33-671: The Imperial Meeting is a major annual target shooting competition hosted by the National Rifle Association on the historic Bisley Camp in England. The Meeting lasts for 3 weeks each July, encompassing inter-service military matches; cadet shooting competitions; the Schools Meeting (culminating in the Ashburton Match ); Historic Arms; as well as civilian Match Rifle and Target Rifle competitions. The meeting closes with
66-599: A 99-year lease from the Ministry of Defence . Although these are operated directly by the NSC and are not strictly military ranges, they do utilise the MoD Danger Area (which serves the adjacent Pirbright Camp military ranges). Consequently, they remain subject to some MoD rules for civilian use of military ranges. The original ranges for the NRA's Imperial Meeting were at Wimbledon, but in
99-542: A United Kingdom charity, its objectives are to "promote and encourage marksmanship throughout the King’s dominions in the interest of defence and the permanence of the volunteer and auxiliary forces, naval, military and air." In pursuit of this, its founding aim was to raise the funds for an annual national rifle meeting (now known as the Imperial Meeting ). The Association was originally based on Wimbledon Common , where
132-533: A high profile battle in the media - having rejected the outcome of arbitration. This episode was misreported in national press as involving the "Regimental Clubhouse" of the Artists Rifles Regiment, but the Artists Rifle Club had in fact vacated the building in 1967 and had no connection with the new tenant. As a result of lease controversies, Conservative MP Adam Holloway referred the NRA to
165-476: A number of significant team matches, including: The NRA awards a number of trophies over the course of the meeting, including examples donated from across the former British Empire. National Rifle Association (United Kingdom) The National Rifle Association ( NRA ) is the governing body for full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports in the United Kingdom . The Association was founded in 1859 with
198-626: A private capacity. The sport became significantly more civilian-oriented through the second half of the twentieth century. Where competitors had typically shot accurised military surplus rifles such as Lee–Enfields , dedicated target rifles such as the Swing were developed, with the Swing becoming the first rifle not of a military design to win the Queen's Prize. The military models were increasingly consigned to specific service rifle and historic arms matches. In 2019,
231-424: A reduced number of finalists qualifying to allow wider spacing on the firing point for social distancing. The Imperial Meeting officially takes place during two weeks of July, although there is a build-up of other events including inter-services matches through late June, not all of which are run by the NRA. The match rifle meeting is conducted at ranges between 1000 and 1200 yards during the first week. Match rifle
264-554: A skill-based sport, target shooting became open to women from an early point. Participation was in open competition alongside men rather than separate events, although in practice many clubs refused to accept female members. In 1891, Winifred Leale of the Guernsey Rifle Club became the first woman to compete in an NRA Competition. In 1930, Marjorie Foster became the first woman to win the Sovereign's Prize . A road on Bisley Camp
297-507: Is a less restricted form of target rifle, permitting the use of telescopic sights and other advancements. Competitors may shoot prone or supine (lying on their back). The Elcho Shield is contested on the penultimate day (usually First Wednesday), followed by the Humphry match between Oxford and Cambridge universities on the final day. The Schools Imperial (or Schools Meeting) is contested during Week 1 by school-based Combined Cadet Forces , using
330-552: Is a wholly-owned trading subsidiary of the National Rifle Association. Through the NSC, the Association owns the freehold on "Bisley Camp", which covers the built areas including Club Row, other buildings and clubhouses as well as the extensive caravan and camping sites. The Camp area also includes some smaller, self-contained ranges such as Cheylesmore. The larger ranges (Century, Stickledown and Short Siberia) are held on
363-406: Is maintained which are not on display but available to researchers. 51°18′40″N 0°39′22″W / 51.311°N 0.656°W / 51.311; -0.656 Elcho Shield The Elcho Shield is an annual long range shooting competition between national teams of eight from England , Scotland , Ireland and Wales . The trophy holder was originally able to choose the venue of
