Brian Woodall

Dear gazamataz I'm sorry that neither Wyver nor Mount came up on the list. There was a Whitstable & District Rifle Club which had registered four of its members as winning the Bell Medal. They were: 1927 A H Smart 1928 B W Harris 1929 H R Norman 1930 G Ford. There was another reference in the list to one of the above winning a Bell Medal. This came from a report about the club in early 1929. Unfortunately I do not have access to a copy of this report, and with the lockdown in place I have no idea at the moment when I may next be able to get to Bisley

I have no information about this trophy, match and shooter, but the details and dates mentioned in your post clearly show it has nothing to do with the Chas Bell Trophy and this Bell Medal.

I'm afraid that there is no A E Tucker on the list, but there is one M A E Tucker who won the Bell Medal in 1934. He was shooting with the Great Western Railway Rifle Club, based at Swindon. This is quite some way from Wellington, which is close to Taunton (also on GWR), but if he was a railway employee he might well have qualified for free or subsidised travel on GWR, particularly if taking part in sporting activities in the name of the railway. There are a couple of other Tucker's who won Bell Medals with Somerset clubs, but the initials don't match. Might the medal have been won by a

Unfortunately James Selmes is not amongst the names of recorded winners of the Bell Medal. There were about 55,000 medals issued between 1909 and 1939, but we only know the names of about 16,000 winners, i.e. about 30%. If I can aid your research about the other medals, please drop me a scan of them - to bwoodall.nsra@gmail.com.

I'm happy to be able to confirm that R Russell of Kirkcaldy Rifle Club is known to have been the winner of the Bell Medal in 1935. It is recorded in the August 1935 edition of The Rifleman, the journal of the SMRC. The Pershing Trophy medal is probably bronze and was an award in a fund-raising competition to help send a British team to the USA in 1940. One was given to every entrant who scored at least 185 ex 200 in the preliminary stage and 3,796 competitors won them. The 1940 trip never took place, but instead the Americans contacted the SMRC in early 1939 to say they would come to the UK

A quick update on the William Carr of Grantully Rifle Club. Unfortunately I do not have at home the list of Grantully members who joined up. Many of you who regularly research subjects by going through old material know that from time to time when looking for one thing, you come across some interesting piece about something else that you were looking at months or years ago. Yesterday I was looking for Carr and Grantully. Today I have been looking for information on a rifle club in London which went out of business in 1914. So what do I bump into during today's reading. First the Febu

Sadly H J Warren of Carn Brea Prep School does not appear on my list. However the excellent photos you added are very clear on the detail and shows up the differences between it and the 1909-13 medal shown at the beginning of the post. For example the shape of the lion's tail (to the left of the shield) are different. Also the area below the trophy plinth is completely smooth on your medal, whilst in the top medal it is textured. In my personal collection I have seven medals from the same dies as yours which are either engraved with the winners details or are not engraved but have prove

BunnyBoy - Your post is most interesting - are you able to let me have some more info, please? The name of your father to start with and I can check this against the list of known winners. The chances of finding it there is probably a little less than 50:50, but always worth a try. Also if you could provide a scan of the medal - both sides will help, but the trophy side is the more important as these changed more often. Indeed one die was used in 1937 and 1938 and a different one in 1939, though the reverse side came from the same die in all three of these years. Jessie the Jeep - So

I’ve just bumped into this thread, so have joined up as I can help about the Bell Medal. The Chas R E Bell Challenge Trophy looks as shown on the Bell Medal, is silver and wood, stands 104cm high and weighs 43kg. It was made by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co Ltd and bears a London hallmark for 1908. It was presented to the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs in 1909 by Charles Bell, President of the R Bell and Co Rifle Club. A Bell Medal was issued annually to each club affiliated to the SMRC, for award in a club competition or however else the club chose, in each year from 1909 to