Winter 2002 - National Rifle Association

OBITUBITUARIESGeorge Frederick Arnold (GM SM SC2)Not entirely unexpectedly, George passed away notmany weeks after Jan, his beloved wife, had alsopassed away (see Summer 2002 Journal page 52). Acombination of infirmity and old age, plus the crushingblow of his sad loss, was too much for him and he lostthe will to live. He was 86.With George there was no middle way, everythingwas either black or white with no grey areas. He waseither for or against and whatever he decided to do,he did with maximum effort and enthusiasm.Born in Dover and living in Canterbury for manyyears, George developed a great interest in radio andtelephonic communications, which became his career.With the GPO (telephones) he progressed to seniormanagement, retiring as Shrewsbury Area TelephoneManager in 1978.It was this common interest which brought him intocontact with a man who happened to be a member ofthe Dorking and District Rifle Club. Friendshipdeveloped, which resulted in George and Jan visitingthe Dorking range to see what it was all about. Thebug bit and they both joined the club in 1950. George,being George, gave it his all and it remained his chosensport until his death.Over those 52 years he established himself as one ofthe all-time great rifle shots which some of his morenotable achievements reflect. He shot in HM TheQueen’s Prize Final on 19 occasions winning the GoldMedal in 1970 and the Silver Medal for the SecondStage in 1975; he appeared in the Grand Aggregatetop 50 on 19 occasions gaining the Silver Cross in both1954 and 1971 as well as winning the St George’s Vasein 1964 and 1969. He also shot match rifle, winningthe Albert in 1962 and the Halford in 1965. George’smajor team caps included 18 Nationals and 1384Mackinnons for England; he represented Great Britainin six Kolapores, three Empire/Australia matches andtwo Palma matches as well as nine overseas GB teamsincluding the captaincy of the 1972 GB Team toCanada.Wherever he resided, be it Kent, Shropshire, Surrey,Hampshire etc, George and Jan greatly influenced thewellbeing of the shooting in those areas. The EnglishTwenty Club also saw them devote much time andeffort into the redecoration and upkeep of theClubhouse.After his retirement he turned his attention togunsmithing and there are many who benefited fromthe expertise that he developed. He experimentedwith all sorts of barrel/action combinations so thathis own rifles were rarely the same from one shoot tothe next! Such was his unbridled enthusiasm andthirst for knowledge.In recognition of his services, he was elected as a Vice-President and Honorary Life Member of the DorkingClub in 1967 and was their elected President from 1987to his death. He was also a Vice-President of theEnglish Twenty Club from 1987.One little known achievement, as a young man in the1930s, was in 25 miles time trial bicycle races in whichhe won a number of medals. A man of many talents!The George and Jan inseparable duo will long beremembered worldwide and George, as an individual,has left his mark on the shooting scene in so manydifferent ways which will not be readily forgotten.He was the last of his line as none of his family survive.RIP.NEC MolyneuxPeter JonesIt is with great sadness that we report the passing,after a short illness, of Peter Jones.Peter was a stalwart member of both Swansea RifleClub and the West Wales Muzzle Loaders and RifleClub, having served Swansea Rifle Club as MinutesSecretary and as a Range Officer, for many years.Forced into early retirement from his career as a SeniorReporter for a Cardiff based newspaper due to a heartattack, Peter turned to target shooting as his sport andrecreation.Peter’s first love was small and fullbore pistolshooting, in which he was always amongst SwanseaRifle Club’s medal winners. In the aftermath of thepistol ban, he turned to classic and gallery rifleshooting but maintained an interest in pistol shootingvia black powder and air pistol.As an extremely well read man, Peter’s counsel wasoften sought by those of us with a less well rounded