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#1733086121423396-644: Is named in her honour. Female participation was not restricted to the UK - in Australia, the North Queensland Rifle Association is documented as holding ladies' competitions as early as May 1899 (although Australian women were controversially excluded when the Army took control of fullbore rifle clubs in 1903). Through the 1990s and 2000s, the NRA experienced falling membership and financial difficulties. Although
429-491: The 2002 Commonwealth Games saw some capital investment to the Bisley facilities, other facilities including the accommodation and camping ablutions declined, with the NRA making significant redundancies in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, new management within the NRA saw a wholesale change in approach to estate management and membership. Controversially, leases for clubhouses on Bisley Camp were increased significantly. One tenant fought
462-612: The Charity Commission in 2019. The Commission had no concerns with the NRA's seeking market rates for rents and leases, but issued formal regulatory advice when it found the NRA had more generally acted outside its charitable objects by promoting civilian recreational shooting. In 2020 the Charity Commission stated that the association had made progress and withdrew the decision in April 2022. The National Shooting Centre (NSC)
495-664: The L81 Cadet Target Rifle (not the SA80-derived L98 Cadet Rifle ). It culminates in the Ashburton Shield Match. The discipline of target rifle attracts the largest entry of the meeting. The Target Rifle Imperial runs for nine days through Middle Weekend and Week 2, and is attended by international teams from around the world, with a particular emphasis on Commonwealth nations. Individual competitors have three main blocks of competition - There are
528-428: The Sovereign's Prize . The first Imperial Meeting was contested on Wimbledon Common in 1860. The National Rifle Association had been founded the previous year with the express purpose of running such a competition to improve the standard of marksmanship. Queen Victoria fired the first shot and awarded her " Queen's Prize " of £250 (~£38,000 in 2023) to the best individual marksman. Seventeen-year-old Edward Ross of
561-526: The 7th North Yorkshire Volunteers was the first winner. The meeting was initially open to members of the Volunteers movement , who would have used the issued service rifle of the day, such as the Snider–Enfield and Martini–Henry . The Imperial Meeting quickly gained significance in high society. In 1878, the society biographer and journalist Edward Walford wrote: These annual gatherings are attended by
594-450: The Elcho were significant social occasions on par with The Boat Race . Shooters and officials were often household names, and featured or even caricatured in society publications such as Vanity Fair . The Association moved from Wimbledon to Bisley Camp in 1890 after encroaching housing development around Wimbledon caused concerns about the ongoing ability to safely operate the ranges. In
627-546: The Elcho were significant social occasions on par with the Boat Race . Shooters and officials were often household names, and featured or even caricatured in society publications such as Vanity Fair . The association moved from Wimbledon to Bisley Camp in 1890 after housing development around Wimbledon caused concerns about the ongoing ability to safely operate the ranges. The NRA and the Imperial Meeting heavily influenced
660-659: The Imperial Meeting was held for its first 20 years. In 1860, Queen Victoria fired the opening shot of the first Imperial Meeting. The Whitworth rifle used and the target can be seen in the Museum of the NRA at Bisley. The Queen also sponsored the Queen's Prize match with a £250 cash prize - worth around £38,000 at 2024 prices. The first winner was 17 year old Edward Ross of the 7th North Yorkshire Volunteers. The Imperial Meeting quickly gained significance in high society. In 1878 Edward Walford wrote "These annual gatherings are attended by
693-571: The NRA celebrated the 150th Imperial Meeting (this was 159 years since 1860, as a result of the Meeting's cancellation during the World Wars). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 meeting was postponed. However, wishing to keep intact the record of only being interrupted by two World Wars, a "miniature Imperial" was held in stages through September and October. This included the Queen's Prize, which featured
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#1733086121423726-722: The competition, however, since the NRA 's move to Surrey from Wimbledon in 1890, the competition has been held at National Shooting Centre , Bisley in Surrey , England. It is usually contested during the NRA Imperial Meeting . The 2021 holder of the trophy is England. Each shooter fires fifteen shots at 1,000 yd (910 m), 1,100 yd (1,000 m), and 1,200 yd (1,100 m). Unusually, no "sighting" or practice shots are permitted. The shooters may be coached which allows other team members to judge and make necessary adjustments to
