| Welcome to the Carshalton Rifle Club Website |
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A very warm welcome to our new-look website which, as you can see, is at our new address, www.carshaltonrifleclub.org - Be sure to add us to your favourites. Within this site you will be able to keep up to date with all the latest club news & competition results as well as our extensive out door shooting fixtures, items for sale & much more. We have also added a host of new media features and all kinds of 'bells and whistles' for you to enjoy when you visit this site. To start with here is a brief history of the club... Historically, the club can trace its roots back to 1862, when it was formed as the Carshalton Detachment of the Surrey Rifle Volunteers. In 1908, the volunteers became part of the Territorial Force, and a drill hall and miniature rifle range was erected in The Square, Carshalton, as the Carshalton units headquarters. The unit registered with the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs as Carshalton Volunteers Rifle Club, and until the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, enjoyed many successes in competitive small-bore rifle shooting. Many of the members saw active service with the regular army, as well as providing instruction and  advice to the various Local Defence Leagues set up in 1914. The Territorial Force was disbanded in 1916, but the club still continued their activities in The Square, until the British Legion was formed after the war. In 1922, the club renamed itself Wallington British Legion Rifle Club, and operated under that name until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Like many other Legion clubs, the club premises was offered to the goverment as a base for the newly formed Home Guard, and the club name was changed to the Wallington and Carshalton H.G. Rifle Club. With the disbandment of the Home Guard, the club still retained their name until 1948, when the British Legion's policy of only allowing ex-servicemen to belong to the organisation, it was decided to form a separate club to accommodate the people who had not seen regular military service, the name chosen for the new club being Carshalton Rifle Club. The two clubs continued their activities at the range in the square until 1968, when the British Legion Club disbanded, due to a fall in membership Carshalton Rifle Club still wanted to continue their activities, but could no longer use the range at The Square, due to lease problems. It was decided to seek a new site. An unused piece of land was found in Beddington, Surrey, and with the help of grants and loans from the National Sports Council, a brand new range and club house was erected. The range was formally opened in January 1973, and the club is still there to this day. Since 1973, the club has had many successes in the competitive field, with many members representing their country in international events. Our most recent success was with Jason Burridge winning the silver medal in his chosen event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The Olympic sport of target shooting must not be taken lightly, to gain international recognition, takes a lot of dedication and hard training. To this end, the club, over the past six years, has encouraged it's members to gain national qualifications in coaching and other related subjects of the sport. The club is very proud to be part of the cultural and sporting side of the London Borough of Sutton, and will continue to support the leisure activities of the community. To this end the club has adopted a policy of extending the activities of the club, to cover new shooting disciplines, in some cases, completely new to the membership. To date, we have brought in clay pigeon, black powder, air pistol & rifle, light sporting rifle, gallery rifle and various aspects of full-bore rifle. Of course, not all of these disciplines can be done on our home range, so we have instituted a program of weekend activities, when the club membership can visit the National Shooting Center at Bisley and other shooting grounds, and engage in the activity of their choice. The social side of the club has not been neglected, and currently the club has plans to get members as a group, to visit museums and sites of historical interest. The club is affiliated to all the major shooting organisations, with many members individually, taking out life or annual status. Membership of the club as a whole, has seen a steady growth over the past few years, and currently stands in excess of 250 of all categories. There are no restrictions on people wishing to join the club, other than those laid down by law. The average age of the membership has been steadily falling, and now stands at around 35. For further information on applying for membership, please contact the club secretary, whose details can be found on the contacts page. It is intended to update this site on a regular basis, to keep members informed of the latest standings in competitions and of any plans to increase the activities of the club.
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