Nottinghamshire Rifle Association 42nd Annual Prize Meeting
The 42nd Annual Prize Meeting sponsored by the Nottinghamshire Rifle Association took place on Tuesday, 20th May in poor weather conditions.
This report begins by referring to the North Midland Brigade Inter-Battalion Match held the day before, which is covered in more detail on the previous archive page.
The shoot for the Association prizes started at 8 o'clock in the morning. The premier prize was a silver medal and cash with other money prizes for subsequent places. The reporter mentions that the weather conditions improved later in the day. He had to close his report at 3 o'clock before the match was completed. As can be seen from the short report below, which was published on the following Saturday, the Tuesday shooting ended with a tie between Captain P. M. Payne and Sergeant H. St. Leo Smith, both being on 92. The tie was settled by a shoot-off over all three ranges on the following Saturday afternoon. Sergeant Smith was the winner by 90 to 84, despite a poor showing at 600 yards.
Nottingham Evening Post, Tuesday, 20th May 1902, page 4
ANNUAL PRIZE MEETING
Under conditions of anything but a favourable character, the wind being extremely variable, and the light, with rare intervals, none of the best, the 42nd prize meeting of the Nottinghamshire Rifle Association was held at Trent Range to-day. In the inter-battalion match, which is open to volunteer regiments of the North Midland Brigade, the 1st Battalion Robin Hood Rifles yesterday followed up a long series of successes by again winning the cup given by the late Sir Henry Wilmot, their score of 1,323 exceeding by 198 that of the 4th. Notts., who were second.
This morning shooting began at eight o'clock for the silver medal of the association and 30 money prizes. As in previous years, the competition was open to the Robin Hoods, the 4th (Notts) V.B., Sherwood Foresters, the South Notts. Hussars, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, and all members of the Association resident in the county - this last provision enabling several marksmen of the Leicestershire Regiment whose homes are in the southern part of Nottinghamshire to participate. Seven rounds were fired at 200, 500, and 600 yards, prone at all distances, one sighter being allowed, and Bisley 1901 targets used.
Generally speaking the scoring was low, especially before noon, up to which time the best efforts were those of Captain A. Poole and Sergeant J.W. Hall, each of whom registered 89. At the first two stages Sergeant Hall shot very finely, considering the conditions, but he fell off unaccountably on the longest distance, so that Captain Poole's must be looked upon as the better all round performance. In the afternoon matters very considerably improved, the wind becoming steadier, and the light much better. The best scores at three o'clock were:–
| 200 | 500 | 600 | Tl. | |
| Capt. A. Poole (R.H.) | 30 | 28 | 31 | 89 |
| Sergt. J.W. Hall (R.H.) | 33 | 33 | 23 | 89 |
| Pte. G.W. Comery (R.H.) | 33 | 26 | 28 | 87 |
| Lce.-Crpl. W.E. Thorpe (R.H.) | 28 | 32 | 27 | 87 |
| Sergt.-Inst. M. Watts (R.H.) | 32 | 33 | 22 | 87 |
| Sergt. J.R. Coupe (R.H.) | 30 | 29 | 27 | 86 |
| Lce,.-Crpl. W. Herrick (R.H.) | 31 | 29 | 24 | 84 |
| Pte. W. Harrison (R.H.) | 29 | 29 | 24 | 82 |
| Pte. J. Lane (R.H.) | 30 | 25 | 24 | 79 |
| Pte. J.C. Banyard (R.H.) | 27 | 24 | 27 | 78 |
| Pte. G.T. Monk (Leicesters) | 29 | 24 | 24 | 77 |
| Col.-Sgt. W.H. Aldam (asso.) | 32 | 24 | 21 | 77 |
| Col.-Sgt. F. Goodliffe (R.H.) | 27 | 23 | 26 | 76 |
This brief report announced the result of the shoot-off between Captain P.M. Payne and Sergeant H. St. Leo Smith, who had tied during the Association Match on the previous Tuesday.
Oddly the prior report referred to the Association''s silver medal and this one to the Association's bronze medal. We know from the report of the 1900 (40th Annual Prize Meeting) that the top scorer on the day took a silver medal and indeed Sgt. J.W. Smith took both silver and bronze medals in that year. There had been a bronze medal provided by the National Rifle Association, which was shot for at the Nottinghamshire Rifle Association's Annual Meeting in earlier years, and which entitled the winner to an entry into one of the Bisley Meeting competitions. Maybe this is the source of or explanation for the variation between the reports.
Nottingham Evening Post Saturday 24th May 1902
BRONZE MEDAL COMPETITION
Captain P.M. Payne and Sergeant H. St. Leo Smith, who tied on Tuesday with 92 each, competed again at Trent Range this afternoon for the bronze medal awarded by the Nottinghamshire Rifle Association. The conditions were seven shots and a sighter at 200, 500, and 600 yards. The light was good and the wind, although strong, was fairly steady. At the 200 yards Sergeant Smith made 33, including five bull's eyes, as against Captain Payne's 27, and at the 500 yards he again led by 33 to 30, but at the 600 yards he succeeded in putting on only 24, as compared with his opponent's 27. In the result, however, Sergeant Smith won by 90 to 84.
Transcripts from Nottingham Evening Post 20/05/1902 and 24/05/1902
British Library Newspaper Archive