West Lancashire Wins the Watson Eden Trophy and
the War of the Roses in West Yorkshire
It was 9 months without a shoot for the West Lancashire team who were pleased to be back in a competition.
The Province of West Yorkshire hosted the combined competitions of the Inter Provincial Shoot, for the Watson Eden Trophy, and the War of the Roses at Knaresborough Gun Club, Hazel Bank Shooting Ground at Knaresborough on 4th October.
Our entry was depleted through local lockdown restrictions, and doses of flu, but 17 people travelled to Knaresborough for the event. We all shot in squads of no more than 6, including a scorer for some and all CPSA Covid-19 advice was followed.
West Yorkshire fielded 16 guns and Yorkshire North & East Riding 4. Unfortunately, the Province of Cumberland & Westmorland, who started the Inter Provincial shoot for the Watson Eden Trophy way back in 1984 were unable to form a team and did not shoot this year.
After the torrential rain experienced on the Saturday, Sunday was fine with the sun breaking through. The quick shower at lunchtime did not dampen our spirits as we tackled the 5 stands.
The first stand caught out a lot of shooters, but our team pulled the score back over the other 4 stands. As well as our established team members it was nice to see three new members and their guests joining us. We hope their experience will encourage them to join us on other occasions.
The Scores were as follows
The Inter Provincial Shoot for the Watson Eden Trophy
| 1st West Lancashire with 135 | 2nd West Yorkshire with 126 | 3rd Yorkshire North & East Riding with 107 |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Rhodes - 47 | Richard Loukota – 45 | J Wilde – 37 |
| Andy McClements - 45 | William Watson – 41 | Mike Parker – 35 |
| Mick Woods – 44 | David Marlow – 40 | Kevin Steven – 35 |
The War of the Roses
Winners Lancashire with 260
| RHODES | Jason | 47 |
| McCLEMENTS | Andy | 45 |
| WOODS | Mick | 44 |
| COXHEAD | Jason | 44 |
| BRERETON | Shane | 41 |
| SMITH | Bob | 39 |
| WYNN | Jim | 39 |
Runners up Yorkshire with 241
| LOUKOTA | Richard | 45 |
| WARSON | William | 41 |
| MARLOW | David | 40 |
| KOZACEK | V | 39 |
| BICKERDIKE | N | 38 |
| WARREN | A | 38 |
The event raised £300 for Masonic Charities.
Thanks go to William Watson of West Yorkshire who hosted it and Mark from Hazel Bank Shooting Ground who organised it, not forgetting the ladies who served the bacon & sausage butties and coffees, they were most welcome.
Large Presentation to the 2021 Festival
On 25th June, and on the 34th anniversary of the formation of the West Lancashire Masonic Clay Pigeon Shooting Society, the chairman and members of the Society presented W Bro Tony Harrison the Rt W Provincial Grand Master with one of the largest single donations to the 2021 festival
The Cheque of £10,000 was a combination of the hard work of the society members and some Patronage from Lodges & Chapters, for which we are always thankful.
We were hoping that it would have been much more but unfortunately, we had to cancel the 16th National Championships, scheduled for the 20th June, because of social distancing restrictions.
This together with the £750 to two non-masonic charities, distributed at our AGM, brings our total donations over the 34 years to over £134,000.
Our forefathers put in the Constitutions as one of the aims of the Society ‘To maintain our support of Masonic and non-Masonic charities’ I don’t think they envisioned how well those aims would be achieved.
Left to Right: David Winder, Chairman of the Festival; Ian Heyes Society Chairman; Tony Harrison; Andy McClements, Vice Chair of the Society and Mick Woods..