The Thorneycroft was the first military bullpup rifle, developed in the United Kingdom in response to combat experiences in the second Boer War showing the British infantry rifles to be overly long and cumbersome. Scotsman James Baird Thorneycroft figured he could address this by moving the action and magazine of a rifle behind the trigger, thus shortening the overall length without reducing the barrel length – the bullpup concept.

He was able to produce a series of prototype rifles using this concept beginning in 1901, which were tested by the British military. Thorneycroft’s rifle was chambered for the standard .303 British cartridge, with a 5-round magazine,… and had a nice aperture rear sight and cock-on-open two lug bolt.

While it was about 10% lighter than the standard long Lee rifle and about 7.5 inches shorter, the British military turned down his idea, instead adopting a universal short rifle for the cavalry and infantry both to use.

Jonathan Ferguson author of Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020 and Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds believes the name is an 1930s American invention referencing bulldog puppies (then called bullpups).

The puppies were known for having a lot of fight in them despite their small stature.

Ian’s video [7:12] https://youtu.be/MF6f21kbi2g?si=

Ian & Johnathan Ferguson [9:16] https://youtu.be/fTWC_EzHMBw?si=