The sport of rifle shooting at Cambridge University has been practised since at least the early 19th century. Beginning as part of the military training of the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, it has since been conducted by a number of student clubs, and is currently carried out predominantly by the Cambridge University Rifle Association and Cambridge University Small Bore Club, with some participation by the Cambridge University Revolver and Pistol Club for the discipline of gallery rifle. Cambridge shooters compete in a number of

Varsity match A varsity match in Britain and Ireland is a fixture, especially of a sporting event or team, between university teams, usually the highest-level team, or varsity team, in that sport. The University Match in cricket between Oxford University an ...

es against the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, which constitute one of the longest-running

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

sporting rivalries. The oldest of these is the Chancellors', currently contested in the discipline of target rifle, which dates to 1862. In 1869, an inter-university long range fixture was set up, which later became the match-rifle Varsity match known as the Humphry. Other Varsity matches include several smallbore fixtures and a gallery rifle match, which replaced the former

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

match in 1997. Shooting is generally a Half Blue sport at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, though shooters can be awarded Full Blues for exceptional shooting success. Several Cambridge shooters have become notable in the sport during and after their time at the university, including several winners of the

Sovereign's Prize The Sovereign's Prize, referred to as the Queen's Prize or the King's Prize depending on the incumbent British monarch, is the oldest fullbore target rifle shooting competition and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes in the ...

, the most prestigious contest in British target shooting.

Disciplines and clubs

Target rifle shooting in the United Kingdom is traditionally divided into smallbore and fullbore shooting. Smallbore shooting is conducted at shorter ranges, generally between , with .22 calibre rifles. As smallbore ranges are often indoors, the competition season runs throughout the year. Fullbore shooting is carried out with larger-calibre rifles (in the modern era, usually .308 calibre) at ranges in the hundreds of yards. The fullbore season runs from March until October, which corresponds approximately to the

Easter term Easter term is the summer term at the University of Cambridge, University of Wales, Lampeter, University of Durham, and formerly University of Newcastle upon Tyne (before 2004target rifle, shot at shorter ranges — in the modern era — with

open sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescopes ...

and strict rules on the positions and equipment permitted, and match rifle, shot at longer ranges — — with fewer restrictions on equipment and positions, which include allowing the use of

telescopic sight A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate p ...

s. Smallbore shooting at Cambridge is conducted by Cambridge University Small-Bore Club, which predominantly operates in the

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

and

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

terms. Fullbore shooting is conducted by the Cambridge University Rifle Association, which largely trains and competes during the Easter term and the 'long vacation' between July and October. The discipline of gallery rifle, which historically evolved from

pistol shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

, is conducted by Cambridge University Revolver and Pistol Club. Cambridge fullbore shooting, particularly match rifle, maintains close links with the English Eight Club, which administers the England national match rifle team. In 1954, Cambridge undergraduates (along with those of other shooting universities) were granted honorary membership of the English Eight; since 1960, both Oxford and Cambridge Universities have maintained a gun room in the English Eight's clubhouse at Bisley, and have used it as their base on the camp.

History

The first formal shooting club at Cambridge University was formed in 1859, shortly before the 1860 raising of the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

unit recruited from the student body. According to a Cambridge rumour,

Horatio Ross Horatio Ross (5 September 1801 – 6 December 1886) was a sportsman and a early photography, pioneer amateur photographer. Background and early life Ross was born at Rossie Castle, near Montrose, Angus on 5 September 1801, the son of Hercules ...

, one of the great rifle shooters of the nineteenth century, whose son Edward was a member of CURV, once fired from the top of the tower of the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

building at a target 2000 yards away, thereby setting the record for the longest range at which shooting had been conducted in Cambridge. The CURV, initially part of the Cambridge Rifle Club (which included units from the town's non-student population), first shot on a range on Mill Road, but became an independent organisation on 7 February 1861 and acquired its own range on Grange Road (immediately north of where Leckhampton House was constructed in the 1880s, and opposite what would become Selwyn College) on 30 October. The new range allowed firing at up to . It is unclear precisely when the range fell out of use: it was noted on an

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map surveyed in 1950, by which part of the range had been built upon, but is absent from maps from the 1960s. Prominent Cambridge shots of the nineteenth century included Edward Ross, the winner of the inaugural

Queen's Prize The Sovereign's Prize, referred to as the Queen's Prize or the King's Prize depending on the incumbent British monarch, is the oldest fullbore target rifle shooting competition and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes in the ...

in 1860. In 1871, A.P. Humphry equalled Ross's feat of winning the Queen's, and subsequently won the Grand Aggregate in 1878 – successes which made him one of the most famous rifle shooters of his time. The Cambridge University Long Range Rifle Club was founded in 1864, to conduct the two-day 'Cambridge Cup' match rifle meeting. The Long Range Rifle Club is no longer formally associated with the university, but continues to administer the Cambridge Cup competition, now held at Barton Road, to which members of the club and recent alumni of the Oxford and Cambridge rifle teams are invited. Cambridge University Revolver and Pistol Club was founded in 1907, and competed in its first Varsity match the following year. In 1909, the Cambridge University Rifle Association broke off from the CURV as an independent club. The commanding officer of Cambridge University Officers' Training Corps, the descendant of the CURV, remains president of CURA. Cambridge University Rifle Ground 1886

