City Guards’ Good Record As Marksmen

Southland Times, Issue 23793, 15 April 1939, Page 15

City Guards’ Good Record As Marksmen

A. Ford, a member of the Invercargill City Guards Defence Rifle Club who won the Otago rifle shooting championship at Dunedin at Easter, has an outstanding record as a marksman during the 11 years he has been associated with the sport. It was not until 1937 that he won the Southland championship, but before then and since he has built up a record which makes him probably the foremost rifleman in Otago and. Southland. Ford took up shooting when the City Guards Club was formed in 1929. The following year he was a member of the City Guards team which won the Ladies’ Challenge Shield at Dunedin for the first time. He was also a member of the team which won it in 1934. In 1931 he won the City Guards championship and in 1933 he was run-ner-up for the Otago championship after a shoot-off for first place.

Last year at the New Zealand championship meeting at Trentham he won Mrs- W. N. Masefield’s cup for the highest score (104 out of possible 105) in the New Zealand champion teams’ match. He was one of the King’s Fifty at the same meeting. He won the championship of the Invercargill Defence Rifle Club last year and finished

fourth for New Zealand in the international teams’ match against South Africa and Great Britain. In both 1938 and 1939 he won the Ashburton Challenge Cup for highest score in the ’’Ladies’ Challenge Shield match.

Ford is also a first-class miniature rifle shot. ’ He won the City Guards championship six times from 1930 to 1935, and won the South Island championship this year. Two years ago he won the Southland amateur billiards championship. WON CHAMPIONSHIP 30 YEARS AGO W. McChesney, captain and coach of the City Guards team -which won the champion teams’ match at Easter, began shooting with the City Guards Volunteers in 1905. He won the City Guards championship in 1906 and 1907 and won the Southland championship in 1910. He gave up shooting when the volunteers were disbanded in 1911 and it was not until 1927, when he joined the Invercargill Defence Rifie Club, that he again took up the sport. He assisted to form the City Guards Club in 1929 and won the Southland championship that , year. He again won it in 1933, and was club champion in 1936 and 1937. A member of the City Guards reams which won the Ladies’ Challenge Shield in 1930 and 1934, McChesney has taken part in many New Zealand championship meetings and this year finished twenty-second in the King’s Fifty and ninth in the service championship. He has coached many riflemen in Southland and at the present time is coach of the City Guards match team.

J. Tansley, another member of the winning team, is a brilliant shot and during the last two seasons he has won several championships. He was a niember of the team , which won the Ladies’ Challenge Shield in 1930; he won the Southland championship in 1934, the B grade aggregate and gold medal at the New Zealand champion-

ship meeting in 1937 and finished twenty-second in the Kling’s Fifty. Last season ,he won the Southland championship and the City Guards championship, and this year’ he won the Eastern Southland championship and the North Southland championship. J. B. Doake, the fourth member of the team, began open range shooting only last season. He competed at Trentham this year and scored 100 points in the champion teams’ match. He is a fine miniature rifle shot and has been a leading marksman in the R.S.A. miniature rifle club for several years.