A Ross Rifle Question

Ed Hardy from Vernon, British Columbia sent me an e-mail recently asking me to identify a Ross rifle that he had acquired.

“I am a collector of Canadian arms from the 1700’s to 1945. I have a Ross M1910 Mk III which has a Home Guard serial number, and is stamped on the wood ECHG. I am wondering if this might be Elgin County. The Ross M10 Mk III rifles were the ones which went overseas with the CEF in 1914/15, but they failed in the trenches d/t issues with ammunition and dirt fouling. They were replaced with the Lee Enfields, but many were contracted by the Canadian government for Home Guard use. Most are stamped B of M for Bank of Montreal, but some were issued to other units. I have appended a couple of photos. I know (from your website among others) that Elgin County has a history of Home Guard dating back to Fenian times, and wonder if this might be what the EC stands for? It would have to be somewhere in Ontario, or possibly Quebec.....…”

I am not an expert on the arms carried by the First World War infantryman ( my expertise only goes as far as looking at the rifle, and saying: “Yep that’s a Ross“). So I could not positively answer Ed’s question. Does anyone out there in blogland have an answer for Ed ?