Century Range, Bisley, where the Ashburton Shield has been contested since 1890
The Ashburton Shield was presented by Lord Ashburton in 1861 for competition between the Junior Officers' Training Corps that were run within public schools. This remained the case until the 1948 merger of school cadet units into the Combined Cadet Force.[3] The shield was first contested at the National Rifle Association's second Imperial Meeting.[4] It was mentioned by Edward Walford in 1878 when he wrote of the Meeting, then at Wimbledon:
"These annual gatherings are attended by the élite of fashion, and always include a large number of ladies, who generally evince the greatest interest in the target practice of the various competitors, whether it be for the honour of carrying off the Elcho Shield, the Queen's or the Prince of Wales's Prize, or the [Ashburton] shield shot for by our great Public Schools, or the Annual Rifle Match between the Houses of Lords and Commons."[5]
The runner-up team is awarded the Montague-Jones Challenge Trophy, which was first presented in 1947 by the OTC Officers Club in memory of Major Montague-Jones OBE TD, and eight NRA bronze medals. The third place team are awarded eight NRA bronze medals.[6] The Allhallows Salver, presented in 1987 by Allhallows College, is awarded to the coach of the winning school.
The Public Schools' Meeting is considered the pinnacle of inter-school shooting in the UK, and British Pathé featured the event in multiple newsreels.[7][8][9] It has been held annually, with the exception of 1915–18 and 1940–45 due to the outbreak of war, and 2020–21 when the meeting was placed in abeyance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Epsom College hold the record for the most wins, at 15.[10]
^A separate competition is held the week prior for cadet units not attached to a school (such as the Army Cadet Force), as part of the Inter-Services Cadet Rifle Meeting (ISCRM).
^Edward Walford, (2006 reprinted), Greater London. A Narrative of Its History, Its People, and Its Places. Volume 2, page 508, (Adamant Media Corporation)
^"Putney". Old and New London: Volume 6. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin. 1878. pp. 489–503. Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014 – via British History Online.
^"Another Ashburton win for target rifle team". Epsom College. 14 July 2011. The College Target Rifle VIII saw off strong competition at the National Rifle Association's Schools' Meeting at Bisley last week to retain the prestigious Ashburton Shield in the 150th year of the competition. This was the 15th time overall and the 14th time in the past 22 years that Epsom has won the blue riband event of the school target rifle shooting calendar.
^ abcdElizabeth College: A Rifle-Shooting Century (1 ed.). UK: OE Rifle Club. 2022.
^Guillomot-Bonnefond, Aurore; Woodward, Charlotte (7 December 2022). "Ashburton". The A-Z of Oakham School. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