In a 1913 survey of sport at Oxford, Cambridge and the English

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

, the cricketer and writer Robert Lyttelton noted the nineteenth-century history of shooting at Cambridge, but judged that the sport had "not made much headway" until the foundation of the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

in 1908. In 1910, A.M. Humphry, a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the OTC and son of the Queen's Prize winner, won the St. George's Prize with a record score of 139. Philip Richardson, a Cambridge graduate who made the top 100 shooters of the Sovereign's Final seven times between 1886 and 1907, went on to shoot in the

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

and

1912 Olympic Games The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

, winning a silver medal in 1908. He later served as chairman of the National Rifle Association's council between 1939 and 1945, and gives his name to a competition shot during the NRA's Imperial Meeting. By 1913, most Cambridge colleges had their own rifle clubs affiliated to CURA, which had a total membership of around 300. Cambridge University Small-Bore Club existed as a separate club by the 1920s. On 7 March 1952, CUSBC competed by

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

against

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, each team shooting on their own range and sending the results to the other. Harvard won the match by 1581–1554, despite handicapping themselves by firing in the less stable standing and kneeling positions as well as Cambridge's

prone Prone position () is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The supine position is the 180° contrast. Etymology T ...

Varsity and other matches

There are currently several annual Varsity matches in rifle shooting contested between Cambridge University and Oxford University. The Oxford–Cambridge shooting rivalry is believed to be one of the longest-running Varsity competitions between the two university. Other than the Heslop and Bentata, the Varsity matches are normally contested during the Imperial Meeting, a series of shooting competitions administered by the British

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

at Bisley each July. Both CURA and CUSBC compete in

British Universities and Colleges Sport British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS; ) is the sports governing body, governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2008, BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the United King ...

(BUCS). They also compete in matches against clubs, universities and schools throughout the year. In 1903, a 'Universities' Snap-Shooting Match' was inaugurated in response to the view of Frederick Roberts, then

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the title of the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, wa ...

, that potential soldiers should be trained in accurate, rapid short-range fire. Each team, consisting of a 'commander' and eight firers, fired from behind cover at head-and-shoulders targets away, exposed ten times for three seconds each at irregular intervals of between five and ten seconds. The match was contested until at least the 1920s, but no longer takes place. In addition to the formal Varsity matches, Cambridge compete in three additional annual smallbore fixtures against Oxford. These are the Kensington (2nd VIII), the Ex-Captains' Challenge (3rd VIII) and the Lerman (three-position). An informal black-powder shooting match, known as the Roads Cup, is sometimes contested during the Imperial Meeting. This match is named after Christopher Roads, an ex-Cambridge shooter who donated the trophy in the late 20th century. Within the university, an annual inter-college competition, known as 'Cuppers', is held annually in smallbore shooting.

The Chancellors' Challenge Plate

In 1862, the chancellors of Oxford and Cambridge universities — William Cavendish and Edward Smith-Stanley — agreed to award a trophy for a shooting match between the two universities: a silver plate set into a large silver

stein Stein may refer to: Places Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria * Stein, Styria, a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeld, Styria * Stein (Lassing), a village in the district of Liezen, Styria * Stein a ...

. The inaugural match was won by Cambridge. Originally, the match was shot at , and seven shots were fired by each shooter. The first matches were shot with muzzle-loading

Pattern 1853 Enfield The Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket (also known as the Pattern 1853 Enfield, P53 Enfield, and Enfield rifle-musket) was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifled musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867; after which many wer ...

rifles, though breech-loading

Snider–Enfield The British .577 Snider–Enfield was a breechloader, breech-loading rifle. The American inventor, Jacob Snider created this action (firearms), firearm action, and the Snider–Enfield was one of the most widely used of the Snider varieties. The ...

rifles were used from 1871. In 1883,

Martini–Henry The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Mar ...

rifles were introduced, followed by magazine-fed

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the standard service rifle of th ...

rifles in 1897, which remained the standard until the modern era of target shooting in the mid-20th century. In modern times, it has been contested at , with each shooter firing one sighter and ten scoring shots. Any rifle that meets the criteria of the target rifle discipline may be used.

