The team's tour brochure. - National Rifle Association

Her Majesty The Queen’s prize – some personal notesby Colin BrookIn 1993 I was given a copy of Susie Cornfield’s book ‘The Queen’s Prize’; if you have not readit, I can heartily recommend it, though it may now be out of print. Susie’s book finishes its historyof arguably target shooting’s most coveted prize, in around 1986, and this was around the timeI took up the sport.I recall my first tour of the trophy exhibition and, to my youthful eye, I was somewhatoverwhelmed by the array of silverware, but what stands out in my memory is the scene of aman in his late 30’s, or perhaps early 40’s, accompanied by his young son. They were bothstanding in front of the Grand Aggregate shield and the son said to his father “ That must bethe one everyone wants to win, dad” and the reply came,“well, perhaps, it is the hardest oneto win, but come and have a look over here”. Then, peering into a cabinet of fairly modestlooking medals contained in leather cases, the father pointed to the Gold Medal.“That’s the oneevery shooter wants to win, that’s the Queen’s”Thank you also for making such good scores for the County.SincerelyR E W JohnsonBack to the father and son screenplay acted out in the trophy exhibition, clearly somethingabout the tradition and the emotion which surrounds the Queen’s, is the root of the ‘want’ towin this prize, setting it apart from all of the other individual competitions.For me, the Queen’s prize gives the chance to become part of something that probably will lastforever, in a world obsessed by change.Sit Perpetuum perhaps?Susie’s book reports on the winning of the very first Queen’s prize by Edward Ross, via thisextract from the London Illustrated News:“When called to receive the Queen’s prize of £250, the band struck up ‘See the conquering herocomes’, and the applause that had greeted him before was redoubled. He bore his honours withgreat quietness of manner, receiving the prize just as coolly as he had shot for it”.“Mr Ross wascalled on to show his gold medal and, finally, to put it on: he held it up to the spectators, butcould not comply with the other request - the medal had no ‘fixings’.”It was, in fact, five years before I was first required to attend the prize giving to collect anindividual prize myself, albeit a second place. I think it was at that point that I began tounderstand the depth of feeling and the importance of the tradition that seems to seep intoevery corner of Bisley. It is hard to put this into a ‘tin’ but to try and share a little of what I mean,my late County Captain had this to say, on the back of a postcard, by way of encouragement tome in 1991.4 Aug 91I did not have a chance after the Queen’s final to congratulate you on your fine effort that day.Welldone indeed!You have plenty of time to reach the Chair – you are lucky – youth is on your side. It tookme 35 years to advance from 3rd to 2nd and by that time my eyesight was starting to “go”.Colin and friends celebrate his second place in theQueens in ‘91.