The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-07-19 00:00:00

THE WIMBLEDON MEETING.

its weather which visitors hund as breezy and
pleasant as they could hope to enjoy on a July day,
but which shooting men declared sufficiently bad to
agcount for any failures, the 25th meeting of the
National Rifle Association opened at nine o'clock on
Monday morning. Range officers and the sergeants
of the regular troops acting as register-keepers at the
firing points were already a their posts, the men
squadded to fire in the first 'hour were nearly all on
the ground waiting to take their places at the
firing points, and in a few minutes after the sound
of the great gun near the magazine was heard on
the Common the shooting for the Alexandra series
of nizes, the most important business of the .
volunteers, commenced. The total sum Of
money given by the National Rifle Association in
prizes, ranging from one of .E3O down to 165 of _..f2,
is £lOOO, and the oompetitors may be computed at
1700 to 1800 in number. The new system of marking
which Mr. Hwy, the clerk of the works to the'
National Rifle ?Association, has devised, to show by
the position of blackened sections of the dummy
targetthe value of the shot, worked most satisfactorily,
and saved much of the vexatious delay which occurred
on windy days last year from the blowing away of
marking dies. The wind was high, and, what was
more trying to the competitors, it varied greatly in
force. Under such conditions of shooting men .were
constantly thrown out in their calculations along the
whole line, and they were generally slow in aiming.
At the 600 yards 9, 11, 14, and fewer than 20, points
out of a possible score of 35 were numerous, and the
highest scores made were considerably below those of
last year, when two of 66, one of 65, one of 64, four
of 63, and eleven of 62 were returned.
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day .4

The long range contest for the Humphry Challenge
Cup, between teams of efficient volunteers of the Uni-
versity corps of Oxford and Cambridge could hardly
have been expected, with such a gusty wind blowing,
to show remarkable scores, and, as a matter of fact,
the winning team, the Oxford men put together but
few more than two thirds of the highest possible
number of marks. Of the four Oxonians who on this
occasion represented their University, three—Mr. T.
F. Fremsntle (Balliol), the captain of the team, Mr.
A. G. Foulkes (Pembroke), and Mr. C. F. Russel-
Rendle (New College) shot for the cup last
year, when their side won by 48 points. The new
member of the team, Mr. R. W. Barnett
(Wadham) succeeded Mr. P. 11. Eliot. In the Cam-
bridge team Mr. A. W. Drury (captain) and Mr. J.
H. C. Delle:. took part in the match last year. The
new men were Mr. H. L. Callender aid Mr. P. -
Richardson. Trinity College was represented by the
first three and King's College by Mr. Richardson.
The Oxford team had the advantage throughout the
day of Sir Henry Halford's long experience of
Wimbledon, while Major Waller, who performed the
friendly offices of "coach" to the Cantabs, at the 800
yards and 900 yards ranges, was unable to go back
with them to the 1000 yards in the afternoon- Mr.
Callender shot with a military breechloader, the
others all using match rides. From the first range
at 800 yards the Oxford team went back with
an advantage of 11 points only, Mr. Barnett making
the leading score, which, under the circumstances,
was a good one of 68 out of a possible 75, with three
for a magpie, five inners, and nine bulls, of which one
was made with his last shot. Mr. Drury, of the
Cambridge, who stood next with 66 points, made 10
bulls, keeping on the bull's eye for eight shots run-
ning, and four magpies, and finished with an inner.
At the 900 yards Mr. Barnett, with 55 points, still
led, and with Mr. Fremantle, who stood second with
49 marks, managed to find the target with
every shot, being in this respect more successful
than any other competitor in the two teams.
Oxford increased the lead by 243 points before
luncheon. Going back to the 1000 yards, where
firing was resumed at 3 p.m., Mr. Richardson, who
made the third best score, was at this stage the only
competitor who put every bullet through the target.
Mr. Foulkes, who made the highest score, missed the
target with his sixth shot; Mr: Barnett, who, , akter
leading at the 800 and 900 yards, now stood second
with 52, mimed with his 12th shot; and Mr. Fre-
mantle and Mr. Russel-Rendle each wound up with a
miss. The Cambridge men, who had lost their guide,
philosopher, and friend, Major Waller, in shooting
phrase, "went to pieces, and allowed the Oxonians to
add 45 to their majority.
The numbers in the Volunteer camp, officers, non-
commissioned officers and men, servants, sutlers, and
a detachment of those most useful camp attendants,
the Commissionaires, returned by the Camp Adju-
tant, Major J. Colebrooke Carter, on Sunday morning
at 1483 all told, received an accession of about 300 on
Sunday afternoon and evening. Within the Associa-
tion lines there were on Sunday night 130 officers and
698 non-eominissioned officers and rank and file. In
the regimental camps the London Scottish had 20
officers and 214 non-commissioned officers and men,
the Queen's Westminster 58, the South Middlesex
69, the let Surrey 50, the Civil Service 40, the 3rd
London were 30 men to occupy 29 tents, and the
more luxurious Vietorias luux 43 tents for the accom-
modation of four officers and 28 non-commissioned
officers and men. The total of the return, including
65 bandsmen, 42 Commissionaires, and 50 persons
described as bazaar attendants and miscellaneous, was
1793.

in a shower of rain, but with a less boisterous wind
blowing than on the previous day, the principal busi-
ness of the meeting began on Tuesday morning, when
immediately after nine o'clock gun fire the first squads
of the 2460 volunteer competitors for the Queen's
Prize began the shooting at the 200 yards' range.
The highest score made at this range was that of
Quartermaster-Sergeant Ault, who missed the bull's-
qe but once, and then succeeded in getting a five-
o clock inner very close to the edge of the
black disc. In this performance he equalled
the leading man at this range last year,
Lieutenant Foster, 4th West Surrey, who then
dropped but one point. On that occasion, however,
there were eight competitors who made 3:3 points,
while Colour-Sergeant Young, Ist Volunteer Battalion
Somerset, who stood second, alone gained this number
of marks. While, again, there were but 17 who made
32 points 43 scored so many last year.
Taken all round, however, and considering the adverse
conditions in the field, the scoring was held to be
good. The scores of 13 members of the 14th Mid-
dlesex (Inns of Courts), who were squadded to fire at
the same time, show three 28's, made by Lieutenant.
H. S. Sankey, Lieutenant A. Glen, and Private Sir
Charles Locock ; two 26's scored by Colour-Ser-
geant Spencer and Private, Muir; and three 25's,
put together by Lieutenant A. St. John Clarke,
Staff Sergeant T. R. James, and Private.Browell. All,
however, did not do so well, and the average fcir the
13 was only 24 points apiece. -The Oxford .University
Corps were more successful. Of 11 Man, ii addition
to the two who scored 31 points each, and one
who made 30, Lieutenant-Colonel Morrell got
29, Lieutenant Russel - Rendle 28, Lance-
Corporal Strange 27, Colour-Sergeant Hardwicke
and Sergeant Foulkes each 26, two made 23 and one
19, or an average of 26.63 points per man. The
average for 20 of the Artists Corps was 26.6 points.
Taking a country corps as another example of satis-
factory shooting, the Ist Volunteer Battalion of the
Berkshire Regiment, the score list showed for two
detachments, firing at different times, in all 29 men,
one 30, one 29, nine 28's three 27's and four 265, and
an average of 2.5.82 points per man.