On our arrival at Scorton - Preparations for the shoot and inclement weather
The 15 pairs of Target Bosses laid out for the Scorton Arrow 300th Meeting
Some of the visiting Archers cars on the field adjacent to the shooting lines
The flag of The Society of Archers 1673 flies over the field at the Scorton Arrow 300th Meeting. For information about the Society and this event, the oldest recorded and longest established sporting event, please visit their website http://www.scortonarrow.com/
Assembly for the Scorton Arrow 300th Meeting is called, traditionally summoned by the sounding of the Silver Bugle by the Lieutenent of the Arrow
The line up of the Official Party
The Archers gather round . . .
Drew Stapleton, Captain of the Arrow 2007, welcomes the assembly
Andrew Neal, Clerk to the Society, takes the stage
The Judge for the Scorton Arrow 300th Meeting, John Gilroy, is introduced to the gathering
Building up credit for the Swear Bag - just in case!
Everyone is wished a Good Shoot as the gathering is dispersed to go to their allocated targets
Our first glimpse of the unique Scorton target face
The 3" Black Spot coverted by all!
The Archers line up to introduce themselves to their respective Lady Scorer in one of the 2 tents on the field
Once that formality is completed, Archers make their way to their Targets
Some of our fellow Archers on Target 6
Similar gatherings at each of the other Targets
The Captain and Lieutenent of the Arrow 2007 await their privilege of the first to shoot. This gives them the opportunity to retain their positions of Office
An indication of the weather - and no, they are not sheltering from blazing sunshine!
A shoulder to cry on at the eleventh hour?
Other Archers wait patiently for the Shooting to commence
A Gaggle of Archers?
The appointed time arrives and Drew prepares to shoot the 1st arrow at the 300th Meeting
Drew and Martin on the Shoting Line
Martin Jordan, Lieutenent of the Arrow 2007, prepares for his 1st shot
The 1st arrow of the Scorton Arrow 300th Meeting is loosed by Drew
Closely followed by Martin's 1st
Both prepare their 2nd arrows
Drew's 2nd arrow is sent on its way to the Target
Martin looses his 2nd arrow also - is that a sign of relief from Drew now his ordeal is over?
The Judge and Clerk make their way to assess the results of these first 4 arrows
Officials and Archers approach Target 1 to determine the results of their efforts
There appears to be at least one miss . . .
Martin accounts for both his shots
. . . and so does Drew
The remainder of the Archers wait in anticipation of the annoucement of the result - are the 2 coverted positions still available?
The party returns to announce that positions for the Captain and the Lieutenent are still for the taking
John Woollam & John Shiel step up to try their luck at bagging one of the positions
John W's 1st arrow flies on a (hopeful!) bee line to the centre spot
The 2nd detail take their places on the shooting line
The 1st hits on our target are dutifully noted and scored. Adam Abbott, the 9th member of Target 6 is seen walking into the picture. He retired from the afternoon session and is therefore missing from the group photograph taken later on.
Is that a hit on the Black Spot I spy?
Yes it is!
Guy Hair, of The Bowmen of St Mary's, Hull, is elated at obtaining the first hit in the Black Spot
Guy is now the incoming Captain of the Arrow 2008 at the 300th Meeting of the Antient Scorton Silver Arrow
Congratulations Sir!
Guy feeling justly pleased
The result is formally confirmed by the Judge
"Mine was only this far off . . ."
So let's have another go
A very chuffed fellow Archer, Bob Brown, discovers his first hit
So does John, who records it for posterity
Well pleased indeed!
John Shiel shooting in a flat bow
John Woollam setting up his shot . . .
. . . and with fine results
An impressive sight of mass Archers on the line
A personal record of one (of very few!) of my hits of the day
An announcement that the media have a request -
- an arrow storm for the cameras.
