Never knew you could get one of those letters, or needed one for that matter
From memory, at the time it was the only way to get a licence to possess one...'survival equipment'...
Never flew with it - it was considered 'home defence' when you were away for the night. Things were getting 'restless' long before independence, especially in places like Rabaul and Lae with some nasty incidents involving 'European' women,so it made some of us happier to know that the wife/girlfriend had some firepower and practice at the pistol club...