The Humphry Challenge Cup

The Humphry is the long-range Varsity shooting match, in the discipline originally known as 'any rifle' (to distinguish it from shorter-range shooting, in which all competitors were required to use the same model of rifle) and currently known as match rifle. Its lineage can be traced to the Inter-University Long-Range Match, first contested in 1869, but it takes its name from Alfred Paget Humphry, who donated the challenge cup awarded to its winner in 1881. From 1897, the match changed from 'any rifle' to match rifle. The distance shot for the Humphry, in common with other match rifle competitions, has increased over time as rifles, ammunition and optics have improved. The first matches took place at , which increased to from 1910 and to from 1963. The match is currently shot on Stickledown Range at Bisley. Until 1874, the venue alternated between Cambridge and Oxford; after a lapse in which no match took place between 1875 and 1877, it was shot at

Welwyn Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the nearby villages and settlements of Digswell, Mardley Heath and Oaklands. The village is sometimes referred to as Old Welwyn or Welwyn Village, to ...

in 1878 before being added to the programme of the NRA competitions in 1879, first at Wimbledon, and then at Bisley from 1890. The Humphry is shot between teams of four, with fifteen scoring shots fired at each range by each shooter. Unusually for a modern shooting match, coaches who are not otherwise eligible to shoot in the match may be part of the team, though firers must be current students of the university they represent.

The Oxford and Cambridge Match

The Oxford and Cambridge Match is contested in gallery rifle. It was first shot informally in 1908, with formal matches beginning at Bisley in 1909. The match was originally shot with revolvers, and so named the 'Universities Revolver Match'. In this format, each shooter fired twelve shots at each of . The trophy for the match was presented by Ian Heslop in 1929. The match was officially known as the Heslop Cup between 1929 and 1948, and continues to be informally known as 'the Heslop' among CURPC shooters. In 1949, the official name was changed to the 'Oxford and Cambridge Revolver Match', followed by the 'Oxford and Cambridge Pistol Match' in 1962. Following the UK ban on fullbore pistol shooting in 1997, the match moved to

lever-action The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Picture showing a Volcanic Pistol A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocki ...

.357 centre-fire gallery rifles. Each university enters a team of four.

The Heslop Cup

The annual smallbore Varsity match is held in February. Since the 1920s, it has been named for Ian Heslop, a British naturalist and conservationist who helped Cambridge to a period of dominance in the match between 1923 and 1926. The Heslop is contested between teams of eight shooters, each shooting two ten-spot cards at , with a total highest possible score of 200. It is traditionally held on a neutral range: in the 21st century, venues have included the

National Smallbore Rifle Association The National Small-bore Rifle Association (NSRA) is the national governing body for all small-bore rifle and pistol target shooting in the United Kingdom, including airgun and match crossbow shooting. The NSRA is based at the Lord Roberts Cen ...

at Bisley,

The Perse School The Perse School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging Day school, day and, in the case of the Perse, a former boarding school) in Cambridge, England. Founded i ...

in Cambridge and

Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school. It is co-educational, a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, located in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. Established in 1432, it ...

in Kent.

The Bentata Cup

The Bentata is the newest of the Varsity matches, contested since around 1990. It is named for David Bentata, an Oxford University alumnus who established the match and donated its trophy. The match is contested between women's teams of four shooters. It is shot to the same conditions and at the same time as the Heslop, and shooters may shoot the two concurrently, counting their score in the Heslop for both.

Varsity match results

Chancellors'

Humphry

Revolver and gallery rifle

Oxford and Cambridge Match (1998–)

Revolver match (1909–1997)

In 2017, an informal revolver Varsity match was conducted in Switzerland, fired with a revolver used during one of the early 20th-century matches. Cambridge won by 626 to 568.

Heslop (smallbore)

Bentata

Blues and club colours

Rifle shooting is a Discretionary Full Blue sport, meaning that shooters who compete in Varsity matches are usually awarded Half Blues, but can be awarded Full Blues if they meet certain additional criteria. To be awarded a Half Blue for smallbore shooting, a shooter must score at least 190 out of 200 in the Heslop or Bentata match; in fullbore, those shooting in the Chancellors' or Humphry are automatically awarded one. The breast pocket of the Half Blue jacket displays a lion, one of the traditional symbols of Cambridge University. A shooter who has won the Half Blue for competing in the Chancellors' will have the Roman numerals 'VIII' stitched beneath the lion; a shooter who has competed in the Humphry will alternatively or additionally stitch 'IV' above the lion. Those who have won the Half Blue in small-bore shooting stitch the initials 'CUSBC' lowermost upon the pocket. Shooters who represent the university against Oxford, whether in 1st-team competition or at a lower level, may wear the club colours. These consist of a jacket and matching tie, sometimes with a cap, in maroon and Cambridge blue.

Notable Cambridge shooters

* Alice Good (

Emmanuel Immanuel or Emmanuel (, "God swith us"; Koine Greek: ) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David. The Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 1:22 –23) interprets this as a prophecy of ...

): winner of the Queen's Prize in 2022. * Ian Heslop (1904–1970): shooter, naturalist and

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, the r ...

. * A. P. Humphry (): winner of the

in 1871. * Henry Jeens: winner of the Queen's Prize in 2004. * Richard Jeens (brother of Henry): winner of the Queen's Prize in 2014. * Philip W. Richardson: silver medallist in the 1908 Summer Olympics. * Edward Ross (son of Horatio): a private of the CURV who won the inaugural Queen's Prize in 1860. * Nick Tremlett: winner of the Queen's Prize in 2009.

Gallery

Footnotes

Explanatory notes

References

Bibliography

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