Safety

The Vickers MG Collection & Research Association is a professional organisation that uses firearms in its everyday activities. As such, we need to operate in a safe manner that is demonstrated to be current and competent.

We hold a range of insurances that cover the activities, products and information we provide. Our members all act voluntarily yet are covered as if they were full employees.

We operate with a safety management system in place, fully risk-assessing and managing the activities we undertake. We recognise that historical weapons, such as the Vickers MG, are not something people are always familiar with and that the safety precautions written for their original use may not meet modern standards and be written for users who were more familiar with and better trained than the majority of people who come into contact with these weapons today.

In an effort to share this information, and build on the education element of our Object, we are sharing the training videos we have for key weapons in the collection. These show the normal safety precautions (NSPs) that should be used when a weapon is being handled and they do not positively know its current state. NSPs will take a weapon from an unknown or unsafe state and put it into a known safe state. They will also prove the basic functionality of a weapon.

Where drills are being carried out, they are to be done in as safe a manner as possible and if any element cannot be followed, then a qualified armourer should be called to resolve it.

We have a suite of resources to help with each weapon, from simple aide memoire cards to full training courses. While they can be used independently of each other, they are designed to be best used when part of a complete system.