AT BISLEY

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 62, 10 September 1921, Page 14

AT BISLEY

THE KING'S PRIZE

RIFLEMAN VENNELL'S

IMPRESSIONS

(X,» »C 3 OWN COHMIPe.TBENT.)

LONDON, 28th July.

This year's, sensation at Bisley was the success, in the final of the King's Prize, of Armourer-Sergeant J. Cunningham, late of the R.A.0.C., a grey-headed man of 62, who comes from a Northumbrian village where he is a licensed victualler. He has been going to Bisley for ow twenty years, but his. big successes have been few. His total score in this important event was 226 (90, 67, 69), • with Captain W. Gray 225 (88, 68, 69), second, and Sergeant T. Angear, Canada, 222. Rifleman E. E. Vennell (New Zealand) scored 183 in the final, and he was told that, being a stranger to Bisley and all its differencies \as compared, with New Zealand conditions, he' might consider himself to have done very well to qualify for the final, which many prominent men in the shooting world cognisant of its features, had failed to do. The ammunition here is different from that used in New Zealand. Instead of the doublerarm sling, as usedin the Dominion, he found the Bingle-arm sling the rule here, and the tendency in conse-, quenceis to cant the rifle sideways. Then the long rifle is used in New Zealand, and the short rifle here. Mr. Vennell used his own short weapon (paying ten guineas for it) all the time, and he was very much surprised to find that he could have hired a rifle at Bisley at the cost^of sixpence a day, the hirer always being sure to have the same rifle during the meeting. In this connection it may be mentioned that Sergeant Cunningham and Sergeant Angear, the third prize winner, both used rifles which they hired for the occasion. In the King's competition the short rifle is the rule for all entrants. \ CUNNINGHAM'S VICTORY. There were 761 entrants, for the King's Prize, and on, few occasions has this competition had) such, a dramatic and-excit-ing, finish, says the' Daily Telegraph Captain W. Gray,: who! had finished) comparatively early, had put on the excellent score of 68 at 1000 yards, which gave him a 1 total for the .competition of 225. He was a hot-favourite, but it was soon, seen that Armourer-Sergeant Cunningham was steadily piling up bulls. In the King's, the score which counts is the aggregate of 'the points made in the second and third stages., In tha second'stage-Captain Gray.... made .88 points; Cunningham > niadie 90, so that when firing began 'far-the final stage the latter was two points to the good. Vennelf's total, was then 87. The final ■ day's . shoot was fifteen shots- a-t 900 yardis and fifteen at 1000 yards,. the highest possible scos<? being 75 points at each distance. Captain Gray at the shorter distance made 68 points, and Sergeant. Cunningham ,67. It was not long before the former had finished) hJ3 1000 '.yards shoot, milking a score of 69. Many people thought he was a.certain winner. Cunningham by. this time had only got off a few shots.- He was firing on the same target as a competitor who had mad© two misses, aridi challenged) them. The challenge had led to delay, and only a small group of people who knew Cunningham's steady shooting \realised that he_ stood a goodl chance of winning the King's Prize. T}ie newji, ' however, spread, quickly, and the crowd soon gathered behind him. Shot after »hot he fired;, and bull after bull was recorded. With his .fourth and-fifth rounds he had got slightly off the bull, losing one point wdth each round., But those two points were all foe had lost. Steadily he piled up his score, and got ahead of Captain Gray, so that when ho had1, still nine shots to go he could afford to drop, four points and still win. If he dropped five points he would tie. But those who know Bisley know that tragedies oftenhappen in the last moment of a competition, and excitement ran high. Other competitors were ignoredh—in fact, practically all had Brushed: firing. Anyway, interest in them was lost,- Cunningham kept his lead of five points until his twelfth round. Then the competitor firing on the same target again challenged, and there waa the delay of getting the range officer and calling- up the butts. The incident was wafcchted by a great crowd, for at this time all the competitors, save Sergeant Cunningham and his neighbour, had! finished firing. SERGT. CUNNINGHAM'S TOMATO. While this -was going on, Cunningham calmly turned on his side, looked at his score-board, and smiled' approvingly, and then took; a tomato from hia pocket and ate it. He had time a finish it before the target had been examined and the report sent back that there was no bullet mark upon it. Interruptions like that are liable to put off the most experienced shot. But add to a distracting interruption a sudden change of light and wind, and tho result is liable to be/ disastrous. In this case it 'was very nekrly so, for Cunningham fired and the shot went right away to the right of the target. It was an outer, value 2 'points. When the signal cam© back from the butts tho crowd gasped with surprise. Of the five points in hand three had gone. With two points in hand he fired his fourteenth round and scored an inner—4 points. Of the two points only one remained. If he was to win he had te> score a bull with hia last shot, and even then he could only win by the narrow margin of one point. Ho brought the rifle to hia shoulder and took a steady sight. Then he brought his rifle down and studied the flags. The wind had altered, and a corresponding adjustment had to be made in the sights. Again he brought the rifle to his shoulder, but he was not satisfied and came down again. For the third time the rifle went up, and .this time, after a few seconds, a shot rang out. A brief delay and the signal came back—-a bull. Cunningham had won the King's Prize. The crowd broke through the barriers and surged round the victor, showering congratulations upon him. Then came an anti-climax. The competitor on the same target had still one shot to go—the last shot in the whole competition. Range officers and military police moved the crowd back, and Sergt. Cunningham lay down once more on the firing-point, while his companion fired. The shot was fired, and once more £he crowd pressed forward. Without waiting to see what the shot was, Cunningham's friends seized him', put him in the chair, and carried him shoulder-high to the N.R.A. offices for the formality of examining the rifle. A band, playing " See the Conquering Hero Comes," headed the procession. AMBITION REALISED. For many years Cunningham was a volunteer in the Northumberland Fusiliers, and on the outbreak of war, in spite of his age he promptly joined up and served with the R.A.O.C. An amazing thing about his shoot was that he was using a "ahilling-a-day rifle"—a rifle which he borrowed from the armoury of. the W-R-A. Usually the King's Prizeman uses a rifle which he owns and with which he has practised for long. ' This is the eighth time he lias been'in the King's Hundred. He confesses to his glass of beer, but never smokes. Asked if he knew that so much depended on hi« last shot, he replied, "I knew I wm running some one very close,

