A brief history of the City of Birmingham Rifle Club

When and where it all began

The club was registered with the NSRA on the 12th. February 1937 with headquarters at the Kynoch Works, Witton, Birmingham. The Witton Ranges were built by I.C.I. Metals Division to enable club shooters in the Midlands to enjoy outdoor target shooting at 25, 50 and 100 yards at which distances National and International .22 calibre shooting then took place.

The first Club President was Mr. H.E. Jackson C.B.E., then Managing Director of I.C.I. Metals Division and Reg. Kelland was the first Chairman. Arthur Traies was the first Secretary. From 1946 to 2002 the Club had as its patron The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Birmingham.

The Club started competitive shooting in 1937 in the National and Metric leagues but the outbreak of the Second World War caused a cessation of National League shooting but extensive use of the ranges was made by Local Military, the Home Guard and Air Training Corps units.The Club resumed National League team shooting in 1946 when the club house comprised an old Home Guard hut but this was replaced in 1970 by a new wooden building and at the same time safety baffles were added to the 25 and 50 yard ranges to permit .22 pistol shooting. The 50 yard range was subsequently increased to 50 metres and the Club staged International Team trials, various NSRA shoulder to shoulder finals and was host to the Warwickshire Open Rifle and Pistol meetings.

In 2002 the Club was evicted from the site by Eley Ltd. and we had a number of suggestions for our survival. The most attractive for the majority of our members was to move to the NSRA ranges at Aldersley, Wolverhampton but at this time these were not in use. Another option was to move to Wedgnock near Warwick but coincidentaly we received a kind invitation from the Staffordshire Small-bore Rifle Association to make our home at the County Ranges at Baldwin’s Gate.

The choice was put to a vote for the membership and by a majority it was decided to move the Club to Baldwin’s Gate. However for some the distance was too far to travel and some Warwickshire based members created a new club at Wedgnock while the members who lived in Worcestershire joined clubs in that area. Some hardy members chose to shoot both for the City of Birmingham and Wedgnock. In 2003 we were happily at home at Baldwin’s Gate and continued our shooting programme with no interruption to our programme but with the reduced membership we could only enter two teams in the National league instead of our previous eight.