KING'S PRIZE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 54, 5 March 1914, Page 8

KING'S PRIZE

FIRING FOR CHAMPIONSHIP BRILLIANT FINALE TO MEETING LAST SCENES AT TREXIIIAM. MASEFIELD WINS. (Per Pigeon Express.) The last scene in the long drawn-out drama at Trentham came this afternoon in a brilliant finale — the firing of the chosen fifty to decide the championship in the King's Prize Match. Thus docs the big meeting run its course through the many 'acts and scenes to the situation of situations, when the men go down at the thousand yards in the presence of many spectators for those last ten shots, which may make or mar a man's record and decide who is to be champion and who not. It is always a great occasion, probably never more than this year, when the vagaries of fortune and vicissitudes of chance have had full play and nobody has been able to forecast to-day what the morrow wiJl bring forth. THE BEST OF WEATHER. ■ j King's Prize day has rarely in the past been perfectly fine. One can recall the 'morning opening well and the after noon coming in squalls and showers, and the marksmen hardly able to see their targets in the sweeping rain. One year it was fine through the match and then a thunderstorm broke on the gathering during the speeches. Other days have been wet and windy right through. Last year was better than the average— a sunny day with a lef resiling breeze. Today is even better. True, it is not quite calm. It never is at Trentham, except in the early morning when the camp rises for breakfast. Almost before shooting commences the breeze sets the flags adrift and plays on the shooting. But for a light southerly air — one would call it a right wind on the range, for the points of the compass are never men- J tioned; it is always right, left, or dead in— the weather is absolutely perfect. The marksman might prefer a little less movement in the atmosphere, but it is cooling to the spectator. Hje does not think of the difficulties of thousand yard shooting. Only this morning the prospects were demonstrated by the five men lowest on the list, who had 'to fire off to fill the three vacant places in the fifty. Each of them had. misses on the target, and the best of three shots was a 6 out of a possible 15. Here are the results: Dalziel. 3, 2, 'o—s; Croxton, 4, 2, o—6 ; Knowles, 2, 4, o—6 ; Cuthbertson, 2. 4, o—6; Montgomery, 0, 3, 2—5. Thus Dalziel and Montgomery dropped out into obscurity and Knowles, Cuthbertson, and.Croxton took their places in the fifty. ~t 'MANY VISITORS. Visitors came in slowly during the morning,' but Ihe trains from town added to the numbers, and when the special arrived it brought a crowd. The range —1000 yards at the Sommerville, just on the- edge of the main camp — was thronged with spectators against, the'fence. The Fifty were squadded shortly after halfpast two o'clock, but such is the ceremony, the formality, and the punctilio of the business in the big match, that it was much later, shortly after three o'clock, when the match comme'need. The men, attired more neatly than with their usual everyday shooting rig, wearing tliis time their sober rifle club outfit or their military uniforms, according to the institution they belonged to — club or Territorial Force— lay out in pairs ■ along the mounds, two firing alternately on the same target, with the big artillery men. in full-dress behind to score on the cards and mark on the blackboards. Behind close to the fence were the favoured few visitors — officers, officials, members of Parliament, and personages of note with many ladies in summer attire. It made a pretty picture — a sort of harmony of peace and war, with the guns speaking and behind them the eager witnesses watching the targets and counting the scores. In the centre by some fortuitous circumstance were the leading men, and on these most of the attention was concentrated. Masefield, as of old, was a popular favourite, and if smiles and whispered words could be a surety of victory, he had them all. So on along the line as the shots came' slowly and the targets responded or did not respond and the challenges rang out. The King's Prize Match moves like a pageant. MASEFIELD THE CHAMPION. , TRENTHAM, 3.30 p.m. Masefiekl maintained the lead in the shooting, and is the champion for 1914. Among the other final scores were : — Simmonds 609 H. Loveday 604 Oliver 598 Given 598 Henderson ... 591 Soper 590 J. Cheeseman ..'. ... 588 King 586 Chirnside 5C6 Hunt 584 Carter 584 Patrick 583 L. Loveday 583 Hartnell 582 Marenzi ... ... ... 579 Elngstrom 579 G. Loveday ... ... ... 577 Sandford 577 Moslen 573 Thomas ... .• 570 Masefiekl started with a 2, which lm discarded as a sighter. His first counter was a- bull, his next shot was a 4, then he came down to 3, and it looked as if ho might lose the Belt after all, but he found the bull's-eye with his fourth counting shot, and his next shot was a 5. He finished with 44, making his aggregate 625.