In March 1963, as a birthday present from my parents, but partially funded by the proceeds from selling my Dad's old Haenel junior air rifle, I acquired a brand spanking new Original Model 35. It cost 12 guineas (£12 and 12s), equating to around £250 in today's money.
This was a properly blued, adult rifle with decent power and accuracy. I was well chuffed! It had to be in .22 calibre to be taken seriously at that time, and the other rifles on my shortlist were the BSA Meteor Mk2, the Webley Falcon (not known to me at the time, but itself having Dianawerk origins) and the Relum Tornado.
The BSA would have been a better fit for a skinny 13-year-old, but it had an enamelled finish to the metalwork, so was disqualified. The Tornado was an underlever (then a plus point) but was badly balanced. I'm
