Sir Henry Halford

[ResearchPress]

On this day 1897 (4 January) Sir Henry Halford died at Wistow Hall, Leicester.

The following has been collated from various sources on my Research Vault web site.

He was born on 9 August 1828, and was educated at Eton and at Merton College, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1849. He took a keen interest in the Volunteer movement, was well known for his delight in rifle-shooting and for scientific and practical knowledge of the weapon which he loved so well.

The 1865 Cambridge Cup match in Great Britain, which comprised two days shooting at 1,000 and 1,100 yards, fifteen shots at each range each day, was won by Sir Henry Halford using the then new Gibbs-Metford muzzle-loading match rifle. In the first rifle match between England and Scotland for the Elcho shield in 1862, Sir Henry shot for England, and made the highest score. He subsequently shot in 1863, 1865, 1871, 1872, 1874, 1877–84, 1886–1890, and 1893. In 1872, when England won, he again made the highest score. His principal individual successes at the National Rifle Association meetings at Wimbledon and Bisley were the Albert prize in 1862 and 1893, the Duke of Cambridge prize and the Association cup in 1871, and the Dudley in 1893, besides a vast number of less important prizes. He Captained Great Britain teams to America in 1877 and 1882 to shoot at Creedmoor.

In 1880 Halford was appointed a member of the government small arms committee. The introduction of the Lee-Metford rifle as the British service arm was due to the report of that committee. Halford had great knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of gunnery and gunmaking; he was intimate with William Ellis Metford, and constantly co-operated with him in his experiments. In 1888 Halford published ‘The Art of Shooting with the Rifle.’

The Times wrote in his obituary: “The country owes to him the debt which is due to a man who made the science of rifles, as well as the practice of rifle-shooting the main pursuit of his life, who, without thought of pecuniary advantage, laboured without ceasing to discover all that could be discovered about the infantry weapon and to bring that weapon to a state of perfection.”

Read more; Sir Henry Halford (1828-1897)


David

[StanDeasy]

For many years, Sir Henry Halford was President of the Midland Counties Rifle Club, which is still in existence and shoots at Kingsbury. In Sir Henry’s day they had a range in Sandwell Park West Bromwich which went back to 1000 yds.
In May 1882 the Club hosted a competition to select the team members for the forthcoming military small-bore match at Creedmoor, New York, against the National Guard of the United States of America, and for places in the English Eight in the match for the Elcho Shield.
I have a transcription of a newspaper report of this shoot which I could put up if anyone is interested.

SD

[ResearchPress]

I'm always interested to read articles on historical aspects off shooting sports! :)

David

[StanDeasy]

OK, here goes. hope it's not too long:

The International Rifle Matches at Sandwell Park Range 4th May 1882

Yesterday, at the range of the Midland Counties Rifle Club, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, a large number of the principal rifle shots of Great Britain competed for the honour of representing the British volunteer force in the forthcoming military small-bore match at Creedmoor, New York, against the National Guard of the United States of America, and for places in the English Eight in the international match for the Elcho Shield.
The competition is a severe one, involving as it does four "shoots", two at the usual Queen's first stage distances of 200, 500, and 600 yards, seven shots, and two at the distances of the second stage Queen's, 800, 900, and 1,000 yards. In consequence of the double event, in which the National Rifle Association is so much interested, the element of match rifles is excised from the contest, and for the first time probably in international contest selections, excluding the English Twenty, the competitors have been armed with military breechloaders, combinations of the Martini, Metford, Deeley, Edge, Farquharson, Soper, &c.
With the exception of Wimbledon no finer range could have been selected than that which the president of the Midland Counties Club placed at the disposal of the Britishers. Sir Henry Halford, captain of the English Eight, has always been to the fore in these matters, and thus it was that the competitors from various parts of England and Scotland, when they arrived on the ground, found not only many of the men who have helped to build up Wimbledon annals, but also Wimbledon targets and conditions, which, Sir Henry Halford, Colonel Walrond M.P., and Major Waller, (St. George's, captain of the English Twenty), were on the ground, it need hardly be said, were strictly carried out.
The representatives, besides those mentioned above, included Edge, of Yorkshire; Gibbs, of Bristol; Lowe (Queen's S.M.), Messrs. Burt, Bates, Tisdale, Foulkes, Osborne, White, Hart, and Caddick, of Birmingham; Hawley, of Edinburgh; M’Vittie, of Dumfries; Ault, of Staffordshire; Mellish, of Notts; Goodear, of Manchester; Parry, of Chester; Block and Angel, of Middlesex; Piggott, of the City of London; Captain Goodall, of Bucks, for many years one of the most prominent shots at Wimbledon, and many others.
With admirable punctuality the shooting opened at 10 o'clock at the first range of 200 yards. High scores in the new, or rather revival of the old shoulder position were not anticipated at the first essay, and indeed were not realised. Lowe, the Queen's silver medallist, in a recent metropolitan contest, astonished all those who were observers of his performance by putting on a highest possible in this position with the Martini, and 34 with the Snider, but yesterday he only obtained 26.
The best shoot at the distance was the 29 by Bates, and the next best M’Vittie and White, 27 each; Lowe, 26; Mellish, Colonel Walrond, and Hart, 25 each; and Sir Henry Halford and Colonel Burt, 24 each. At 500 yards the highest possible was not reached, but four competitors made within one point of it (34 each), viz., Edge, Bates, Hawley, and Godsal. Goodear, of Manchester, made 33; Lowe, Mellish, Osborne, and Hart, 32 each; Ault, Foulkes, and Walrond, 31 each, and Burt and Piggott, 30 each. At 600 yards, the highest were —Goodear, White, and Burt, 31 each; M’Vittie, 29; Lowe, Hawley, Mellish, Walrond, and Hart, 28 each; and Tisdell, Foulkes, Osborne, Angel, and Caddick, 27 each. The result of the first shoot stood thus:— Bates, 94; Osborne, 89; Lowe, 86; Hawley, Mellish, Burt, and Hart, 85 each; Goodear, 84; White, 84; Walrond, 84; Edge, 83; Foulkes, 81; Godsal, 81; M’Vittie, 80; Piggott, 79; Angel, 78; Gibbs, 75; Parry, 74; Caddick, 74; Sir Henry Halford, 69; Tisdell, 66; and Ault, 60. The contest at 800, 900, and 1,000 yards was then commenced, but was not completed when this report was despatched. The shot-for-shot score of the Lancashire representative (Goodear, of Manchester) was as follows :—
200 yds. 500 yds. 600 yds. Tl
2 2 3 4 4 2 3—20 ... 3 5 5 5 5 5 5—33 ... 5 5 4 5 5 5 2—31 ...... 84

[ResearchPress]

Thanks for posting - can you conform which paper this is from?

David

[StanDeasy]

Sorry, should have quoted the source, which was the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser.

Judging from the level of the technical content, the report must have been filed by a rifleman - possibly the local man Goodear?