OTRC Club Tie & Archive

The design of the club tie is based on the standard Old Tonbridgian tie plus a single Boar’s Head with crossed rifles and OTRC motif. The picture below right is an earlier mock-up and this has been changed to a slightly smaller Boar’s Head with more prominent rifles with OTRC between the butts of the rifles.

The tie is silk weave on a polyester base.

Price is just £18.50 each.
Post and packing is an extra £0.75

Please send your cheque with order to:
David Stevens.
Hon.Sec. OTRC
Grafton house
Grafton Lane
Hereford
HR2 8BL.

or payment can be made by Direct Bank Transfer to:
Barclays Bank. Calverley Rd. Branch. Tunbridge Wells.
Sort Code: 20 88 13 Account 60668494 Old Tonbridgian Rifle Club.

To return to OTRC page, click here.

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Practice and Match Saturday 26th April 2008
The weather is always sunny and warm for this event (have I just jinxed it for next year?) and so it was again this year. First shot down the range at 8.30am several OTs managed to get three practice shoots in before lunch, steadily increasing their scores. Toby Noar, Jules Corin, Olli Siddall and Ian Mitchell all in the high 40s (out of 50), which by lunch had given us high hopes for the afternoon's match.
I for one was looking forward to using the automatic marking system in the afternoon, and many of us OTs hadn't used it before. Andrew Penfold had it up and running, more or less, by the time we all congregated at the firing point. It was a little unnerving that our neighbours who were also using the sysem were not having a happy time with it. We soon realised why, and we also began losing faith in the system after it started returning scores which were, shall we say, substantially less good than the morning's practice.
Fortunately it was not just the OTs, the School were also suffering from spurious scores being returned, so we decided to call it a draw, even though the School did in fact lead the OTs by a slight margin by the end of the afternoon.
Despite the technical hitch, everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable day. The OTs managed to successfully use Richard Hoole's rifle which the Club is hoping to buy from him. Olli Siddall was welcomed as he shot for the first time with the OTs. Robert Mitchell was also welcomed back to Bisley by the OTs - although a familiar face in the winter for the .22 shoots, it has been about ten years since he has shot full bore, and he still managed to turn in a very respectable 41.1
The highest score for the OTs in the afternoon's match was from Ian Mitchell with 29 (out of 35) and the morning saw Toby manage an impressive 48.2 closely followed by Ian with 47.2 However, as the match scores were fairly arbitrary I am not going to post them on the web.WK

.22 Match at the School on Saturday 2nd Feb 2008
Sadly, once again the School have beaten us, despite the OTs improving their scores substantially compared to last year, the School have improved more so. For individual results please click here.
The total for the OTs team of six was 571 with Ben Meredith and Richard Sankey both getting a solid 97, and the School managed 589 with Tim Burgess achieving a possible, which as always deserves congratulations. Thanks to Andrew and his team for a good match, and the look forward is 26th April at Bisley for the full bore match at 300 yds. See you there!

For this years' AGM minutesCLICK HERE.

1000yd Match Bisley - Sep 2007

As I suspected, the conditions were very difficult this weekend. As the practise was so perfect with not a cloud in the sky and a steady breeze, it was bound to go wrong for the actual match. Strangely it wasn't the rain that introduced the difficulty, but a worse enemy, the wind. Some firers were overheard saying that it was more a competition between the skills of the two wind coaches rather than the firers, and there may well be some truth in that. David Stevens coached the OTs and Andrew Penfold coached the School, although he sportingly let some of the boys coach eachother to learn from the conditions. The photo of Anton shows him proudly holding the prize for Top Gun for the afternoon, a splendid 46.2 (out of 50 for those of you who don't shoot) which just edged ahead of Jules Corin's 46.1 The full scores can be viewed on the scores page, but only if you really have to! Click here and then scroll down to the bottom of the page. If anyone reading this is wondering, the photo was taken in the IBIS clubhouse of which David is a member. WK

Well done the OTs for another convincing win. Let's make it a hat-trick in February when we fire the .22 competition at Tonbridge! Meanwhile the AGM is in December and the plan is to do some friendly practise shooting afterwards.

Annual Dinner 2007

With the sun beating down on us we congregated at Bisley on Saturday afternoon for an interest shoot, first with a couple of .38 specials and .22 semi-automatics at 25yds, and afterwards we attempted to scare some clays with Brian's four shotguns. Some of us were more successful than others at each discipline, but even those of us who missed more than we hit thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. Thanks Brian!

The Dinner was a sumptuous feast as usual, with everyone imbibing perhaps a little too much wine and rich food than is healthy, but it is important to fully prepare for the difficult task ahead of us - which was to shoot accurately at 1000 yards - and it is a universal truth that a full belly and slight hangover produces the best results from the firing point.

