NRA Journal - Summer 2004 - National Rifle Association

Leslie John DyerLeslie John Dyer (or justLes as he preferred to beknown) was born in1936 in London. Hemade South London hishome for much of hislife and settled downwith his wife Sue inMorden, Surrey formany years until sellingup and moving to WestSussex in September1997 to live in BognorRegis.He started his career as an apprentice electrical technicianwith Haines and Shepherd and worked on a number ofcontracts where his skills were in demand. He travelledwidely, and later worked in Riyadh, Dubai and the Sudanwith the firm of Lebihan Contracts.Les got called up for National Service and joined the EastSurrey Regiment. He made Corporal with the EastSurreys and would sometimes recollect on his days as aBren gunner. Some of his service with the regimentwould take him to what was then West Germany. Itseems that his appetite for the shooting sports wasawakened by his military experience at that time. Hisother passion for fast cars also occupied much of his time,and in particular his once owned Jaguar XK150 sportscar, which he often mentioned in conversation.In the early 1960s, he became a member of WandsworthSmall-Bore Rifle and Pistol Club and enjoyed manySaturday afternoons shooting his .22” pistol on theoutside range with his shooting friends. He would laterjoin the Wandsworth Fullbore Rifle Club shootingregularly at Bisley with and for the Club. In January1970 he was encouraged to join the NRA.He was later a founder member of the MetropolitanFullbore Pistol Club in 1972, and in 1992 he helped toinaugurate the ’92 Association and was the Club’sTraining Officer until the end. His lifelong experience ingun safety on and off the range was invaluable to anumber of new participants to the sport of target shootingand it will be difficult to replace him.Les was very well read on all military matters and hemade his speciality World Wars One and Two. He wasan avid battlefield tour fan and would make regular visitsto the World War One battlefields in Europe with hisfriends. It was often said that he not only enjoyed thetour programme, but also the beers and cuisine of theregion visited!Les’s sudden and untimely death on 2 March came as aterrible shock to all who knew him, particularly as therewas no indication of potential illness. Les was a goodclubman and a loyal friend. He is survived by his wifeSue and we all join in offering her our most sincerecondolences on her sad loss.Jim (AJ) ThompsonJim’s main sport was rifle shooting, however, as hisphysique showed, he was a rugby man in his youth. Hegrew up in Cambridgeshire, attending Soham GrammarSchool simply because the Grammar School in Ely wasfor girls only. It was through the Cadets that he becameinterested in the RAF, and for much of the war was aFlight Lieutenant Navigator, He remained loyal to theRAF joining the local aircrew branch wherever heworked.After the war he worked in the Inland Revenue, basedin London. He and his wife Elizabeth were members ofthe Inland Revenue Rifle Club, shooting in the rangebeneath Somerset House. For many years Jim wasTreasurer of that Club and, living in Buckinghamshire,he then joined Burnham Rifle and Pistol Club. Duringthe 1950s Jim and Elizabeth were both top flight smallborerifle shooters.In 1975 the opportunity came to transfer to Dorset witha senior role in the Excise, keeping an eye on all the localbreweries. This suited Jim’s passion for real ale! He soonbecame Treasurer of Dorchester Rifle and Pistol Club,and when Ted Green gave up organising the DorsetCounty Fullbore Association Jim took that on as well.He became renowned for the efficiency of the shoots heorganised at Mere before it closed, and then at Bisley.To those who knew Jim it was a bit of a surprise to findthat he was rather shy, particularly with those he didnot know well. In shooting matters he was outgoing,seeking to get involved in a variety of events. He tookthe opportunity to join the shooting matches in thetwinning between Louviers and Weymouth, and theexperiences there led him to set up the Dorchester Bayeuxshooting matches in association with Yves Collet, theTreasurer of the Bayeux Shooting Club. In his ownrelatively quiet way Jim was extremely proud to be madean Honorary Life Member of the Bayeux Shooting Club.He was quietly pleased to see the way his Frenchshooting friends learned from the competitions andupgraded their equipment and techniques. Jim’s last visitto Bayeux was in 2000 and after that time he becameincreasingly frustrated with the restrictions on hispersonal mobility.His other sporting interest, supporting Bridport FootballClub, combined with treks to away matches, finding thebest Chinese takeaway, and the local real ale became thestuff of legends with his shooting friends. Jim had beenPresident of Dorchester Rifle and Pistol Club for just overfive years when he died.Our sympathies go to Elizabeth and his sons Martin andChris.Richard F Burden59