but I certainly did not know 'that my last shot was to decide the King's Prize." And then he glanced towards the triumphal chair, adding, "For many years I have been looking forward to sitting in that chair." Vennell took part in a good many other events, including the St. George's {in which he tied for a shoot-off), the 8.5.A., all the four newspaper competitions, the. Alexandra, the Duke, and the Cambridge, and he won several money prizes. He aays he has learned an immense deal from his experiences, and he admires the system in force, but it is his view that one man on his own is rather lost among so many, while, too, he feels the strain all the more intensely, knowing that so much is expected of him. It is more advantageous altogether to have a representative team. When, firing at Coloheefeer previously^ Vennell learned the strength of the am-munition---it.is so.strong:that it'loos«ns all the bolts of the gun. He, expects to leave for Australia' in August, to take part in the. Brisbane meeting. ■ SOME EXPERIMENTS. During the Bisley meeting, when'the., •weather left nothing to b© deshied, experimental work was carried out by the match riflemen, the object being to produce a bullet of greater accuracy and longer range, not for the service rifle, but for the purpose of the machine-gun barrage, which was such a success in .the. war. The authorities, it io understood,! are aiming at a rang-© of 6000 yards, which is approximately double the effective rang© of the present match rifle, bullet. Experts are ajjreed that the present cartridge leaves little to be desired, but the bullet has shown signs of instability, and next year it .is expected that a heavier bullet will be introduced of'a'different,shape.