The practise shoot on Stickledown Range was very successful, and if the OTs manage similarly high scores next weekend for the match aginst the school, then I am sure we will be in a very strong position. If any OT wishes to join us on Sunday 23rd then please email me or David Stevens, we would be delighted to welcome you.
I have uploaded a few photos of the weekend on a separate page CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS. A big thank you to all who attended the event, and especially to Brian and David for organising the ranges. WK

Veterans Match at Bisley - 19th July 2007

It remained miraculously dry and there was hardly a breath of wind as our team of six (five firers and a wind coach) congregated at Bisley on Thursday afternoon. Traffic congested roads caused some (me) to be a little late, but that did not matter as we had plenty of time. David Stevens, Captain of the team, did his usual masterly job of coaching us, and consequently we produced a very decent score, which can be seen here.

Last year we didn't shoot as well as we like to, and we came 35th out of 49, so this year I am confident we can beat that. Whether we can match our 2005 place of 27th out of 52 teams, our best in recent history, remains to be seen. I will post the results here in the next couple of days. Thanks to all who took part this year. Photo shows (l-r) Toby Noar, Ian Mitchell, David Stevens, Will Kemp, Tom Llanwarne and Anton Luck. WK

Results just in: This year we managed 33rd place out of 50 in the Veterans Match with our score of 232 .17v Apparently all scores were very high, with the winning team dropping only one point from a maximum 250. Well done everyone! WK

Practice Day at Bisley - 10th June 2007

The weather was good to us and the sun shone, but sadly only a handful of OTs managed to turn out for this practice day, so to cut costs we cancelled the afternoon shoot and concentrated on the morning. Brian, David and Will arrived at the point at 8.30am and were quickly joined by Ian, Victor and his daughter, Toby and Richard. The wind was deceptively tricky, but everyone managed some respectable scores although not as good as we'd hoped. The lack of OTs did mean those who were there could shoot several times, so it was a well worthwhile session, and good practice for the Veterans Match on the 19th July.

Full Bore MATCH at Bisley - 28th April 2007

The full scorecard can be viewed here. Sadly I was unable to attend the OTRCs first winning match of the season, as I was on holiday in Australia. This did not stop Ben Meredith phoning me on my mobile to ask which target we were shooting on. Fully aware of the cost of the call, I was a rather short call, but hopefully he will forgive me in time. Meanwhile I notice a name I have not seen for a while - Tom Hemesley has arrived back on the scene, welcome back Tom, good to see you again!

The scores seem very close, which always make for a more interesting match - and Ian Mitchell has supplied this photograph as well as the highest score of the day. Thanks Ian, and looking forward to seeing everybody at the practise shoot on 10th June at Bisley. WK

0.22 MATCH - 3RD FEB 2007

The first match of the year saw an excellent turn-out by both the School and the OTs, which allowed an 'A' and 'B' team for each. However I am sorry to have to report that the School teams were just too good for us this time. The full scorecard can be viewed here. Top scores went to both the team Captains: Chris Boucher, pictured left with Declan Minchew, scored 98 for the OTs and Simon Hunter dropped only a single point, scoring 99 for the School. The OTs it must be said are looking forward to next year when Simon will have left the School and might be persuaded to shoot for the OTs, if he's not too busy. Simon is pictured below right receiving his prize from David Stevens

The next meeting will be at the end of April, and the first of the season's Full-Bore practises at Bisley. This is an ideal time for new members to join us an have a go at Target Rifle shooting with no pressure. It is also an important opportunity for established members to blow away some cobwebs. Please do think about coming along, all equipment is provided and I have booked sunny weather especially! WK

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2006 & 0.22 MATCH

The Annual General Meeting of the Old Tonbridgian Rifle Club was held on Saturday 2nd December at the School. I have published the minutes here . Main points were that subs have gone up to £20, partly due to inflation and partly as 20 is a nice round number and the maths is easier. Richard Hoole was made a Vice President and life member following his stepping down as Chairman. We all wish him well for his retirement in Cyprus. Will Kemp was elected Chairman, Jules Corin was elected Vice Chairman and Toby Noar was elected onto the Committee.

Lunch preceded the 0.22 match against the School, and I am pleased to report that the OTs managed to retain the shield. The scores are listed on the scores page, here.

