QUEEN'S PRIZE WINNER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8986, 17 September 1892, Page 2 (Supplement)

QUEEN'S PRIZE WINNER.

A GREAT DAY FOR SCOTLAND. BlsLKt, July 22.—The splendid prize of £250, the gold medal, and gold badge presented by the Queen has been lost and won. Those competitors who were , fortunate enough to get into the hundred mustered for the final event at the 800 yards butts at 2.30 this afternoon, The competitors were told off in groups of four and five to the long line of targets; the silver medallist, Major Pollock, of the 3rd V.B. Argyle and Slitherlanders, late 3rd Renfrewshire, settling down at No. 5 target, with Taylor, Read, Pottinger, and Thornton for companions, while just a little ;.o his left was Stocks, and to his right Kidd was posted, both men having* come up with respectable totals. Further along'to the right were Comber, Ferguson, Hunter, of the Scottish, with Fulton and other competitors, but from the opening of the contest at the first range much interest was taken in tlie shooting of the silver medallist. When the ten rounds had been fired it was seen that Major Pollock was leading with an aggregate of 211 points, and behind him were Fulton, a former winner of the grand prize of theN.R A. ; Private Stock, of Liverpool; Comber, 2nd V.B. West Surrey ; Kidd, who had made eight bulls in succession, and looked promising ; Scott, and indeed several others. On starting his shooting at 900 yards Major Pollock made an inner with his sigbter, and in his next shot another, which was followed by an outer, then a bull, two loners, and after these an ugly ricochet, which brought a buzz of consternation from the crowd in the rear ; but the major was keeping very cool, and once or twice took a wee sup to quench his thirst; and, going carefully down to his back position, scored a bull, then two more, and finally an outer, which gave him 36 points, or a total of 277 points over the three stages, and, as it was already known that.he was two points ahead of other competitor?, he was hailed winner ; among the first to congratulate him being Brigadier - general Macdonald, Colonel Massey, of the Canadians, Captain Ferguson, and many other friends; while the crowd pressed over the ropes, and, but for the prompt action of the range officer, Lieutenant Cormack, of the Rilles, and a sturdy sergeant of the C division of the Metropolitan police, the testing of the rifle and other formalities would have been seriously impelled. Everything being in order, four giants of the London Scottish seized the major shoulder high, and, preceded by a mounted police inspector and the band of the old Saucy Bth —now the Warwicks—marched to the Umbrella tent, where the winner was temporarily released, and, contrary to the usual custom, was not taken to the enclosure, or photographed, although the camera man was waiting there very patiently for his prey. Naturally Scotsmen throughout the camp were jubilant at Major Pollock's victoryanother added to those already won by the laddies north of the Tweed.

Major Pollock enjoys the high distinction of winning both the silver and gold medals, which have never before been won by the same man in one year. The winner is forty years of age, is married, has a family, the eldest boy, aged fifteen, bidding fair to follow in his father's footsteps. The major is manager of a bank in Barrhead, N. 8., ami, although ho has fired several times before, has riot hitherto succeeded in getting a Queen's badge. Curiously enough Major Pollock was quite recently thinking of giving up volunteering, but decided to remain with his corps.