

Halifax left the guns to his younger son, who had lost both legs in the war, and broke the stock of one of the guns when he fell with it on hard ground. Planning to shoot with the pair the following week-end (with Lord Cowdray, who would not have approved of a single gun) he took it to Purdeys on the Monday. With nearly miraculous haste and generosity Mr. Richard Beaumont arranged for the renewal of the stock and the gun was ready on the Friday afternoon - just four days after it was delivered to him