1968 saw the end of British service, although some British servicemen continued to come in contact through their loan or overseas service. The Vickers was not modernised in an attempt to extend its longevity, with one exception: South Africa. With the older guns they had, many of First World War vintage, the Vickers was converted to 7.62x51mm – the NATO calibre ammunition. This needed a new barrel, feedblock and some lock components to be changed. It also needed a new type of belt and a specific disintegrating link was developed that worked in the Vickers but also, by turning upside down, in the FN MAGs they also used. The plastic ammunition boxes of the 1980s that this was supplied in are ironically anachronistic when shown alongside the Vickers.