Some of you will remember our friend Tony Hutchinson, who was a member for a short while a few years ago. We very much regret to say that Tony died mid August. There will be a memorial service for him at St Peter’s Church, Little Budworth on the 6th of November at 12 noon with a reception at The Red Lion across the road from the church thereafter.
We have just heard that Lorna Williams – the wife of our founder Roy and the first treasurer of the club – has died in hospital. The funeral is a 1.30 on Thursday 27th July 2023 at the South Chapel, Landican .
Following Roy’s death Lorna rather lost contact with the club, but we know that some of our less-young members will remember her.
We have had problems with the site which we have been trying to resolve; therefore we ask that you DON’T use the old login and password, as this may interfere with the”new” system.
You will find your new password in the letter confirming your membership for 2023-4, which should be collected when you come to the next shoot.
Below is the forward to a leaflet produced by the Met for Target Shooting Clubs – and it’s worth a read, particularly in the light of the current state of the Metropolitan Police with its very poor record of vetting new staff; vide David Carrick…..
Perhaps if they had applied the same vetting to new staff that their (efficient AND friendly) Firearms Team do to certificate applicants, they wouyldn’t be in this position.
“There is a long and proud history of civilian target shooting in the United Kingdom. I am very conscious that two of our Independent Advisory Group members, the National Rifle Association and the National Smallbore Rifle Association were founded in 1859 and 1899
respectively. However, civilian target shooting can trace its roots back to the very earliest days of the use of firearms in the country. Today, target shooting is a growth sport, attracting young and old alike, and cutting across gender and social divides.
I am very clear that the Metropolitan Police Service and our key stakeholders, including the members of our Independent Advisory Group and London’s shooting communities, have a shared mission in relation to target shooting. We must do whatever we can reasonably do to support the continued lawful practice of target shooting, whilst protecting public safety. As such, I am delighted to support this good practice guide. I believe that it presents key information to target shooters in London, and elsewhere, in a clear and practical way. This will be of significant practical benefit both to the many shooting clubs in London and to the police.
The fact that this document is a shared enterprise, written by the Metropolitan Police Service’s Firearms Enquiry Team, in partnership with our key stakeholders, demonstrates that keeping London safe, whilst supporting target shooting, is a shared responsibility.
Rob Atkin MBE
T. Commander, Armed Policing”
We have been asked for our co-operation by Counter-Terrorism Policing Northwest – see below letter and poster – and there’s a link to their “e-learning” site for anyone interested.
We are sincerely sorry to tell you of the death of one of our longest-serving members – Stan Mayne, who died on Friday 11th February 2022. When we know of the funeral details we’ll post them here.
It struck me that we had so many pictures from the work we all did to build the Geoffrey Place Range that it might be an idea to use some of them in a brief history – so here it is ! It’s also interesting to see that when the range closed, it marked the end on over a century of target shooting in Parkgate.
See –
“The Rise and Fall of the Dive.”
The latest (last!?) EU legislation on deactivated firearms is complex and confusing, but the Deactivated Weapons Association (DWA) has put together a guide to what should be notified and when – see the tables at the bottom of this page.)
We may be officially “out” of the EU, but we’re still in the transition period sat the moment (18/2/20) and this particular law was enacted before we left.
You’ll note that the “who” to notify hasn’t been included, but now that’s been made (nearly) clear at – Deactivatedfirearmsnotifications@homeoffice.gov.uk
You should use the forms provided at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-0102019-firearms-regulations-2019-and-the-firearms-amendment-no2-rules-2019
What possible way this can enhance public safety is – to say the least – questionable, but it prevents the UK having to pay a massive fine to the EU if they haven’t “done something” to comply.
This is the very least they could do to comply with the legislation and still avoid that fine.
| Possession | ||
| Type of Deactivation? | Notify? | When to Notify? |
| UK legacy specifications deactivated prior to 7th April 2016 | No | N/A |
| 2010 UK Specification (for firearms outside the scope of the EU Regulation – mortars, flare pistols, launchers, etc.) deactivated from 8th April 2016 | No | N/A |
| EU Regulation 2015/2403 (EU Spec 1) deactivated from 8th April 2016 to 27th June 2018 | Yes | BUT Not before March 14th 2021 |
| EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 28th June 2018 to 13th September 2018 | Yes | March 14th 2021 if taken into your possession by 13/09/18 or from now if taken into your possession on or after 14/09/18 |
| EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 14th September 2018 | Yes | Now |
| Transfer (for more than 14 days) | ||
| Type of Deactivation? | Notify? | When to Notify? |
| UK legacy specifications deactivated prior to 7th April 2016 | No | N/A |
| 2010 UK Specification (for firearms outside the scope of the EU Regulation – mortars, flare pistols, launchers, etc.) deactivated from 8th April 2016 | No | N/A |
| EU Regulation 2015/2403 (EU Spec 1) deactivated from 8th April 2016 to 27th June 2018 | No | N/A |
| EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 28th June 2018 to 13th September 2018 | Yes | From now upon sale/transfer |
| EU Regulation 2018/337 (EU Spec 2) deactivated from 14th September 2018 | Yes | From now upon sale/transfer |
