"For Markmanship" Coin

[tlvaughn]

I was cleaning the gun room and came across the following coin that was embedded in an old butt stock from a No4. I tried to google it, but my search came up empty. What is it and who was it for?

Information

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[newcastle]

Without wishing to sound snippy, it's probably erm.....for marksmanship.

[muffett.2008]

Yep, that would be my guess.

[Peter Laidler]

The Country Life is a monthly magazine for the upper classes in their big country houses - with names like Annabel or Tarquin......., you get my drift. But the magazine does still sponsor a nationwide smallbore shooting competition within the public schools and Cadet Forces. When I say 'public schools' I don't mean schools wot the public send their kids. I mean the Etons, Radleys, Marlboroughs and Stowe sor' of schools like inn'i

Where the attendees don't have your usual names like Wayne or Winston or Connor or Damian. More the Tarquins and Pippa and Murgatroyd or Rupert

I would think that the previous owner of the rifle, probably a Tarquin or Rupert, got the medal for being a spiffingly what-ho, hot shot

[tlvaughn]

it's probably erm.....for marksmanship.

Touche!!

[browningautorifle]

The neat thing about these older awards is the most of them are SILVER coins and medallions. Worth a bit...

[Mk VII]

The Air Cadets (which are filled with oiks from the state schools) still participate in the 'Country Life' .22 team competition. It involves pairs, shooter and observer with binoculars who has to describe the location of the mark on a landscape target.

[newcastle]

I just found a 1947 shilling in place of a brass disc in a No.1 mk3 I was packing up to move house. These sort of things are really neat and a cool extra to collecting old guns. Just on this forum I've seen threads about names, papers, documents, coins and medals discovered. I recall that On the cvalifornia guns forum, one guy discovered docs which led him to the grandson of the marine which carried his Enfield 1917 into battle.

---------- Post added at 10:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 PM ----------

Looking at the coin again. Check out the uniform that the people on the coin are wearing. Looks about early 1900s officer training corps (OTC) which were at the public (as described by peter) schools.

[Nigel]

The original post of the Marksmanship Medal rekindled some old memories. I have one of these medals - which I won in 1981. Hence it is engraved with my name on the edge and yes they are solid silver. The competition is well over 100 years old and in my day about 200 cadet units participated, in teams of eight plus one coach for the country life section. No.8 rifles were used with issue ammo - shot at 25 yards. Class A had PH5D match sights fitted whilst Class B had the issue sights. The course of fire is a 5 shot grouping target with 25 points max for a half inch group (we would often shoot quarter inch groups), a ten shot rapid fire in 60 secs scoring 40 points and requiring a central half inch group, a snap target (exposed for 3 secs) scoring a max of 30 points. And last, the actual Country Life target or Landscape target - see picture. The 9th member of the team would come in at this point with his spotting scope. He would have 5 minutes or so to explain to each pair where the targets were (small circles that you could not see with the naked eye). Each pair of cadets would shoot on one of the four circles - with instructions like 9 o'clock, house with two chimneys - answer Yes. At 2 o'clock from right hand chimney see small cottage and trees - Yes. Take vertical line upwards from left edge of right hand chimney of first house, take horizontal line going left from gable end of cottage - where both lines intersect is your target. Fire three rounds. Once instructions have been given and understood the coach must deflect his scope and give no more instructions - shooting then commences. I look back on those days with fond memories. Our teacher went on to become the Great Britain National Rifle Coach. My ability to shoot rapids and the McQueens sniper comps all comes from my use of a No.8 - two to three times a week, plus regular outdoor .303 competitions for four years at 200 and 500 yards. For those interested in Landscape Targets and their use in the British forces see http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Landscape_Targetry.htm

[Peter Laidler]

Great little thread. Thanks Nigel and TLV for starting it. On the plus side it showed that with a good boss of the school Cadet Force, an ability to scrounge and get everyone working together, School Cadet Forces and the local Army cadet forces could be great fun. Even today the biggest contributors to Army recruiting are the Cadet Forces