Club Dinner and 1000yd Match at Bisley - 10 Sep 06

What an extremely agreeable weekend! Things started with a bang at the Melville Range on Saturday afternoon as we gathered alongside another club firing black powder pistols (very loud with much smoke). Richard Hoole and Brian Barfoot had between them organised a fun shoot with two semi-automatic .22 rifles with electronic scopes on the right side of the range, and a brace of .38 rifles on the other. Nobody managed to injure themselves using the potentially painful Winchester action on the .38s, and everybody managed to produce very respectable groups. Ian Mitchell led the way with his .38 scoring highest in both grouping (113.4) and rapid (98.3). The highest score with the .22 was achieved by Alex Fabre (91.1). For full details of the Scores... click here

We then retired to the Clubhouse for tea and - courtesy of Ian Mitchell - biscuits, followed by a leisurely 'sun downer' or two before changing for dinner. I am pleased to report a splendid turnout with 16 members attending this year, far more than last year, which was fitting as on this occasion we were dining out Richard Hoole, our charismatic Chairman, who is retiring to Cyprus in early 2007. We will be very sad to see him go, as he has worked hard for the club over the past five years. It was gratifying to see so many members wearing our new club tie at the dinner, as it's existence is due to him. For details of the new Club Tie...click here. After a delicious four course meal during which Ben Meredith made a somewhat tardy entrance - his Caterham 7 having had clutch problems and he ended up driving to Bisley using a single gear - Chris Boucher, the Club President, presented Richard with a limited edition print of the Clock Tower at Bisley on behalf of the OTRC.

The morning was greeted with several sore heads, and it was with some relief that the autumnal mist delayed the start to the morning's shooting. The time was put to good use by some, however, as Ben's Caterham was in need of some tender loving care. Submit your caption please, and I will publish the best. By 10:00 we were on the 900yd firing point and a steady stream of very impressive totals resulted. Gareth Wright, who had not shot for over two years, placed his first round dead centre, and failed to drop a single point. If only that card had been in the afternoon's match against the school! Despite being spurred on by our performance in the morning, the OTs couldn't replicate it in the afternoon. The extra 100yds makes all the difference, and at 1000yds the School had the better of us. Final scores are listed on the scores page... click here, suffice to say that the School had some extremely good scores and deserved to win back the trophy.WK

Mark Taylor and Brian - 1000yd Match 10th Sept 2006

The following trophies were presented:
Castle Hill Cup - best score under 25 yrs - Rowland Stacey
Chairman's Cup - best score - Toby Noar
Secretary's Tankard - winner of the long range match -Tonbridge School
China mug - presented by the school for best OT score - Toby Noar

Veterans Match at Bisley - 13th July 2006

The Public Schools Veterans Match is held every year after the Ashburton at Bisley, and is a match for teams of five. The OTs normally field one team. Last year we scored a total of 233.17 placing us 27th out of 52 teams, which was our best result for years. This year we didn't fare quite so well, scoring 226.13 placing us 35th out of 49. The only man to improve on his score last year was Ben, despite having the stress of impending exams. The least said about my score the better! WK

Ben Meredith 48.6
Richard Hoole 45.3
Tom Llanwarne 45.2
Toby Noar 45.1
Will Kemp 43.1

The scores are out of a possible 50, for example only two of Ben's shots fell outside the bull. The decimal figure shows how many shots fell inside the centre of the bull, known as a 'V' bull. This helps separate those who achieved the same score, in this case Richard, Tom and Toby.

Practice Shoot at Bisley Sat 3rd June

As you can see above, the planned match with the School was sadly cancelled, so instead the OTs decided to replace it with a clay pigeon shoot, thanks to Brian Barfoot being a qualified coach. After shooting in the morning at 500yds as planned, we then had lunch in the IBIS clubhouse before walking up to the new clay range and demonstrating to eachother our prowess - or lack thereof. I admit to losing count early on, but I think Alex Fabre, pictured above, covered himself with more glory than most! Everyone enjoyed themselves, and got a suntan to boot!

OTs who were present on June 3rd: Tom Llanwarne, Ben Meredith, Victor Dauppe, Will Kemp, Jules Corin, Alex Fabre, David Stevens, Brian Barfoot, and new comers Alastair Sherriffs, Henry Medlam, Rowland Stacey.
WK

Practice Shoot at Bisley Sun 7th May

We were very lucky with the weather, and despite some of us taking precautions the forecast rain failed to materialise. We shot at 300yds in the morning, and following lunch at the IBIS Clubhouse, shot at 600yds in the afternoon. We were joined by two new faces who had not shot before, Nick Jones and Alex Fabre - both claiming to have enjoyed themselves very much. Well, they would wouldn't they, with loaded rifles in the vicinity. They did seem to be sincere though. Toby Noar also made an appearance for the first time in a decade, and doesn't seem to have lost his marksmanship skills.
Sadly the School are unable to field a team for the match scheduled for the afternoon of Sat 3rd June. However the morning practice is still due to take place at 500yds followed by lunch at the IBIS. Please let David know if you are going to join us, as usual.

OTs who were present on May 7th: Jules Corin, David Stevens, Toby Noar, Will Kemp, Ben Meredith, Victor Dauppe, Ian Mitchell, Richard Hoole, Andrew Ferry, Brian Barfoot, and new comers Alex Fabre and Nick Jones pictured above.
WK