The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-07-21 00:00:00

THE QUEEN'S PRIZE.

In describing the final competition for the Queen's
Prize on Tuesday, The Times says :—There was no
parade before the Council Tent as in years gone by.
The men had been previouely supplied with tickets,
which gave the detail of the targets, and gathering at
the firing-points of the 800 yards range about half-past
two in the afternoon, they at once began the competi-
tion. Stretching himself on one of the rough mats
provided for the men to lie down on when firing,
Sergsant Dods, of Berwick, fired the first shot, and
scored an outer. By a curious coincidence, the last
shot fired was also an outer. The men were squadded
six together at the targets, and fired in rotation one
shot at a time, as in the competition among the 300
for places in the 60. In this way differences of
weather affected all equally as nearly as possible.
Attention was naturally directed principally to
the doings of the well-known shots and of those
who had taken prominent places in the competi-
tions of the year. Captain Young, of Renfrew,
who has gained the Silver Medal at this meeting,
led off with a bull's-eye, then made an inner, and
followed this with three hulls, an inner, two bulls,
an inner, and a magpie, thus running up the hand-
some score of 45 out of a possible 50 with the ten
shots allowed at each of the long distance ranges now
in the Second Stage of this competition. Private
Warwick, of the Ist Berke, who stood second in the
Sixty, got magpies with his first three shots, and
making hut three bulls, he went back with only 38
points. Private M'Vittie, a proved marksman, who has
won a place in the Sixty this year for the seventh time,
though he has never succeeded in taking either a gold
or silver medal in the competition for the Queen's,
began with a bull'tneye, followed it with another,
and ended by making 43 points at this range.
Sergeant Mackay, of the lot Sutherland Rifle
Volunteers, the winner of the Queen's Prize, begin-
ning with inners, which he varied with an occasional
bull's-eye, ran up exactly the same score at this die-
tance. Sergeant Palmer, of Warwick, Sergeant Sage,
of the Ist Tower Hamlets, and Corporal Scott each suc-
ceeded in makng 41, or more than an average of inners.
As the firing at the 900 yards began, there was a smart
shower, the first of several which fell while the co m
petition was being finished, evidently, as the scores
soon showed, severely trying the skill of the men
and causing many to fall off in their scoring who had
previously done well. Under the new regulations,
mane witb a view to keep the shooting within a dis-
tance at which the Martini• Henry may be depended
on, the firing at the 90) yards finishes the competition,
and at this range there had assembled a large number
of spectators, who, notwithstanding the rain, which at
times fell fast, stocd their ground to the end. It
was here, within a temporary enclosure, that their
Royal Highnesses and Duke and Duchess of Con-
naught, accompanied by Earl Brownlow, head
of the Executive at Wimbledon, the Countess
Brownlow, and a party of distinguished visitors
watched the finish of the contest. The men in
whose hands the game was happened to have been
squadded near together a little to the right of the
Royal enclosure, and about the firing points at which
they were gathered, people crowded as other corn-
petiters finished their firing, or it became clear that
their chances of success were gone. Captain M'Nabb
made the fine score of 42, the highest at this range,
but he had brought back no more than 34 points from
the 800 yards range, and it was certain that he could
not win. Sergeant Mackay had finished with the score
of 79 points; Captain Young, of Renfrew, though
starting and finishing with a bull's-eye, had only added
33 to his 45 points; and the contest was to be fought
out between Private M'Vittie and Sergeant Mackay.
It was the lot of the Dumfries man to be the last left to
fire, and there was an unbroken silence as he lay down
to shoot, followed by a murmur of expectation when
he coolly rose on his knees and took a long steady
look, first at the target, and then at the flags which
When he had in a cool, leisurely manner stretched
himself face downward 9, and not in the back
position, at full length on the shooting mat, he
was not long in getting his aim, and the crack of his
rife ended the contest for the Queen's Prize of 1883
and his own chances of gaining the prize, for his shot
was an outer, and he had fallen two short of S-rgeant
Mackay's score. Had he made an inner with his last
shot, he would have tied with Sergeant Mackay, and
as his total score for the shooting in the let stage of the
competition was higher than Mackay's, he would have
been declared the winner.
As soon as it was seen by the signalling to whom the
prize had fallen, there was a rush for the fortunate
man. He was hoisted on the shoulders of his comrades
and borne across the Common to the Council Tent.
There, his rifle having been tested and other formalities
being gone th ongh, the victor was br tight into the
square in which were now present the Duke and
I Duchess of Connaught. the Duke of Cambridge, Lord
Strathnairn, Earl and Countess Brownlow, and the
chief officers of the executive. Her Royal Highness the
Duchess of Connaught graciously pinned the gold badge
on Sergeant Mackay's breast; the Duke of Connaught,
on behalf of the Council of the National Rifle Asso-
ciation, presented him with the rifle he had shot with,
and the new chair, given by Mr. Wainwright for the
purpose, having been brought out of Captain Mild-
may 'a tent, the winner of the Queen's Prize was borne
through the camp, preceded by the pipers, the skirl of
whose bagpipes mingled with the strains of the
Victoria's band playing "See the Conquering Hero
Comes."

The winner of the Queen's Prize of .£250, with a
gold medal and a badge given by the National Rifle
Association, is a native of Dcrnooh, and lives at
Tan. Like the winner of the prize last year, he
is a married man. As the age of the 'competitors
is a point of some importance as a matter affecting
the shooting, it may be stated that he is in his
31st year. Thia is the fifth time he has attended
the Wimbledon meeting, but he has never before
succeeded in getting into the sixty, though in 1880
he was one of those who tried for a place. He has
shot steadily and gained aggregate prizes. In his own
regiment, which the Marquis of Stafford commands,
and of which the Prince of Wales is honorary Colonel,
and at local meetings, he is accounted a good shot, and
he has won the National Rifle Association bronze
medal for his county.