Among the most famous names associated with Westley Richards, are those of Anson and Deeley. Mr Deeley entered the services of Westley Richards in 1860 and fired with ambition, devoted himself to becoming a master of his craft.

John Deeley was granted more than thirty patents, Gold Medals and Royal Warrants during his years at Westley Richards. Without a doubt the most notable was in 1875 when William Anson and John Deeley were credited with designing the famous hammerless action whereby the cocking of the tumbler was done by the opening of the barrels. This action revolutionized the gun making world and to this day is still the most successful and widely used mechanism throughout the gun making world.

In 1890, the managing directorship passed to Leslie B. Taylor who kept the firm at the forefront of the gun making world, both by sound management of the business and by adding no less than another forty eight patents, warrants and medals to the already impressive list. He was an expert in all things gun and rifle, and is responsible for perfecting the hand detachable lock action with hinged floor plate, as well as introducing the .318, .425 and .476 big game calibres which became famous throughout Africa.