The first arrows are sent on their way
A study in follow through
A welcome break and we all sit down to a very enjoyable lunch
Once the lunch is over (and some wine consumed) the non-shooting guests leave and the Meeting is called to order
The Minutes of the 299th Meeting are presented by the Assistant Clerk
Points about the issue of the 300th Meeting Commemorative Badge and its die are discussed
Visitors from Belgium are welcomed to the event
Feeding & formalities over we return to the shooting line - here are the convivial members of Target 6 ~ Line up L-R : Myself, John Woollam, Mike Young, Don Richardson, Brian Trotter, Gentleman at the rear (to whom I apologise for forgetting his name!), Bob Brown and Rod Lyons, missing are Adam who retired from the afternoon session and John Shiel who is featured on other shots.
Is this not a much better umbrella shot than Colin's at the last Meeting? Will this be a de-rigueur shot at all future Meets?!
An almost perfect 6
but complimented by a good, proper 7
Looks like someone has been shooting really well
2 Golds, and one a Black Spot - excellent shooting
Good reason indeed to be pleased with one's efforts
A contender for the Best Gold as well!
Making precise measurements just to be certain
A Gold/Black Spot attained on our Target by John Shiel
A distinguished vistor, the Rt Hon William Haigh MP, stops to chat with some members of Target 6
"You don't seem to have hit this target many times, have you?"
" But have you not noticed this arrow down here . . ."
Once the visitors move on, we return to the task in hand
The end of the shoot and the totting up begins
All attention to . . .
. . . a final word from our Judge
"That wasn't too bad was it?" A most enjoyable day of shooting and conviviality at an auspicious 300th Meeting of the Scorton Arrow, despite the mixed weather!
Rod examining Roy's steel bow, amazed it withstood the stresses of the whole shoot, no doubt!
Mr Haigh examining the trophies to be presented
The presentation of trophies won at the Scorton Arrow 300th Meeting begins
The new Captain of the Arrow 2008, Guy Hair, is presented with the Antient Scorton Silver Arrow
The new Lieutenant of the Arrow 2008 is Lewis Mitchell (under the wig - honestly)
Guy is presented with the Silver Bugle as a mark of his Office
"Are you sure you don't want to borrow my wig Mr Haigh?"
The rest of the presentations follow - please refer to the records on the Scorton Arrow website for details
A flurry of activity as a result requires ratification urgently
The Clerk, Andrew Neal, announces the next winner
And that turns out to be Adrian Hayes
Adrian is presented with the Thisk Bowmen's Silver Arrow and Gold Belt for the Highest Score by a Yorkshireman
Adrian looking rather pleased
John Gledard receives his prize from Wm Haigh MP
Adrian's just making sure all items are present and correct
Adrian is up again!
Mr Haigh waiting to present the Phillips Cup for Best Gold
The Sweepstakes for Golds hit are shared out
Andrew gets a little excited
Drew closes the presentation of awards
A few words from the Rt Hon William Hague MP (Richmond)
Mr Hague is presented with a memento of his visit
Finally, the raffle for the longbow donated by Adrian Hayes is drawn and won
and a lucky archer goes home happy
One more badge added as a fine reminder of the day
The prize table at the Scorton Arrow 300th Meeting. For formal pictures with full histories and descriptions of these wonderful trophies please visit the Scoton Arrow website http://www.scortonarrow.com/Trophies/Trophies.htm
The dedication and descriptive plague of the original Scorton Arrow of 1673
The Scorton Arrow is presented to the Captain of the Arrow, won by the Archer whose arrow is the first to hit the 3" Black Spot in the inner Gold
The Silver Bugle, presented to the Lieutenent of the Arrow, the Archer whose arrow is the first to hit the Red
The Ancient Horn Spoon is presented to the Archer whose arrow is deemed to attain the Worst White in the last end shot
The Phillips Cup awarded for the Best Gold
The Thisk Bowmen's Silver Arrow and Gold Belt awarded to the Highest Score attained by a Yorkshire Archer
The Thisk Bowmen's Silver Bugle awarded for the Highest Number of Hits by a Yorkshire Archer
The Ben Hird Sword