759-505: The desk and filing space required for collating competition results. A working group of volunteers was formed in 1991. The decision was quickly taken to focus on Association history, rather than being a general firearms museum. As well as housing some of the Association's largest and most unwieldy trophies, the museum contains a reference library and picture gallery, along with exhibits of historic firearms, medals, memorabilia and shooting equipment. A further study-collection of historic rifles
792-569: The development of shooting sports around the world, particularly in the British Empire. The formation of the National Rifle Association of Australia was prompted in part by a desire amongst regional associations to send an Australian team to compete at Wimbledon. In 1897 the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association built a pavilion on Bisley Camp to accommodate the Canadian national team whilst competing at
825-550: The founding aim of raising funds for an annual national rifle meeting to improve standards of marksmanship. Today the NRA continues this objective as well as organising civilian target shooting and selecting British teams to contest the ICFRA World Championships. The National Shooting Centre at Bisley is a wholly owned subsidiary of the association. The National Rifle Association was founded in 1859, 12 years before its (unconnected) American namesake . Registered as
858-508: The late 1880s the National Rifle Association began searching for a new site. In early 1888 it seemed that Cannock Chase was to be selected from several locations under consideration. However, that plan fell through a few months later, and the other potential venues again put their cases, with the Middlesex Chronicle newspaper suggesting that a large site at Staines was a likely home for "The New Wimbledon". Eventually though, Bisley
891-488: The meeting. In the first half of the twentieth century, the meeting was extensively covered by newsreels including Pathé and Movietone , resulting in an unusually rich heritage of archival footage. 1966 was the last meeting at which the Army provided personnel to mark targets and perform other duties. From 1967, the military operated their own Service competitions, with the Imperial Meeting itself being purely civilian - although many service personnel continued to compete in
924-466: The same year, Queen Victoria granted the National Rifle Association a royal charter of incorporation. The NRA had a strong influence on the development of shooting sports around the world, particularly within the British Empire . The formation of the NRA of Australia in 1888 was prompted in part by the desire of regional associations to put together an Australian team to compete at Wimbledon. As
957-468: The shooter's sights. The rules allow each team two hours at each distance to fire all their shots. The match is most regularly held following the national championships in July each year. The first match, on Wednesday July 9, 1862, was held over 800 yd (730 m), 900 yd (820 m) and 1,000 yd (910 m) solely between Scotland and England. In the event England won by 166 points. Scotland won
990-560: The trophy for the first time in 1864. As the match was restricted to Volunteers, Ireland was unable to participate - having no Volunteer regiments. After several applications, the NRA permitted the Ulster Rifle Association to send a team and Ireland joined the fray in 1865. Ireland scored their first win in 1873. By this time, the match had become a major sporting event in Victorian England, as important as The Boat Race or
1023-628: The élite of fashion, and always include a large number of ladies, who generally evince the greatest interest in the target practice of the various competitors, whether it be for the honour of carrying off the Elcho Shield , the Queen's or the Prince of Wales's Prize, or the shield shot for by our great Public Schools , or the Annual Rifle Match between the Houses of Lords and Commons . Key matches such as
Imperial Meeting - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-412: The élite of fashion, and always include a large number of ladies, who generally evince the greatest interest in the target practice of the various competitors, whether it be for the honour of carrying off the Elcho Shield , the Queen's or the Prince of Wales's Prize, or the shield shot for by our great Public Schools, or the Annual Rifle Match between the Houses of Lords and Commons." Key matches such as
1089-463: Was selected. The principal ranges used at Bisley today are as originally laid out in 1890 to accommodate modern full-bore rifle shooting. The Museum of the NRA opened in 1997, some 90 years after it was first proposed. Located on the first floor of the NRA Headquarters on Bisley Camp, it occupies the former stats offices - which became available after the introduction of computers greatly reduced
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