Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum > Records

Imperial Challenge Shield

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Elkington & Co Ld

1912

Overview

The brass shield, with oak wood mounting. Above is set the Tudor crown. The upper edge of the shield is ornamented with three Maltese crosses, separated by fleur de Lys. Immediately beneath, in block letters, is the line “Imperial Challenge Shield” with the word “Senior” below. Then on four raised metal square are the names ; "United Kingdom”, “India and - Canada", “Australian and New Zealand: and "Africa and Crown Colonies." In the centre of the shield is an oval space on which two figures are embossed. One represents Britannia, who is shown with her left-hand on 'the-shoulder of a knight clad in armour. ''For King and Country” appears above the figures, and beneath is inscribed – “This shield, the gift of Raymond W. Schumacher, is dedicated to the youth of the Empire, by them to be to be kept in perpetuity as a challenge shield for shooting, to be competed for annually by teams from all parts of the Empire.” A separate plaque has been added above centre oval space with the names of the competitor and commanding officers.

Historical information

The Imperial Challenge Shield (Senior) Competition evolved from the highly prestigious and fiercely contested Earl Robert Trophy inaugurated in 1907. Since 1910, the Competition was conducted annually under the auspices of the National Rifle Association, with the object of encouraging every boy of British birth, between the ages of twelve and nineteen years, to learn how to use a rifle. The Competition was initially sponsored and supported by Lt. Col. Raymond Ffennell of the South African Defence Force, and it was from his generous gifts and endowments that prizes were provided annually, and the administrative expenses of the competition defrayed. All school and college cadet corps throughout the British Empire participated. The competition was described in London papers as the largest sporting event to be taking place in the World at the time. In 1925, 23,000 competitors took part, and in 1938 the number rose to 28,000 in 1,302 competing teams.
On 24 June 1913 each team shot on their home range with 214 teams competing for the shield throughout the British Empire. The Albany Naval Cadets (Senior), whose first parade being Wednesday 7 June 1911, won the competition with a total of 813/900.
The shield was presented by Minister for Defence Sir George Foster Pearce on Tuesday 18 February 1913. It was later to hang on a wall in the Town Hall, then was transferred to the museum 1989.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-12-1988.8.1

Item type

Themes

Material

Width

766 mm

Height or length

1160 mm

Depth

50 mm

Weight

12 kg

Inscriptions and markings

"Won by ALBANY NAVAL CADETS 1912 / TEAM C.C. E.S. MUTTON SUPERINTENDENT. C.P.O F.P. WILLETT CAPTAIN / CADET A.F. HARRIS, CADET J. SCHUMANN, CADET G.H. OGILVIE / " H.I. DAY " T.W. ANGOVE, " A.C. WEAR / " W.R BRUCE, " F. HARTNUP, " H.L. WEIGHT. / LIEUT. J.G. BROOMHALL. C.M.F. Umpire" with "ELKINGTON & CO LD"

Contextual Information

The RSL Albany Sub-branch approached the Town of Albany council in 1989 who requested the board to be relocated from the Albany Public Library to the Princess Royal Fortress. The branch had pointed out that the Forts was becoming the focal point for military history and it would be more appropriate to be there.

Keywords

Cadet - Military

Competition

Albany

Place made

United Kingdom

Year

1912

Primary significance criteria

Artistic or aesthetic significance

Historic significance

Social or spiritual significance