The 39th Annual Prize Meeting - Day 1
According to this report, the 1899 annual prize match was held at Trent Range starting on Tuesday May 23rd; but other reports strongly suggest this timing is wrong and it was the Bank Holiday Monday of May 22nd, and as luck would have it some rather poor conditions.
There was a shoot for brigade prizes sponsored by the Nottinghamshire Rifle Association with £25 being divided into 21 prizes. This was followed by a sweepstake shoot at 600 yards and a match between the local volunteer battalions from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. The 1st. Notts. team, the Robin Hood Rifles, beat the opposing counties.
The thirty-ninth prize meeting, under the auspices of the Nottinghamshire Rifle Association, was held on the Robin Hood's range at Trent on Tuesday, in most depressing weather. The competitions included the ordinary shoot for brigade prizes, and an inter-battalion match (at 200, 500 and 600 yards) between 15 representatives of the Robin Hood Rifles, the 1st Lincolnshire V.B., and the 1st and 2nd Derby V.B.'s respectively. The brigade prizes competition was open to all volunteers, sergeant instructors, and veteran volunteers associated with the North Midland Brigade, the conditions being the sighter and seven shots each at 200, 500 and 600 yards range, and the remainder similar to those governing the control for the first stage of the Queen's Prize. There were 21 prizes, a sum of £25 being divided, and despite the bad light and variable wind some good shooting was seen. A sweepstakes at 600 yards produced keen competition, and the match between the four teams was a very interesting affair, the Robin Hoods handsomely winning. Scores:—
BRIGADE PRIZES
| 200 | 500 | 600 | Tl. | |
| Color-Sergt. Vickerstaff (1st Derby) | 31 | 34 | 35 | 100 |
| Priv. W. Thorpe (1st Notts) | 30 | 32 | 35 | 97 |
| Corporal R. Suggitt (1st Lincoln) | 28 | 34 | 34 | 96 |
| Sergt. T. E. Burrows (1st Notts) | 28 | 35 | 33 | 96 |
| Lance-Cpl. C.T. Smith (1st Lincoln) | 33 | 30 | 33 | 96 |
| Capt. W. E. Sawyer (1st Lincoln) | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96 |
| Sergt-Inst. W. Shaw (9nd Derby) | 33 | 33 | 30 | 96 |
| Capt. J. A. Ashworth (1st Notts) | 30 | 32 | 33 | 95 |
| Sergt. H. W. Davis (1st Notts) | 29 | 33 | 32 | 94 |
| Priv. J. Hildyard (1st Notts) | 32 | 32 | 30 | 94 |
| Sergt. A. Milner (2nd Derby) | 33 | 32 | 29 | 94 |
| Color-Sergt. W. H. Aldam (1st Notts) | 32 | 34 | 28 | 94 |
| Sergt. S. H. Page (1st Notts) | 28 | 30 | 35 | 93 |
| Lance-Sergt. H. Tompkins (1st Notts) | 31 | 33 | 29 | 93 |
| Priv. B. Robinson (1st Lincoln) | 32 | 28 | 32 | 92 |
| Sergt. A. Sibert (1st Notts) | 31 | 32 | 29 | 92 |
| Sergt. G. AIlsopp (1st Notts) | 34 | 29 | 29 | 92 |
| Sergt. J.H. Duckett (1st Notts) | 27 | 32 | 33 | 92 |
| Lance-Corpl. T. Coles. (1st Notts) | 30 | 32 | 30 | 92 |
| Corporal J. Rowe (1st Lincoln) | 33 | 31 | 28 | 92 |
| Priv. J. Leavesley (1st Notts) | 33 | 32 | 27 | 92 |
INTER-BATTALION MATCH
| 1st Notts. | Ttl. | Ttl. | ||
| Lance-Cpl. W. Ashby | 99 | Sergt.-Inst. E. Hawkridge | 90 | |
| Col-Sergt. St. Leo Smith | 98 | Sergt. T. E. Burrows | 89 | |
| Lance.-Corpl. T. Coles | 97 | Color-Sergt. T. Loach | 89 | |
| Priv. J. Leavesley | 95 | Sergt. S. H. Page | 88 | |
| Sergt. H. W. Davis | 94 | Sergt. G. E. Allsopp | 87 | |
| Capt. J. Ashworth | 94 | Priv. E Marriott | 86 | |
| Color-Sgt. W. Comery | 92 | |||
| Lce.-Cpl. H. St. Leo Smith | 92 | Grand total | 1,381 | |
| Lce.-Sergt. H. Tompkins | 91 | Average | 92.06 | |
| 1st Derby. | Ttl. | Ttl. | ||
| Color-Sergt. Harrison | 99 | Sergt.-Inst. Lattimore | 86 | |
| Color-Sergt. Vickerstaffe | 97 | PrIv. Adams | 85 | |
| Sergt. Dawes | 96 | Sergt. Briggs | 84 | |
| Priv. South | 94 | Qr.-Mr.-Sgt. Allen | 81 | |
| Sergt. Ware | 89 | Corpl. Allen | 81 | |
| Sergt. Ward | 89 | Sergt. Huson | 76 | |
| Sergt. Harrison | 89 | Sergt. Groves | 73 | |
| Sergt.-Major Woodward | 88 | |||
| Capt. Hunter | 87 | Grand total | 1,321 | |
| 1st Lincoln. | Ttl. | Ttl. | ||
| Priv. Warner | 96 | Sergt. Winn | 87 | |
| Corpl. Suggit | 95 | Sergt-Major Sheward | 86 | |
| Corpl. W. E. Sawyer | 93 | Corpl. Sylvester | 86 | |
| Lance-Cpl. C. T. Smith | 90 | Priv. Robinson | 84 | |
| Color-Sergt. Fallop | 89 | Sergt. Lister | 82 | |
| Sergt. Townsend | 89 | Lieut-Col. Ellwood | 75 | |
| Sgt. C. H. Jackson (G.M.) | 89 | Priv. Webb | 69 | |
| Corpl. Rowe | 89 | |||
| Color-Sergt. Stocker | 88 | Grand total | 1,318 | |
| 2nd Derby. | Ttl. | Ttl. | ||
| Sergt. Fletcher | 99 | CorpI. Fiddler | 85 | |
| Priv. Rhodes | 98 | Lance-Cpl. Wilbraham | 84 | |
| Sergt. Wall | 93 | Sergt. Wright | 84 | |
| Sergt.-lnst. Shaw | 92 | Sergt. Tissington | 82 | |
| Priv. Marriott | 91 | Priv. Ormesher | 80 | |
| Sergt. Wetters | 89 | Pioneer Smith | 76 | |
| Sergt. Milner | 89 | |||
| Sergt.-Inst. Green | 88 | |||
| Priv. Reader | 87 | Grand total | 1,312 |
Transcript from Lincolnshire Chronicle Friday 26/05/1899
British Library Newspaper Archive