new to me rifle

just got this rifle, it was my father's and I am giving it to my 24yr old son

now I am looking for info on it

I'm sure it is a typo - don't you mean No 4 Mk I*?

.303 - Helping Englishmen express their feelings since 1889

???? ANY HELP?

does the U.S.PROPERTY mean it was military issued??

dont know how my father got it or where it came from

Nice original rifle! Thanks for sharing it with us. After a good cleaning and lubrication have it checked over by a gunsmith for head space and general safety checks. How is the rifling in the barrel? I like seeing these original rifles pop up in this condition, I don't see many like this any more. It's like a blank canvas waiting for the masterpiece to emerge. I hope your son enjoys your gift!

Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually

Agree, this needs a full strip and clean. Nothing abrasive! Wood can be gently cleaned with Murphy’s Oil Soap then dried and a few coats of BLO well rubbed in.

Check the back surface of the bolt handle, it should have the same serial number as the rifle. If not, it has been replaced after it left military service and not likely correctly fitted to the rifle. If it does match, all you need to do is check headspace (as the bolt head could have been swapped, although not likely).

If you do intend to clean it, you must be careful removing the forend. Do not pry the forend off the action at the muzzle, this will damage the wood bearing surfaces at the sear lugs. The forend needs to be kept parallel to the barrel as it is removed. It may need to be tapped with light hammer and wood block along the upper edges of the forend at the rear, after removing the two barrel bands, handguards and trigger guard.

Can you take a photo of the left vertical flat side of the receiver (action body), there should be other markings here.

If this is indeed an original rifle that has not gone thru a Factory Thorough Repair (FTR), its fairly rare. If it’s the original barrel, I would not expect the bore to be that good. The ammunition used in WWII was almost exclusively cordite loaded and corrosive primers.

"U.S. PROPERTY" is an indication of "Lend / Lease", Is apolitical expediency to allow aiding Britain & I think Russia & other allies too, during WW2 before the U.S. became involved. The guns weren't "given" which wouldn't be legal, but leased or lent (with the intent to pay & return later.)

"Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 77–11, H.R. 1776, 55 Stat. 31, enacted March 11, 1941),^[1]^[2] was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, Republic of China, and other Allied nations of the Second World War with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and 1945."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease

Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)